The goal of equity-minded teaching and learning is to promote a culture of validating
students’ identities and culture, engaging students in their academic work, and recognizing
student capacity. This can be accomplished through the meaningful implementation of
multiple teaching approaches.
The Equity-Minded Teaching and Learning Institute (EMTLI) is a yearly cohort-based
professional development activity in which participating faculty analyze their classroom
data, disaggregated by race and ethnicity, and then make changes to their curriculum
and teaching practices using an equity-minded teaching framework.
During the first semester of the EMTLI, faculty receive their disaggregated classroom
data to identify strengths and weaknesses in their current practices, and develop
goals to address areas of concern. Faculty then participate in a series of inquiry
and thematic meetings, reviewing inequitable historical practice in education and
the California Master Plan, also featuring expert guest speakers and facilitators,
designed to give faculty a foundation in the history of educational practice, student
capacity and equity-minded teaching. In the second semester, once faculty better understand
these concepts and the equity-minded framework, they can then make curricular and/or
pedagogical changes intended to close equity gaps, and assess their interventions
to promote a culture of continuous improvement.