Upcoming Webinars for Literacy Minnesota’s Equity and Cultural Awareness in Education Series!

Equity and Cultural Awareness Fall Webinar Series

How to Help Students Navigate the U.S. Immigration System

September 27, 10:00 am – 12:00 pm

The US immigration system is complex, and impacts the lives of many learners in adult education. In the first part of this interactive two-hour webinar, Attorney Erin Schutte Wadzinski will provide a general overview of immigration law and answer your questions about the complexities of the U.S. federal immigration system. In the second hour, Erin will share guidance on how teachers, volunteers, and community members can support immigrants as they navigate their personal immigration journey.

Becoming more Culturally Responsive in Rural and Metro Communities

October 25, 6:30 – 8:30 pm 

Description: What are the keys to developing cultural responsiveness and cultural competency?  Learn how to identify and be culturally responsive to meaningful cultural differences so that you can make instruction more relevant to learners in adult classrooms.

People with Disabilities Are the Best Teachers: Start Unlearning the Curriculum of Ableism

November 9, 10:00 am – 12:00 pm

Educators are welcome to join us to slow down, reflect, and consider how we could lessen the ways that ableism affects our teaching and our students in both the classroom and across our larger educational systems. Let’s examine why and how, despite modern disability rights legislation, ableism persists as an oppressive system that treats certain abilities, bodies, and minds as if they are superior to others.

 By re-centering people with disabilities as the best teachers, we aim to “trouble the waters” of ableism and resist the myth of Normal that is harming not only people with disabilities, but also any people not seen as “ideal learners.” Alternative frames and practical strategies will be shared as tools that benefit us all: human-centered design, strengths-based differentiated learning, elevated expectations, neurodivergence, deep empathy, and radical inclusion. Our goal is that participants leave with action steps to help transform classrooms into welcoming spaces for all abilities, minds, and bodies.

Trauma-Informed Teaching Practices for Adult Learners

November 3, 10:00 am – 12:00 pm

Trauma and chronic stress can come in many forms, and impact people’s ability to learn new skills and process information in a variety of different ways. In this webinar, learn how stress and trauma can manifest in the classroom, and learn about trauma-informed teaching practices that can help to support positive learning behaviors and increase retention and learner comfort.