Zoom links can be found next to each session title. Hover over and click “Zoom Link”
Session 3 – 1:45-2:35pm
What Will Your Record Be?: Implementing More Equitable Assessment Using Specifications Grading | Zoom Link
Casey Reid, Colorado Northwestern Community College
Within the recent movement toward more equitable assessment that includes practices like ungrading, Linda Nilson’s work with specifications grading has gained traction as a practice that increases transparency around grading while maintaining high academic standards. In this session, participants will learn about the presenter’s experience overhauling her assessment practices to use specifications grading. Then, participants will discuss the affordances and constraints of specifications grading for different disciplines. Using resources the presenter will provide, participants will then be given time to create plans for implementing more equitable grading practices in their classes.
Casey Reid is currently English and humanities faculty at Colorado Northwestern Community College where she brings 20 years of experience teaching, directing various student support programs, and supporting faculty professional development at community colleges in four states. Having recently completed her dissertation about state policies that impact community colleges, she is interested in exploring ways we discuss and engage with efforts to be more inclusive, accessible, and equitable.
A Grand Equity Experiment: Do We Dare Disturb the Universe? | Zoom Link
Kari Lee and Johanna Parkhurst, Pueblo Community College
What happens when two faculty members examine equity gaps and re-evaluate pedagogy in English Composition I and II courses while simultaneously creating professional development to promote equity and inclusion in classrooms across their college? Find out in this presentation and roundtable discussion from Kari Lee and Johanna Parkhurst, two members of the English faculty at Pueblo Community College. Lee and Parkhurst will share their research process to date, best practices they have learned, and future next steps for both their Composition classrooms and professional development model, which is scheduled to be launched in Fall 2022.
Johanna Parkhurst grew up on a small dairy farm in Vermont before relocating to the Rocky Mountains of Colorado. A long-time middle school literacy and writing teacher, she now spends her days teaching college writing and her nights writing novels. She firmly loves her classroom and her work with pedagogical research, and she is the author of several books written under various names. Johanna holds degrees from Albertus Magnus College and Columbia University. She loves traveling, watching cooking shows, and doing headstands on paddleboards.
Kari Lee fell in love with both teaching and the community college world as a student at Trinidad State Junior College. Her teaching career began at TSJC (at age 21) before transitioning to middle school for a time. In 2013, she was hired full-time at Pueblo Community College, where she happily teaches English Composition and First Year Experience. She is a firm believer in the power of the community college system and the educational opportunities it gives to students. In addition to her degree from TSJC, Kari holds degrees from CSU-Pueblo and Colorado State University. While her days are largely spent teaching and chasing after her three children, she also enjoys finding time to volunteer, read, and travel (and she thinks planning the trip is at least half the fun).
Creating Inclusive & Equitable Classroom Environments through Critical Inquiry | Zoom Link
Karen Summerson, Pikes Peak State College
The term “Equity-Mindedness,” according to the Center for Urban Education refers to, “The perspective or mode of thinking exhibited by practitioners who call attention to patterns of inequity in student outcomes.” Critical inquiry (CI) is the foundation of our twofold approach to teaching and inclusive excellence. (1) Creating a partnership with students. (2) Be intentional in examining our teaching practices and shared responsibility for student success. Karen will share “favorite” ways to use CI. Our workshop will include small group activities and discussions as we explore these opportunities and discover ways to create an inclusive and equitable classroom environment.
Karen Summerson received her B.A. in Mathematics and in Computer Science from Mount Vernon Nazarene University and her M.A. in Mathematics from Bowling Green State University. She currently is an Associate Professor of Mathematics and director for the Center for Excellence in Teaching & Learning (CETL) at Pikes Peak State College (PPSC). She has held various positions within CETL, supporting instructors, faculty, & college leadership, and helped launch The Equity Project at PPSC. She is passionate about promoting equity and excellence in the classroom. Karen enthusiastically engages students and feels that what she continues to learn has a positive impact on her teaching.
Embedding Culturally Relevant High Impact Practices (HIPs) at the Community College of Denver | Zoom Link
Megan Garedakis, Community College of Denver
The Community College of Denver (CCD) has multiple High Impact Practices (HIPs) in practice in several disciplines throughout our campus. Upon receiving a grant, we are in the process of implementing HIPs that are Culturally Relevant, ensuring our HIPs reach traditionally underserved populations in higher education on our campus. In our first phase of this work, we have created and are implementing advanced-level professional development trainings for faculty and staff in diversity, equity & inclusion, which center culturally relevant HIPs and how to apply them in an educational setting. This first phase also includes the creation of Faculty Learning Communities (FLCs), which apply grant funds to embed culturally relevant HIPs across multiple departments on our campus. This presentation will be a report out of this vital process and a report on the importance of Culturally Relevant HIPs at CCD.
Megan Garedakis is the Culturally Relevant High Impact Practices (HIPs) Coordinator at the Community College of Denver’s Teaching Learning Center. She has completed graduate and undergraduate degrees in history, and is currently completing another graduate degree, in sociology. As a sociologist and historian, she is interested in the history of race and gender categorization, and the role of capitalism in creating and perpetuating social and racial inequities.