The University of Delaware’s School of Education (SOE) colloquium series begins Wednesday, Sept. 21, with a presentation on “Raising Race Questions: Whiteness, Inquiry, and Education with White In-Service Teachers” by Ali Michael, director of K-12 consulting and professional development at the Center for the Study of Race and Equity in Education at the University of Pennsylvania.

This year’s colloquium will feature a special theme titled “Framing the Conversation Towards Engagement and Transformation: Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Education and Human Development,” facilitated by SOE faculty members Rosalie Rolón-Dow and Elizabeth Soslau.

This theme will explore diversity, equity and inclusion in terms of the college climate, which influences how all members of the community experience the College of Education and Human Development (CEHD), and its curriculum, which prepares students across teacher education programs for an increasingly diverse educational landscape.

The colloquium contributes to ongoing diversity initiatives in CEHD and across UD teacher education programs, such as the Collaborative to Diversify Teacher Education, the Success Through Education Conference and the CEHD Dean’s Diversity Task Force.

In an enriched format, the series will also include professional conversations that will follow each speaker’s research presentation. These conversations will allow multiple voices to explore scholarship on diversity, equity, and inclusion and apply that scholarship to the UD context.

Additional topics in the series include climate change education, interactive digital media in children’s learning, and the Next Generation Science Standards for kindergarten through 12th-grade teachers.

The series will be held on select Wednesdays throughout the semester, beginning at 1 p.m. in 207 Willard Hall Education Building, unless otherwise noted. A discussion and question-and-answer period will follow each speaker’s presentation at 2.

Students, faculty, and community members with interests in education, teacher preparation and issues related to diversity, equity and inclusion in schools and universities are encouraged to attend, as well as those interested in educational policy and administration.

These events are free, and no advance registration or RSVP is required.

The speakers and topics for each presentation follow. Speakers participating in the special theme on diversity, equity and inclusion are noted with an asterisk.

*Sept. 21: Ali Michael, director of K-12 consulting and professional development at the Center for the Study of Race and Equity in Education, University of Pennsylvania, “Raising Race Questions: Whiteness, Inquiry, and Education with White In-Service Teachers.”

*Oct. 19: Ed Brockenbrough, associate professor in the Warner School of Education, University of Rochester, “Queering Sexy B(l)ack: Queer Youth and Pedagogies of Sexual Agency.”

Nov. 2: Akisha Jones, Say Yes to Education, Strategic Data Project Fellow in the Center for Education Policy Research, Harvard University, “Understanding Racial Disparities in Academic and Disciplinary Outcomes and Potential Solutions: An Urban District Perspective.”

*Nov. 16: Marilyn Cochran-Smith, Cawthorne Professor of Teacher Education for Urban Schools in the Lynch School of Education, Boston College, “Teacher Preparation for Equity/Diversity: Challenges and Opportunities.” Location: Ewing Room of the Perkins Student Center.

Nov. 30: Joseph A. Henderson, research scientist, MADE CLEAR Project, University of Delaware, “Climate Change Education Policy Enactment and its Discontents.”

*Feb. 15: Robert Lee, executive director of the Statewide Urban Programs and Partnerships, Chicago Teacher Education Pipeline, Illinois State University, topic to be announced.

*March 8: Janine De Novais, advanced doctoral candidate in Higher Education, Graduate School of Education, Harvard University, “Teaching and Learning in Brave Community.”

March 22: Georgene Troseth, associate professor in the Department of Psychology and Human Development, Vanderbilt University, “Tapping into Children’s Learning from Interactive Digital Media.”

*April 5: Jessica Shiller, associate professor in the Department of Instructional Leadership and Professional Development, Towson University, “Listening and Building: How Collaboration, External Partnerships, and Advocacy Help Students and Faculty Work Toward Equity and Diversity.”

April 26: Amy Trauth-Nare, associate director for science education in the UD Professional Development Center for Educators, University of Delaware, “Supporting K-12 Teachers in the Era of the Next Generation Science Standards: Research and Experience from Classrooms.”

For more information about this series, visit the School of Education colloquium series webpage.

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Article by Jessica Henderson

Photo by Evan Krape