It’s the Friday before a long weekend, with an impending snow storm looming. I suppose that’s why my mind keeps coming back to the Reach meeting earlier in the week and the metaphor of a quilt; stories and histories sewn together into a blanket that includes everyone. As I was pondering why it’s so hard to get everyone engaged with the idea of actively promoting caring in what we do as educators – we all care, after all, so that’s not the problem – and the challenge of silos across the College, I wondered whether it would be possible to recruit, enlist, whatever the way, someone in each department to be a ‘kindness representative.’ That person could be responsible for disseminating ideas (articles, videos, blogs) and reaching out in their area, for keeping the conversation going. Those representations could then come together in small groups across departments, to work on smaller projects and initiatives that would bring 2-3 departments together – small squares creating bigger squares.

Another thought that occurred to me was whether it would be possible to apply the Teaching Across Cultural Strengths framework to facilitating the conversation for creating the Action Plans for program reviews, as they relate to action points for teaching, learning, curriculum development and assessment. The idea behind the framework is to work with instructors to reflect on their personal histories, to identify how these have shaped their teaching and their expectations of students, in ways that help them appreciate the differences students may have in their own personal narratives. By helping faculty understand where they ‘sit’ along the continuum of the individuated / integrated spectrum of teaching and learning, they can come to appreciate how their approach may provide a more inclusive space for some students more than others. Through reflection and active introspection, instructors may come to appreciate the need to create a space that is inclusive for all learners. This approach is useful because it moves beyond theory to practice.

The two creators of the framework talk about their framework in the context of the online classroom.

As I learn more about this framework for the CiCan project, I’m excited about finding new ways of discussing and promoting inclusive practices.