Have you ever had really good professional development? Like the kind that makes you think deeply about your curriculum or your classroom practices?
I can definitely say I've had plenty of mediocre PD -- the stuff that checks boxes and wastes times like it's going out of style.
But good PD? Those are the rare unicorns of the education world.
THIS was good PD.
One of the perks of teaching for Outschool has been a lack of time-wasting, mediocre PD, but when they came out with a new program, titled ACE, I was worried. Too much bad PD in my teaching history for me to blindly trust that training will be worth my time and develop me as a teacher.
But the ACE Teaching Framework, which stands for Agency, Community, Expertise, is based on choice. And there are good choices. One of the trainings ACE led me to was Yale's annual conference on Teaching Race & Slavery in the American Classroom.
Civil War (or Who Do We Think We Are)
The conference started with a viewing of the 2021 movie Civil War (or Who Do We Think We Are), which is available to stream with a Hulu or Peacock subscription. I thought this was an excellent look at how stories of the Civil War are shaped and shared.
As someone from California, I've struggled to understand some southern perspectives surrounding the Civil War, and this documentary was illuminating in that respect. I was particularly intrigued by the classroom conversations and student perspectives since I've experienced similar conversations with students. I highly recommend checking it out.
Teaching Race & Slavery in the American Classroom
This year was the 24th year of the conference, but it was the first time I had the opportunity to attend. Not only was it happening live at Yale, it was also streamed live and you can find all the recordings on YouTube as well.
The conference included conversations, panels, and Q&A sessions from teachers, professors, journalists, authors, and other experts in this area. Topics included the influence of race on the history of education, textbook writing and adoption, political polarization, and more.
History of U.S. Education: What’s Race Got To Do With It?
One of the sessions I found most impactful was History of U.S. Education: What’s Race Got To Do With It? It thoroughly covered the impact of race in the American school system from the establishment of public schooling, through segregation, to the present. They offered direction and guidance to teachers teaching history, some of which can also apply to psychology teachers.
"We have to be absolutely brutally honest and connect it to the ways in which we've talked about this in the past, because we can't separate that out, because that's still informing so much of what our students and what we think. With this subject in particular, with slavery and civil rights...we have to do as much unlearning, as we do learning." - Hasan Kwame Jeffries, Associate Professor of History, The Ohio State University
Some of the conversations I found most meaningful throughout this conference were led by live teacher questions relating to real classroom experiences. Thankfully there was time for questions at the end of each session. Both in-person and online questions were accepted and they made a strong effort to answer as many as possible.
"You can't think critically, much less share a community, without some shared knowledge and shared facts. And thinking critically is not an abstract thing. It happens through subject matter. Reengaging with rich subject matter not only will engage students, because students are curious–they want to know things from diverse perspectives; they want to see the world in interesting ways–but it's also vital to this thing we call critical thinking." - Johann Neem, Professor of History, Western Washington University
Teachers Roundtable: Teaching History in the Classroom Today
I also connected to the Teachers Roundtable: Teaching History in the Classroom Today. Teachers shared what they're doing in their own classrooms, with specific stories and ways they make the learning relevant to their students.
"I would bring these [newspapers covering the 1868 massacre] documents to my students and they could see their last names...I was teaching the descendants of the victims and the perpetrators, sometimes in the very same classrooms...We have to learn how we can have these tough conversations, to embrace discomfort, to seek to understand or be understood...to make it local and as relevant to their lives as possible." - Chris Dier, history teacher
The panel included teachers from various locations, teaching at various grade levels, which made for interesting and diversified perspectives.
"It's not that they haven't been taught about slavery and the civil rights movement. It's that they've been taught the same tired, victimizing narrative over and over again." - Layla Treuhaft-Ali, 5th and 6th grade reading and writing teacher
The teachers shared struggles and triumphs in teaching these difficult topics. They also expanded on each other's points in meaningful ways, making it more interesting than listening to four separate speeches. It was a conversation.
"We're at that point where students don't know who Treyvon Martin was...I had to almost say 'Treyvon Martin was your George Floyd. And my Treyvon Martin was my mother's Rodney King and my great grandmother's Eugene Williams.' So I just think that we don't need to show [photographs that show traumatic things] for students to understand, because they're living it." - Daisha Brahbam, high school teacher
There was a recognition that this is difficult work, but it is also exciting work.
"Learning happens in discomfort." - Layla Treuhaft-Ali, 5th and 6th grade reading and writing teacher
What does this mean for psychology teachers?
In the 2022 revision of the psychology standards, the topic Multiculturalism and Gender was designated as a priority topic. As someone who is passionate about justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion, I've always included this unit in my psychology classes, though I can definitely say that my teaching of it has improved drastically over the years as my knowledge and teaching experience has grown.
As psychology teachers, we should definitely be putting energy and effort into the Multiculturalism and Gender unit. It's a difficult, but extremely important topic to teach and we have the unique opportunity to address topics like culture, diversity, and discrimination head on. And students are eager to explore them.
Some tips for teaching Multiculturalism and Gender:
Educate yourself: Read books on these topics (they mentioned a ton of them at the conference), attend conferences, arm yourself with knowledge and you'll feel infinitely more prepared to tackle difficult conversations. The conversations will always be difficult, but you can increase your ability to navigate through the difficulties.
Lean on the standards: The revised standards are an excellent guide in what we should cover. Use them to help you choose sub-topics and narrow down your focus. They can also be used to support your curriculum choices if questioned by parents or administrators. Lean on the credibility of APA and the science behind the standards.
Refer to the integrated themes: Particularly to the fourth one -- Psychology values diversity, promotes equity, and fosters inclusion in pursuit of a more just society. It's a great idea to start the year with these and post them around your room as reminders of what psychology is all about. If you didn't start the year with them, no worries–bring them in now and have students make connections between the themes and what they've already learned. This is a great exercise for both teachers and students!
Connect to other units: Multiculturalism and Gender don't exist in a vacuum and shouldn't be taught in a vacuum. Make connections throughout the year. Include diversity (or lack thereof) in discussions of research methods, issues of race when discussing the history of intelligence testing, changes in diagnoses related to gender and orientation when discussing psychological disorders, etc.
Recreate the Conference Experience
Are you interested in attending a conference like this? You don't have to wait until next year! Get a group of teachers together and watch the following, pausing to have meaningful conversations about the topics provided.
Day 1:
Civil War (or Who Do We Think We Are), available to stream with a Hulu or Peacock subscription*
Day 2:
Day 3:
*If time is limited, these are the sessions I found most impactful.
If you watch the movie or any of the sessions, I'd love to know what you think. Let me know in the comments!
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