In order to address the opportunity gap that still remains for NECC’s Latino students , it is of utmost importance that our academic community work toward creating learning environments that are inclusive, responsive, and engaging of diverse learners.  To this end, the workshop Serving All Students Through a Culture of Equity will cover the following content areas:

Spring 2020: Class Culture & Design 

A student-centered environment is one that is responsive to the needs of all students and involves them in decisions that will influence the learning culture. Including students in ownership of culture requires considerable planning and deliberate implementation. When done well, these are some characteristics of student-centered environments: 

• Student voice is incorporated into the development and implementation of policies, routines and procedures
• Students, deans, chairs, faculty and all participants in the academic community develop strong relationships rooted in trust
• Student needs take priority in the design and implementation of learning, and the feedback that faculty give students on assignments is personalized  to meet the needs of individual students

Fall 2020: Student-centered Formative Assessment & Feedback

Student-centered assessment and feedback can guide teaching and learning practices, help shape future student learning, allow strong communication with individual students about their progress, and ensure students feel ownership and motivation over their own learning and growth. Student-centered assessments identify and target what students need most in their learning, allowing the academic community to  ensure each student is provided with learning opportunities that support their individual growth. When done well, some characteristics of what success looks like include:

• Students are assessed in a variety of ways and at an appropriate level for the individual student
• Student assessment data and feedback  guides policy and instruction
• Students are provided with regular, timely, actionable feedback, and they feel a sense of ownership over their own learning and growth

Spring 2021: Student Agency & Ownership

An environment that provides students with true ownership, agency, and choice is one in which students are able to make guided choices for themselves based on different criteria - their personal interests, their individual learning profiles, or an analysis of their strengths and weaknesses. The goal is for these choices to generate student investment in the task while at the same time aligning with what the academic community knows students need to learn and master.  When students are entrusted with choices that can lead to a positive impact on their learning, these are the sorts of behaviors that can be observed:

• Varied approaches to instruction are used based on students’ preferences, strengths, and areas for growth, while keeping in mind the skills and content areas that students will need to master
• Students set, manage, and reflect on goals, and they are able to explain what they are working on, how it supports their goals, and how the tasks and content are aligned to their individual skills, abilities and affinities
• Faculty conferences with students about their goals and how to achieve them