Workshops & Events

SEER Series: Promoting Equity-Driven Change in Higher Education – Summer 2024

A Closer Look at Intercultural Dynamics and Relationship Building within the Inclusive Professional Framework (IPF)

Inclusive Professional Framework (IPF) Workshops – Spring & Summer 2023

Various Dates & Times

The NSF Eddie Bernice Johnson INCLUDES Aspire Alliance (Aspire) is hosting a number of 3-hour online workshops this Spring and Summer 2023 centered on learning to promote equity and inclusion in your role through the Inclusive Professional Framework for Faculty (IPF: Faculty). There are two opportunities to attend – an introductory workshop (in Apr/May) and a more targeted focus on intercultural dynamics and relationship building workshop (Jun/Jul/Aug). The target audience for these workshops are current STEM faculty, graduate students or postdocs considering an academic career.

Introduction to an Inclusive Professional Framework (IPF)

The Inclusive Professional Framework for Faculty (IPF: Faculty) is a research-based approach that helps faculty become more inclusive and equitable in their teaching, advising, and research mentorship roles. The framework focuses on three key domains: identity, intercultural awareness, and relational and communication skills. Join this session to explore the IPF: Faculty, begin to develop a transferrable equity mindset, and apply these skills to promote more inclusive classrooms and equitable advising and mentoring relationships.

A Closer Look at Intercultural Dynamics and Relationship Building within the IPF

Are you already familiar with the Inclusive Professional Framework for Faculty (IPF: Faculty), or have you engaged in other identity-related professional development work in the past? Join this session to explore more deeply the intercultural awareness and relational and communication domains of the IPF: Faculty. An identity activity will be required as pre-work and the result will be part of the introduction activity to ensure that everyone is entering this workshop with a basic understanding of how their identity and other’s identities impact their role and work.

2023 Aspire Summer Institute

The virtual Aspire Summer Institute (ASI) will provide STEM campus leadership and faculty developers (at Centers for Teaching & Learning, STEM Education Centers, Professional or Disciplinary Societies, grant-funded initiatives, or similar entities) with the opportunity to retreat, reflect and act to better support campus diversity, equity and inclusion efforts through the development of key skills applicable across faculty roles. Teams of participants will be supported in growing their capacity for this work, through gaining skills as change agents and applying and adapting their learning to enhance existing DEI initiatives. This no-cost virtual institute is sponsored by the NSF Eddie Bernice Johnson INCLUDES Aspire Alliance.

Introduction to the Inclusive Professional Framework (IPF)

Learn to promote equity and inclusion across your institutional roles with the NSF INCLUDES Aspire Alliance’s Inclusive Professional Framework for Faculty (IPF: Faculty). The IPF: Faculty is a research-based approach that helps faculty become more inclusive and equitable in their teaching, advising, and research mentorship roles. The framework focuses on three key domains: identity, intercultural awareness, and relational and communication skills. Join this session to explore the IPF: Faculty, begin to develop a transferrable equity mindset, and apply these skills to promote more inclusive classrooms and equitable advising and mentoring relationships.

2022 Aspire Summer Institute

June 13-17, 2022 (Online)

The virtual Aspire Summer Institute (ASI) will provide STEM campus leadership and faculty developers (at Centers for Teaching & Learning, STEM Education Centers, or similar entities) with the opportunity to retreat, reflect and act to better support campus diversity, equity and inclusion efforts through the development of key skills applicable across faculty roles. Institutional teams of participants will be supported in growing their institutional capacity for this work, through gaining skills as change agents and applying and adapting their learning to enhance existing campus-level DEI initiatives. Teams are invited to continue to engage with one another through a virtual Community of Practice following the ASI. This no-cost virtual institute is sponsored by the NSF INCLUDES Aspire Alliance.

2021 NACADA Annual Conference

The Aspire National Change Team presented a pre-conference workshop “Promoting Underrepresented Minority Student Academic Success Using an Inclusive Professional Framework” at the 2021 NACADA Annual Conference in Cincinnati, Ohio on October 6-9, 2021.

Description: Faculty play a key role in the academic success of underrepresented undergraduate students. Key to this is their ability to be inclusive in their teaching, mentoring in research settings and advising. The NSF INCLUDES Aspire Alliance promotes underrepresented minority student academic achievement, and effects change by aligning and reinforcing both professional development and hiring practices of diverse and inclusive Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) faculty. Aspire has developed an Inclusive Professional Framework for Faculty (IPF: Faculty), which is grounded in research and theory, and engages faculty in the development of foundational skills that promote increased student academic success. We will engage participants in this session through presentation, discussion, case-based scenarios, as well as individual and group reflection. The facilitators will introduce Aspire’s IPF: Faculty, and guide participants through hands-on activities to think about the following: (a) self and student identity, and the impact identity has on learning, (b) intercultural skills to promote learning, and (c) communication and relational skills more broadly. Participants will leave the session having engaged in these activities, and considered practical applications for the IPF: Faculty in training current and future faculty for their numerous roles on their own campuses.

2021 Aspire Summer Institute

June 7-11, 2021 (Online)

The virtual Aspire Summer Institute (ASI) will provide STEM faculty and faculty developer participants and their institutional teams with the opportunity to retreat, reflect and act to better support campus diversity, equity and inclusion efforts through the development of key skills applicable across faculty roles. Teams will be supported in growing their institutional capacity for this work, through mapping connections to existing diversity and inclusion programs at their institution and gaining skills as change agents. Teams are invited to continue to engage with one another through a virtual Community of Practice following the ASI. This no-cost virtual institute is sponsored by the NSF INCLUDES Aspire Alliance.

Facilitating Entering Mentoring – Online Workshop

Tuesday, September 15, 2020 – Friday, September 18, 2020(6-sessions across the week, full training schedule included in the recruitment letter link below)

On behalf of the NSF INCLUDES Aspire Alliance (Aspire) and the University of Houston, in collaboration with the Center for the Improvement of Mentored Experiences in Research (CIMER), it is our pleasure to invite you and your colleagues to apply to participate in Facilitating Entering Mentoring. This 6-session “train-the-trainer” online workshop will be held September 15-18, 2020. During this workshop, participants will learn about the following topics: aligning expectations, addressing equity and inclusion, articulating your mentoring philosophy and plan, assessing understanding, cultivating ethical behavior, enhancing work-life integration, fostering independence, maintaining effective communication, promoting mentee research/scholarship self-efficacy, and promoting professional development.

Teaching Online in Summer & Fall 2020 Mini-Course

How to design and run an effective and equitable online course.

This short course will walk instructors through the process of designing an online course that is effective, equitable and inclusive. It will focus on designing content and choosing pedagogy for both synchronous and asynchronous formats, and will engage participants through both types of sessions. The course will address the basics of online and inclusive pedagogy. Over the three weeks, participants will design their own online course materials.

As a result of participating in this mini-course, participants will be able to:

• Describe key principles of effective online pedagogy;
• Apply the process of backward design to both synchronous and asynchronous online teaching and learning environments
• Experience strategies and approaches to promoting inclusion and equity in the online setting
• Navigate online tools such as asynchronous course management systems (e.g. Moodle) as well as synchronous meeting tools (e.g. Blackboard Collaborate Ultra); and
• Create their own materials for an upcoming online course.

2020 Aspire Summer Institute

June 15-19, 2020 (Online)

The virtual Aspire Summer Institute will provide STEM faculty and faculty developers with the knowledge, practice and resources to create a more diverse and inclusive STEM community at their institution. Using a research-based framework, participants will engage with diversity scholars and thought leaders to expand their expertise in inclusive teaching, advising, research mentoring, collegiality and leadership in ways that support greater diversity throughout their career. These skills contribute to increased success of URG students and inclusive climates within the institution.

ASEE Teaching Inclusively & Equitably Online Workshop

Effectively transition to online learning environments, while maintaining a focus on inclusive and equitable practices.

The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted undergraduate instruction, forcing institutions to take their content online. In response, the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) in collaboration with the Aspire National Change team is offering a new workshop that is designed to help faculty, instructional staff, Teaching Assistants (TAs)/Graduate Student Instructors (GSIs), and support staff effectively transition to online learning environments, while maintaining a focus on inclusive and equitable practices.
The workshops will be hosted on the Blackboard Collaborate Ultra platform; the topics that will be presented can be applied to any synchronous or asynchronous online platform.

ASEE Teaching Inclusively & Equitably Online

Thursday, May 21st: 2:30-4:00 PM ET / 1:30-3:00 PM CT / 12:30-2:00 PM MT / 11:30 AM-1:00 PM PT

Description: Rather than focus on technical instruction for a particular online platform, this workshop will provide instructors with an inclusive, evidence-based, pedagogical framework that they can apply as they shift their face-to-face courses to the online environment. The workshop is designed to equip instructors with concrete strategies to promote equity, inclusion, and active engagement in the online environment.

As a result of participating in this hands-on session, participants will:

• Understand the value and need for creating inclusive learning environments in the online setting; and
• Use a lens of equity and inclusion to explore inclusive teaching strategies that relate to developing and applying:
  • Content learning goals
  • Learning objectives
  • Teaching methods / activities
  • Teaching materials
  • Assessment
  • Evaluation

Please direct questions about the series to Shannon Patton (shannon.patton@wisc.edu).

Teaching Inclusively & Equitably Online Workshop Series

Effectively transition to online learning environments, while maintaining a focus on inclusive and equitable practices.

The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted undergraduate instruction, forcing institutions to take their content online. In response, the Aspire National Change team will be offering two new workshops that are designed to help faculty, instructional staff, Teaching Assistants (TAs)/Graduate Student Instructors (GSIs), and support staff effectively transition to online learning environments, while maintaining a focus on inclusive and equitable practices. The workshops may be taken together as a series, or individually. Please determine what best matches your needs and interests.
The workshops will be hosted on the Blackboard Collaborate Ultra platform; the topics that will be presented can be applied to any synchronous or asynchronous online platform.

Workshop #1: Teaching Inclusively & Equitably Online: Course Outcomes and Storyboarding

• Date: Wednesday, April 1st: 1:30-3:00 PM ET / 12:30-2:00 PM CT / 11:30 AM-1:00 PM MT / 10:30 AM-12:00 PM PT
• Description: Your course learning outcomes will help you best decide what technology and remote instruction approaches to use for your course. This webinar will focus on articulating (and possibly revising) course learning outcomes for the remainder of the semester. We’ll present storyboarding as a technique for mapping face-to-face content into alternative delivery modes. We’ll also help you brainstorm how a specific class session can be organized and delivered, in order to make this a positive teaching experience for you, and a positive learning experience for all of your students.
• As a result of participating in this hands-on session, you will:
  • Examine your course learning outcomes, and consider whether a synchronous online environment (e.g.,Blackboard Collaborate Ultra) or an asynchronous online space (e.g., Canvas) is right for your course;
  • Experience elements of the online classroom in Blackboard Collaborate Ultra;
  • Use a lens of equity and inclusion to brainstorm what you need in order to recreate and/or adapt face-to-face activities for both synchronous and asynchronous online learning environments;
  • Storyboard the remaining sessions in your course (high level view); and
  • Develop a template class plan for an upcoming class session.

Workshop #2: Teaching Inclusively & Equitably Online: Using an Inclusive Pedagogical Framework

• Date: Thursday, April 2nd: 1:30-3:00 PM ET / 12:30-2:00 PM CT / 11:30 AM-1:00 PM MT / 10:30 AM-12:00 PM PT
• **Special Second Session** with American Chemical Society – Thursday, April 9th: 11:30-1:00 PM ET / 10:30-12:00 PM CT / 9:30 AM-11:00 AM MT / 8:30-10:00 AM PT
• Description: Rather than focus on technical instruction for a particular online platform, this workshop will provide instructors with an inclusive, evidence-based, pedagogical framework that they can apply as they shift their face-to-face courses to the online environment. Using a lens of equity and inclusion, participants will explore inclusive teaching strategies around: (a) building Social presence in the online environment; (b) inclusive and equitable Course design; (c) Facilitation and classroom climate, keeping all students in mind; and (d) alternatives to traditional Assessment methods. The workshop is designed to equip instructors with concrete strategies to promote inclusion, engagement, and student assessment in the online environment.
• As a result of participating in this hands-on session, you will:
  • Understand the value and needs for creating inclusive learning environments in the online setting; and
  • Use a lens of equity and inclusion to explore inclusive teaching strategies that relate to developing and applying:
  • Content objectives
  • Learning objectives
  • Teaching methods / activities
  • Teaching materials
  • Assessment
  • Evaluation

Please direct questions about the series to Shannon Patton (shannon.patton@wisc.edu).

Overcoming Challenges to Implement Research Mentor Training

Monday, March 23rd at 1:00pm PT / 12:00pm CT / 11:00am MT / 10:00am PT

Join Christine Pfund and Emily Utzerath from the Center for the Improvement of Mentored Experiences in Research (CIMER) in an interactive webinar where they will share strategies, successes, challenges, and resources for implementation of research mentor training on your campus.

This session is intended for past participants of Aspire and CIMER Facilitating Entering Mentoring events, or their implementation teams.

During this session, participants will:

• Share their experiences with planned or actual implementation of research mentor training;
• Address challenges with implementation (both realized and perceived);
  Exchange strategies for overcoming challenges associated with implementation; and
• Learn about resources to support implementation.

Contact Shannon Patton (shannon.patton@wisc.edu) to receive more information.

**CANCELLED** Facilitating Entering Mentoring at University of Wisconsin-Madison

Monday, April 20, 2020 – Tuesday, April 21, 2020

During this two-day “train-the-trainer” workshop, participants are introduced to Entering Mentoring, a mentor training curriculum that addresses the following key topics: aligning expectations, addressing equity and inclusion, articulating your mentoring philosophy and plan, assessing understanding, cultivating ethical behavior, enhancing work-life integration, fostering independence, maintaining effective communication, promoting mentee research/scholarship self-efficacy, and promoting professional development. Participants will learn evidence-based approaches to implementing research mentor training and gain the knowledge, confidence, and facilitation skills needed to design and implement trainings at their institution or organization.

Participants will focus on learning how to facilitate the Entering Mentoring curriculum, which is designed for the mentors of undergraduate and graduate students in STEM.

Pre-Conference Workshop and Session at 2019 NACADA Annual Conference

Sunday, October 20, 2019 9:00am-12:00pm EDT – Engaging Faculty in Advising & Mentoring: What You Need to Know to Do It Well

Advising students is a key role that many faculty members play in addition to engaging students in the classroom or mentoring them in research settings. This hands-on, pre-conference workshop is designed to help future/current faculty learn how to advise inclusively and effectively, and can also serve as a model for advising leaders who train faculty advisors. Participants will: (a) develop a greater appreciation for why good advising skills matter; (b) be able to describe key aspects of how advising works within different institutional contexts and the different advising roles faculty play, (c) be able to explain key elements of effective advising for all students, (d) practice skills for building relationships and engaging advisees, (e) develop a draft of a personal advising statement, (f) and consider ways of sharing this learning on their home campus.

Tuesday, October 22, 2019 8:45am-9:45am EDT – Changing the National Conversation about Faculty Advising: NACADA & the NSF Aspire Alliance

It is time to shift the national conversation about the skills that support faculty success in their careers and in turn, student success. The NSF Aspire Alliance aims to promote underrepresented minority student academic achievement, and effect change by aligning and reinforcing both professional development and hiring practices of diverse and inclusive STEM faculty. NACADA is a key Alliance partner; together they aim to enhance opportunities for faculty development about three key areas: advising, research mentoring, and inclusive teaching. In this session participants will: (a) learn about the collaboration, (b) provide input to help build this national initiative, and (c) discuss ways that their institutions will be able to leverage this new collaboration to benefit their faculty.

Facilitating Entering Mentoring at University of California, Los Angeles

Friday, September 13, 2019 – Saturday, September 14, 2019

During this two-day “train-the-trainer” workshop, participants are introduced to Entering Mentoring, a mentor training curriculum that addresses the following key topics: aligning expectations, addressing equity and inclusion, articulating your mentoring philosophy and plan, assessing understanding, cultivating ethical behavior, enhancing work-life integration, fostering independence, maintaining effective communication, promoting mentee research/scholarship self-efficacy, and promoting professional development. Participants will learn evidence-based approaches to implementing research mentor training and gain the knowledge, confidence, and facilitation skills needed to design and implement trainings at their institution or organization. Participants will focus on learning how to facilitate the Entering Mentoring curriculum, which is designed for the mentors of undergraduate and graduate students in STEM.

Inclusive Teaching Workshop at NSEC 2019 National Conference

Friday, May 31, 2019 8:00am-1:00pm CDT (opening workshop for the conference)

Aspire will be leading a workshop focused on Teaching Inclusively at the Network of STEM Education Centers (NSEC) 2019 National Conference. NSEC is an organization of campus-based centers and offices that serve as catalysts for educational transformation in STEM. The network allows center leadership, university and college administrators, and state and national policymakers to have a central hub for their communal efforts.

This workshop is designed to build educator confidence in using inclusive teaching strategies. This session will place an emphasis on practice as a transferable tool — “saying the words”, deconstructing conversations and receiving feedback. Participants will then consider how workshop elements could be translated to their own campus programming. (For more details, visit the conference website at https://serc.carleton.edu/StemEdCenters/NSEC2019/index.html).

Faculty Advising in a Community College Setting: What You Need to Know and How to do it Well

Monday, April 22, 2019 2:00pm EDT / 1:00pm CDT / 12:00pm MDT / 11:00am PDT

Given that learning is a social process, relationships—especially those with faculty—are powerful tools that aid in students’ personal and professional development. Advising students is a key role that many faculty play in addition to engaging students in classroom or research settings. This workshop is designed to help all future and current faculty learn how to advise effectively. (This two-hour workshop takes place online)

Facilitating Entering Mentoring at University of Georgia

Thursday, February 28, 2019 – Friday, March 1, 2019

During this two-day “train-the-trainer” workshop, participants are introduced to Entering Mentoring, a mentor training curriculum that addresses the following key topics: aligning expectations, addressing equity and inclusion, articulating your mentoring philosophy and plan, assessing understanding, cultivating ethical behavior, enhancing work-life integration, fostering independence, maintaining effective communication, promoting mentee research/scholarship self-efficacy, and promoting professional development. Participants will learn evidence-based approaches to implementing research mentor training and gain the knowledge, confidence, and facilitation skills needed to design and implement trainings at their institution or organization. Participants will focus on learning how to facilitate the Entering Mentoring curriculum, which is designed for the mentors of undergraduate and graduate students in STEM.