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Anti-Racist Pedagogy Learning Community: Call For Faculty Proposals

The heart of an anti-racist pedagogy is the intent to actively acknowledge and oppose racism by advocating for changes in political, economic, and social life (Blakeney, 2005).              

The Teaching + Learning Commons Engaged Teaching Hub is pleased to announce the call for proposals for UC San Diego Changemaker Fellows Anti-Racist Pedagogy Learning Community (CF-ARPLC). The CF-ARPLC brings faculty together as co-learners to recognize, discuss, and dismantle racist ideologies and practices embedded in education. Applications are due Sunday, November 27, 2022. Selected faculty will receive a $5,000 professional development grant for their participation in the Learning Community during Winter and Spring 2023 quarters.

During the two-quarter long program, participants will attend a four-hour orientation, Friday January 13, 2023, and biweekly, two-hour learning community meetings, which will be held Friday, January 27, February 10 and 24, March 10, April 7 and 21, and May 5 and 19, and June 2, 2023 from 10 a.m. - 12 p.m. In these sessions, participants will critically examine their own teaching practices through a racial equity lens, build community with other participants committed to anti-racism, and learn about anti-racist teaching practices to promote the well-being and learning of students, particularly Black, Latinx, Indigenous, and minoritized students at UC San Diego.

In addition, participants will develop a proposed project to translate their learning into action. With the support of Engaged Teaching Hub, participants will individually work on their project and meet as needed to share progress, resources, and support. The project can either be related to a course they are teaching or a project that extends beyond their own classrooms and contributes to broader campus anti-racism efforts. Example projects include, but are not limited to: evaluating a course they teach through a racial equity lens and comprehensively redesigning the course with the goal of racial equity; developing a DEI-designated course or DEI content for a particular teaching context; developing and facilitating a teaching workshop for faculty colleagues; or developing web resources on anti-racist pedagogy for dissemination through the Commons and potentially their department’s website. As part of the application, participants are asked to provide a proposed anti-racist project.

Launched in October 2020, the Changemaker Institute is an important partner and serves as a supportive infrastructure to champion, oversee, and reinforce changemaking efforts throughout campus. The impactful work of fellows helps drive forward the mission of UC San Diego’s Changemaker Institute.

2023-2024 Application

Apply for the Changemaker Anti-Racist Pedagogy Fellowship by November 27, 2022.

Go to form

Eligibility

The program is open to all full-time UC San Diego Academic Senate faculty members and Unit 18 Lecturers with an interest in learning about the historical roots of educational inequity, examining their teaching practices through a racial equity lens, and enacting anti-racist practices in their class, department, or program through a project of their own design. Non-senate faculty educators in the School of Medicine are also eligible. All School of Medicine applicants should be engaged in direct classroom or clinical teaching with medical learners and propose projects with a focus on enhancing these training activities. Successful School of Medicine faculty applicants will be supported by the T. Denny Sanford Institute for Empathy and Compassion’s Center for Empathy and Compassion Training in Medical Education and will be named Sanford Anti-Racist Pedagogy Faculty Fellows. These Sanford Fellows will participate in additional activities sponsored by the Center for Empathy and Compassion Training in Medical Education, including formal presentation of their project outcomes, which will be detailed upon acceptance.

Application Information

Interested applicants are encouraged to reflect on the application questions, and answer questions as honest and authentic as possible. The selection team seeks not for the "perfect" applicant; instead, for applicants with varying experiences with anti-racist work and those eager to learn from the program.

To be considered for the 2023-2024 Teaching + Learning Commons Engaged Teaching Changemaker Fellows Anti-Racist Pedagogy Learning Community, please submit an online application by Sunday, November 27, 2022. Selected faculty will be notified by Friday, December 9, 2022. The application form includes the following: 

  • Your interest in and the importance of joining anti-racist pedagogy
  • Strengths you would bring to the learning community
  • What you hope to gain from participating in the learning community
  • What support you might anticipate as a participant of the learning community
  • Describe why you think some students struggle in your classroom
  • Level of exposure to anti-racist pedagogy
  • How you and your department/unit would benefit from your participation 
  • Description of a proposed anti-racist pedagogy project with the following information: 
    • Summary and rationale of proposed project, including project goals and/or specific learning outcomes
    • Potential impact on student learning
    • Potential challenges you foresee this project may encounter 
  • Describe how the project addresses anti-Blackness and advances anti-racism efforts on campus or in your department.
  • Statement of commitment to fully participate as described.
  • Letter from your Department Chair or Dean confirming support for your application, project, and participation in the CFF-ARPLC required meetings and events.

Access the application now.

Please submit application or program questions to Carolyn Sandoval, Associate Director, Teaching + Learning Commons and Director, Engaged Teaching Hub at c2sandoval@ucsd.edu and Karina M. Viaud, Associate Director of Engaged Teaching Hub at kviaud@ucsd.edu.

Fellowship Award

A $5,000 fellowship award will be provided to grantees for discretionary use for activities such as professional development, course development, research, and implementation costs that could include curriculum materials, course or project-related travel, and/or undergraduate or graduate student ARPLC project-related support. 

Applicants are asked to provide a proposed budget for how they plan to use the funds. Once transferred, funds will be administered by the faculty member's departmental fiscal contact.

Evaluation

To assist with the growth and learning of Changemaker Faculty Fellows Anti-Racist Pedagogy Learning Community and to improve the program for future iterations, fellows will participate in several self-assessments and program evaluations throughout the two quarters.

Curriculum

The learning community curriculum is grounded in the work of scholars of color and is designed to deepen participants’ understanding and practice of anti-racist pedagogy. The curriculum is focused on three main goals:

  • Unpack the historical roots of educational inequity: What is the historical context of anti-Black racism locally and in U.S. education? How does systemic racism contribute to educational outcomes seen today, particularly at UC San Diego?
  • Understand our personal relationships with anti-Black racism and white supremacy: How has our socialization in a racist society contributed (in conscious and unconscious ways) to our identities as people and our choices as educators?
  • Enact anti-racist pedagogy in our classes and roles as educators: How can we create classroom experiences that challenge racist ideologies and begin to dismantle existing structures of oppression? What actions will we take to support the well-being of Black, Latinx, Indigenous, and minoritized students at UC San Diego?

Learning Community Goals

With a shared sense of purpose and mutual support, our goals are to work together in community to:

  • Acknowledge, unlearn, and move against racism in higher education structures and practices that impact the educational experiences of students of color, particularly Black students.
  • Build a social justice learning community dedicated to supporting the academic success and well-being of students of color. 
  • Support faculty and graduate student educators dedicated to anti-racist work and strengthen a campus culture that supports racial equity.
  • Enhance empathy and compassion in the context of education, particularly as it applies to building inclusive and equitable classroom environments.

Schedule

Note: Schedule is subject to minor changes.

Tentative schedule for 2023-2024 Fellows

Event

Date

Application deadline

November 27, 2022

Review of applications

November 28- December 2, 2022 

Selected fellows are notified

December 9, 2022

Winter quarter program orientation (up to ½ day, in person)

January 13, 2023

Winter quarter program meetings
(bi-weekly meetings held online or hybrid)

Fridays 10 a.m. – 12 p.m.

January 27; February 10, 24; March 10, 2023

Fellowship funds transferred to faculty fellow's department and student's bank account

Spring break

Spring quarter program meetings

Fridays 10 a.m. – 12 p.m.

April 7, 21; May 5, 19, 2023

Program celebration

Fridays 10 a.m. – 12 p.m. June 2, 2023

Support fellows through consultation and other services to progress with projects.

Summer 2023

Final project due, including confirmed date of project implementation.

Winter quarter 2024

Reference

Blakeney, A. M. (2005). Antiracist pedagogy: Definition, theory, and professional development. Journal of Curriculum and Pedagogy, 2(1), 119-132. https://doi.org/10.1080/15505170.2005.10411532