Professional Development Packet

Directions

Evidence of Registration and Attendance

Conference Session Notes

Inspirational Artifact

Reflection

Directions
Attendance at this conference provides you with opportunities to further your
learning, and network with the members of your NCSU family tree and/or future
colleagues and employers. In case attending a professional conference is a new
experience, please know that basic conference etiquette is to dress business
casual (suits can work, but are not necessary) and represent NCSU well by being
friendly, inquisitive, and punctual. Strengthen your established relationships
with your peers, and seek out new connections with others. To complete the
Professional Development Packet and receive your grade, you will: provide
evidence of your registration and attendance, provide a session artifact that you
found inspirational, and a reflection on your experience at the conference. Most
of all, this experience is designed to give you an inside look at how the profession
of English educators works, and give you opportunity to learn and grow among
your fellow educators.

Helpful Hints: Remember your charger, dont be afraid to talk to people and
network, make friends, ask questions, have a conference buddy.
 ELEMENTS OF THE ASSIGNMENT

Evidence of Registration and Attendance

Conference Session Notes

The Conference is broken into several different sessions. For each session, take
notes of the the things that you are learning. Your notes can be bullet points. But
they should have some sense of coherence and clarity, so that they are helpful to
you (and me). For each session, provide the title of the session and the speakers
name(s). Then take notes (as you would for a class) for each. You will have six
sessions for which there should be notes.

Becoming Culturally Sustaining Educators: Joining Justice Movements through Teaching

Speaker: Dr. Django Paris

Education justice is needed

Schools are built on indigenous land, which educators should to be
aware of
The Greensboro Four and African-Americans struggle because of
white supremacy
Statistics on students in the public education realm show
1970: 80% were white/caucasian
Today: more than 50% are of color
New Mainstream: students of color in the classroom are working on
inequality
Teachers by race has also called for inequality actions
Michigan State University offers a mentor program for students of
color in their College of Education. Dr. Paris is a mentor to them.
Culturally Sustaining Pedagogy (CSP): the main concept he discusses in his
new book
His argument is that students of color perform better, when given
the chance to enroll in cultural classes that lean on their
experiences.
He references The Dream Keepers by Gloria Ladson-Billings as an
example of teachers who went against the system that hired them to
use CSP.
CSP must be enacted through the classroom, administration, and
theoretically
Key Features of Settings Enacting CSP:
A critical centering on dynamic community languages,
valued practices, and knowledges
Student and community agency and input (community
accountability)
Historicized content and instruction
A capacity to contend with internalized oppressions
An ability to curricularize these four features in
learning settings
Educators who invest in whiteness must give something up to
achieve CSP
He lastly notes that education and the world are not separate!
 LGBTQ+ Inclusion in Education Spaces Workshop
Speaker: Elliot Kimball

Social Identity: the personal role/membership within a specific social

group that a person claims as representative
Ex: gender, sexuality, nationality, etc.
Intersectionality: interconnected nature of social identities, as they apply
to an individual

This focuses on sources of oppression that exists between

marginalized identities.

Sex: Whats in your pants

Gender: How you feel in your pants

Sexual Orientation: Whose pants you want to be in

LGBTQIAP+

L (Lesbian)

G (Gay)

B (Bisexual): interested in any two genders

T (Transgender): head and body do not match up

Q (Queer/questioning): on the train, but you do not know what car

you are in

I (Intersex): variation in sex characteristics, not just genitals. This

could be hormones, chromosomes, etc., but involves a persons
biological makeup

A (Asexual): someones romantic and physical attraction spectrum

split

Ex: a priest may be heterosexual, but abstains from sex for

personal reasons

P (Pansexual): someone attracted to all genders

+ (Plus): identities people have outside of queer

 Transsexual: someone who has physically transitioned

Sis gender: a person who identifies as the gender assigned to them at birth

Why does the terminology matter?

1. Guide: posts within media

2. Education: need language to talk

Ally/Advocate: use them as a verb!

Member of dominant group who works to end oppression in

personal/professional life by supporting with oppressed
populations. Its a way of being and acting.

The Gender Unicorn

Contains the categories: gender identity, gender expression, sex

assigned at birth, physical attraction, and emotional attraction

If someone comes out to you

DO:

Know this is a sign of trust

Check confidentiality on this

Know gender/sexuality is one dimension of who they are

Show interest and curiosity about this part of them

Ask how you can support them

DONT:

Say I always knew

Go tell everyone

Forget this is someone you know

Ask probing questions

Assume you know why they told you

Language to avoid:

Transexual
 Transvestite: outdated

MTF (male-to-female)

FTM (female-to-male)

Stealth/passing

Transgenders/ed/trans* - only use transgender

Gender Pronouns - TSER Resource

Inclusive Language

Stay away from using the word preferred! Instead, ask students to
write down what they like to be called

Use the singular they in your daily language

Avoid using invalidating language like real or legal name

Avoid language that is considered polite, but is also gendered: ex. Sir

Misgendering - if this happens...

Apologize quickly, but with a light touch

Let it go

Do not be so hard on yourself

 Language Education for a Diverse Society: A Critical Perspective
Speaker: Dr. Jennifer Leeman

Linguistic Diversity

Multilingualism

2016: 21.6% of students speak a language other than English at

home, and 13% of these students speak Spanish

Linguistic variation - within a language

Geographic, social, and stylistic

What does critical mean?

It is meant in two ways: critical theory and critical pedagogy

Critical theory in education

Interrelatedness of social and political structures

Question the taken for granted

Role of education in reproducing social hierarchies

Reproduction of social categories and ideologies in a language

Paolo Freire, 1970: he inspired her work and sets the goal she wants to
reach

Commitment to social justice

Critical consciousness of students

Linguistic variation in spanish language education

Focused on European (Castilian) Spanish

Educated standard ignores social variation

Depoliticized content oriented to tourism

Students imagined as heterosexual, middle-class white

1960s

Tied to Latinx Civil Rights movements

Access, inclusion, and social justice

 Evolution of Spanish

Recognition of Latin America

Mention of U.S. Spanish and U.S. Latinx

BUT: pseudo-castilian variety and no thought of social (or

contextual) variation

Changes:

Legitimacy of all varieties

Eradication - expansion of linguistic repertoire

Certain varieties more appropriate in certain contexts

Problems with appropriateness:

Social variation does not equal contextual variation

Erases stigmatization of non-standard forms (linguistic

subordination is not arbitrary!)

Reinforces subordination (via appropriateness and gate-keeping)

Ignores agency and possibility of flaunting norms

Naturalizes existing norms

Focuses on getting prestige variety

Makes language as the cause, rather than the mechanism, of

marginalization

Oriented towards assimilation to existing norms and hierarchies

Focus on individuals and ignores structure issues

No social change

Critical approach

Goals:

Critically analyze assumptions about language

Critical language awareness

Interrogate and dismantle linguistic hierarchy

 Foster student agency in making language and other choices

Promote social justice beyond the classroom

Possible assessment/practice ideas in the classroom:

Service learning community projects

Linguistic journals and autobiographies

Non-prestige varieties as object of study

Explicit discussion of language-power relationship and

linguistic gate-keeping (including academic language)

Critical Community Building Strategies for Unpacking Controversial Topics

Speakers: Silvia Bettez & Jeanette Alarcon

They had us open with a free write (the prompts are below)
To have the most successful learning environment, I need
To have the kind of learning environment that feels best for me, I
like to have
In order to communicate well with me, its helpful if others
I would appreciate it if, when others are working with me, they
would
When communicating with others, I find it helpful if
Purpose: the free write helped us see the I need statements, which are
framed to help young learners. They create community commitments to
carry out.
Community Commitments for Classrooms:
Listen actively
Clear expectations
Safe space - brave or courageous spaces are better!
Take risks
Feel vulnerable - ok with wobble
Foster mutual respect - allow others to say ouch, when needed
Acknowledge what someone says
Ask critical questions
Consider others views
Talking Circle
Native American tradition
Symbolically levels the playing field
Uses a talking piece
 Revisit community commitments first, before using this method

Productive Struggle to Key Strategy for Promoting Equitable Participation in Mathematics

Classrooms
Dr. Imani Goffney

Equity in Math Education

 Problems within equity in opportunity to learn and in the patterns
of success in math
Some teachers see math as neutral and not related to equity
Professional context and connection to standards
What are your responsibilities for attending to issues of equity as a
classroom teacher/educator in teaching math?
How do you know?
What, if any, accountability mechanisms are in place to measure
compliance/effectiveness?
Context for productive struggle
Unproductive:
Students arent trying hard enough
Students lack math ability
Effort and ability
Productive:
There might be something in the way of how this was taught
I could support the work better
What can teachers do?
Ask questions, give feedback, and acknowledge efforts
4 pillars for a successful classroom:
know/believe in students
Redefine math success
Prioritize student voice
Monitor identity formation
Steps to create right struggles:
Tasks need to contain just the right amount of challenge for
students who are at a particular stage in learning the math topic
Low threshold, high ceiling task
What can you try in a classroom?
Rough draft talk - in-progress thinking
Strategic use of exit tickets
Using a planning tool

Inspirational Artifact
Upload a picture of something in a session or scan of an artifact (handout) from
one of the sessions you attend. Then, give a description of why this artifact was
significant to you and discuss how it has impacted or could impact your current
or future teaching. A meaty paragraph should do.
 .

This artifact was largely significant to my learning experience at the conference. I did not
consider myself to be someone unaware of the terminology and language used in the LGBTQ+
community, but this workshop proved me wrong. I was shocked to realize I was not aware of
what forms of inclusive language I should be using with others, as well as the correct definitions
for different terminology. It was engaging to take the information Elliot gave us and put it into a
visual I could share with my future students. The gender unicorn allows for students to dissect
the different identities a person may have, without placing pressure or making a particular
individual uncomfortable. The symbols for the five different terms make it easy to interpret how
each one impacts an individual. I want to use my takeaways from this workshop to change how I
talk to my students I will interact with in student teaching, and then my own classroom.
Reflection
Reflect on your experience at the conference. You can draw from your
attendance in sessions, your interactions with the cohort, presenters, authors,
etc. You should write about what you have learned about the profession, any
networking opportunities that you were able to do, activities or ideas for your
unit plans/student teaching, or how the conference impacted you as a teacher.
Minimum of two double spaced pages.
The CDLC Conference was an eye-opening experience that proved how much I still have

to grow, as an educator. At the beginning of the day, I had anticipated to hear some interesting

theories on language and culture, but I did not foresee the valuable connections I would make to

my current courses. As I went to each session, I found more ways to adapt the information to my
future classroom and my current life. The speakers made me aware of how to address students,

create a culturally accepting classroom, and include practices to appropriately push students to

success. The notes and ideas that I took away from the conference will be able to be

implemented into my teaching strategies, and provide a source to look back on for revisiting how

to include all types of students.

The keynote speaker from the beginning of the day introduced me to culturally sustaining

pedagogy (CSP). I found it interesting that he felt that educators who identified with whiteness

could not adopt CSP, without giving something up. I wondered what specifically he envisioned

to be given up in an actual classroom setting, which has prompted me to want to read his book.

His speech did make me aware that I was the typical teacher he describes as identifying with

whiteness, and I want to look for ways to have my classroom call for diverse languages,

backgrounds, and cultural experiences. One way I could possibly create CSP in my classroom

could be to choose a variety of texts from different cultures and emphasize an equal importance

of each text. I did find myself agreeing with Dr. Paris opinion that education and the world are

not separate, which is what other courses have argued too. Before the conference, my other

classes had stressed the notion that the world does not end at the beginning of the classroom

door, and I want to transfer this mindset to my class setting too.

The workshop on LGBTQ+ Inclusion in Education Spaces was my favorite part of the

day. I found it to be a humbling experience to realize I did not know as much about this

community, as I previously thought I did. The speaker, Elliot Kimbrall, was comfortable with

telling us that he identified as gay, which made it more powerful to hear the information from

someone who is part of the LGBTQ+ community. He chose to include personal stories on his

experiences with others trying to navigate through learning how to use inclusive language, and
the impact someones choice of words can have on an individual. Even though this fell after the

conference, I was able to make a connection between the workshop and ECI 405. In ECI 405, we

read a YA LGBTQ+ literature book and met for a book club discussion on National Coming Out

Day. Having attended this conference before reading Boy Meets Boy, I was able to feel confident

in having a conversation with my peers that included terminology defined in the presentation.

The book club experience meant more than I think it would have, if I had not attended this

session, because I was able to see similarities between both. Dr. Falter also had her colleague

present the Gender Unicorn to our class, which was fun to see a different persons take on

explaining the terms. I also loved the activity she had us do to define where we fit with the terms

from the unicorn.

Critical Community Building Strategies for Unpacking Controversial Topics was another

session I felt impacted my growth, as an educator. The two speakers were professors at UNCG,

and they valued the attendees opinions of how to create a functioning and positive classroom

setting. It was interesting to have use respond to the free write prompts and share our thoughts

with the person next to us because it helped me collaborate in discussion with other fellow

educators from other universities; I talked with two students from Elon University, who both had

different expectations for what they need to make a classroom right for students to participate in

learning. I also think it was helpful to have the room split up into two circles to practice using the

talking stick method because it put our ideas into action. Everyone had a chance to share why

they chose to attend the session, which made me see the value in learning the opinions of my

cohorts. I could easily see the talking stick discussion method as something I will use in my

classroom, possibly when introducing a sensitive topic.

 The final speaker of the day left me thinking about how to structure learning techniques

for my classroom. Dr. Goffney discussed equitable participation in a math classroom, which did

not initially appear to apply to me. However, I was able to take her arguments and apply them to

a language arts or social studies classroom. I found myself agreeing with her belief in low

threshold, high ceiling tasks because it relates back to Vygotskys theory we learned in ECI 309

and Educational Psychology. Vygotsky introduced the idea of scaffolding learning, in order to

push students to attainable growth, without overwhelming them. I could see the speakers

philosophy correlating with this idea because students should have teacher instruction that

promotes learning reaching a point that is student-centered. In my future classroom, I could use

exit tickets to ask students probing questions that make them take the content discussed one step

further.

Overall, I thought the conference introduced me to topics that are relevant in education. I

was able to gain materials that I may reference during student teaching and in my future educator

years. I hope to attend more conferences that allow me to become aware of topics that are

gaining momentum in the education world, and they will improve my teaching practices.

JUST FOR FUN: MSL Bingo!

(not required in any way)

M S L
 Grab some Sit with someone Tweet something
conference that you do not you learned
swag/freebie. know at lunch #NCETA17 #MSLF17

You make a You make a new

learning FREE friend/
connection SPACE connection and
between ECI 430 strike up a
and a session. conversation.

Instagram You played with a Ask a question in a

something you new tech tool in a session.
learned #NCETA17 session.
#MSLF17

You must show proof (pics) or have someone sign off you did it.
Regular Bingo = 2 bonus points
Blackout Bingo = 5 bonus points
Learning Connection!
The session on Critical Community Building Strategies for Unpacking Controversial
Topics made a direct connection to learning about brave spaces in ECI 430. The goal of the
workshop was to have teachers transform their classrooms into spaces that students could feel
courageous and share thoughtful comments that may be hard to say. While students are being
asked to be think critically and be open, they also are responsible for knowing the impact their
words can make and owning that. Our course emphasized the need to move away from safe
spaces because of the negative connotation formed around it in recent years. I enjoyed being able
to make the connection between the two and build off of what the two professors from UNCG
had previously shared with me.
Tweet about what the conference taught me!

Free Folder I snagged at check-in!