DIP Reunites in Hybrid Format

The Diversity and Inclusion Pedagogy (DIP) community reunited this September in hybrid mode, integrating F2F and virtual learning interfaces in an effort to optimize accessibility. Our Fall 2021 community blends familiar faces with new folks, many overlapping with the UMass BRiDGE community. Seminar attendees are graduate students, faculty, staff, administration, and retirees from departments across the College of Natural Sciences. We welcome regular and drop-in attendees, whether they’ve completed the readings for the week or not.

Taking on new roles within the DIP community are two new co-facilitators: Corey Palmer and Erica Light. Graduate student in Plant, Soil, and Insect Sciences, Corey Palmer brings years of DIP seminar experience to the facilitation team. Erica Light, graduate student in Sustainability Science, joins DIP only for the second semester, but brings with them classroom experience from the UMass Social Justice Education program. Geosciences faculty sponsor Forrest Bowlick completes our facilitation team. Together, we hope to cultivate connection and community across difference through shared goals and values.

As such, this semester kicked off with an exploration of learning goals and a collaborative drafting of Class Ground Rules for Discussion guided by this resource from the UMass Office of Equity and Inclusion. Collaborative learning strategies like these help normalize a nonhierarchical learning structure that supports the voice and autonomy of seminar attendees. While co-facilitators fulfill unique responsibilities for the seminar, we envision DIP as a space for co-learning. Co-facilitators and seminar attendees support each others’ learning, and all have a voice in directing the content of study.