Professional Learning for Equity Modules

A strategy through which the Equity Alliance at ASU supports educational stakeholders in building their own capacity to build equitable educational systems is through the Professional Learning for Equity Module approach to professional learning. In collaboration with schools and local universities, the Equity Alliance at ASU creates these modules for those interested in career-long learning about education, including all roles and candidates in the education profession, as well as all levels of experience. The approach includes careful consideration of the content for professional learning, application of adult learning principles, and selection of teams from schools and districts that can support their team members’ learning and practice. In this way, professional learning builds on converged needs, creates a sense of common purpose, and extends the creativity and skill of practitioners.

Participants are generally teams of educational professionals from schools and districts, selected to advance knowledge and practice related to culturally responsive systems and practices. Academies are organized into modules that share an overarching theme and are designed to (1) engage adult learners in advancing their knowledge and skills about culturally responsive practices within organizations; (2) build communities of practice in which inquiry and public discourse are cornerstones of continuous improvement in culturally responsive systems; and (3) embody approaches to learning that affirm the sociocultural histories and experiences that all members of the academies bring to shared learning. Finally, the Professional Learning Modules for Equity create forums for open discussion to help school and community members think more broadly and systemically about culturally responsive schools and classrooms.

The best way to implement these modules is to bring together building leadership teams from a cluster of schools so that teams can learn from one another and create a practice community that can support innovation. The academies should be offered in sequence, spaced four weeks apart so that some application can occur between sessions, and that there is a plan for coaching on-site between academies.

Inclusive Education for Equity

This is the first in our series of Professional Learning for Equity Modules created by the Equity Alliance at ASU. However, we are continuing to build on the tradition of excellence found in the professional learning modules from our other centers, The National Center for Culturally Responsive Educational Systems and The National Institute for Urban School Improvement. You can access all of our past modules here.