Students from Special Populations - Session #2

Question 1

Slide - Welcome and Discussion Guidelines

Hi everyone! Welcome back to our tutoring training course on tutoring special populations of students.

Answer 1

We are going to launch right into session #2 here, given that, just like with session #1, we have a LOT to cover…”

Question 2

Today’s focus is a deep-dive into equity issues and their relationship to tutoring best practices.

Answer 2

The goal with this session is to greatly expand on the diversity and inclusion module of the new tutor orientation class…

Question 3

• Firstly, recognize that I am not an expert in the field of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion…

Answer 3

…but just like last session, this material has been developed with the full collaboration of the appropriate on-campus departments, in this case, our office of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging

Question 4

• As with session #1, it is important for us to establish some guidelines for a civil and fruitful discussion together:

Answer 4

o Go ahead and give yourselves a pat-on-the back for your dedicated participation in the last session…and for what I know will be equal engagement with the material today…

o Recognize that we all have preconceptions about this subject – all feelings are valid – some of this material has been the subject of controversy, especially in our current political climate, and while no one is entitled to their own facts, we want to respect that feelings and intuitions will differ, and that’s okay

o In light of that recognition, we want to allow fellow trainees to give voice to their perspectives, reflecting on them with empathy

o Respond with respect and professionalism, even if you disagree– ultimately, we are all just trying to make sense of our lived experience; we may disagree but our shared humanity should be ever in our minds in these discussions

Question 5

More tips for a fruitful, civil and illuminating discussion…

Answer 5

o Realize that in this space, it’s okay to feel vulnerable – feel free to discuss your lived experience of these topics, if comfortable and just like last time, feel free to step out if the content or discussion ever makes you feel uncomfortable…

o If someone says something that hurts, please call it out and calmly explain; same policy as with session #1 – we want to know and learn from the experience if we are the source of discomfort

o Practice confidentiality – you’ll recognize this rule as well from session #1: what is shared here stays here but what is learned leaves (David’s words of wisdom)!

• Any questions about the discussion guidelines? [allow responses] Okay, great! Let’s take a look at today’s session agenda…”

Question 6

Slide: Session Agenda
* “So we will start with a bit of a review of the prior session, as is customary for these tutor training courses…
* We’ll move into review of Diversity & Inclusion material originally presented in the New Tutor Orientation class, just to re-establish our foundational knowledge of D.E.I. in tutoring
* We’ll then introduce, define and examine the importance of the concept of “equity-mindedness” …

Answer 6

• From there, we’ll look at some of the diversity data for RRCC as an institution, in order to ground our further discussions in appropriate context…
• Next, we’ll look at some equity gaps that appear in our student success data at RRCC
• After a brief break, we’ll discuss competing explanations for our college’s equity gaps, defining deficit-mindedness, and exploring equity issues in U.S. history along the way…
• We’ll then tie back to inequities long-standing in higher education, as well as the role that the process of socialization plays in perpetuating those inequities…

Question 7

• Once we are finished with a second and final break, we’ll dive into various ways that we as tutors can practice equity-mindedness more effectively

Answer 7

• These will include discussions of the sense of belonging as a factor in higher ed student success (and how we as tutors contribute to that…)
• We’ll discuss ways we can analyze and embrace cultural inclusivity on campus
• Finally, we examine the role that privilege plays in how we assess and work with students and how we can improve our tutoring by improving our understanding of privilege…
• We’ll close by discussing our ongoing commitment to equity work, recap the remainder of our class business, and call it a wrap on the in-class portion of this training course!”

Question 8

Slide: Review of Session #1
* “Alright so let’s do a bit of recap from session #1! First of all, does anyone remember the three definitions of disability given by the ADA (or even just one of them)?

Answer 8

1) A physical or mental impairment that limits one or more major life activities; Example: Deafness
2) A record of such an impairment; Example: Cancer in remission
3) Being regarded as having such an impairment
- Example: burn scars that provoke discrimination despite no impairments

Question 9

• Good memories! What is the difference between visible and non-visible disabilities? Can you give some examples of each as you respond?

Answer 9

1) Visible disabilities – are more readily apparent to those interacting with the person who has them; deafness, blindness, mobility impairments, cosmetic disfigurements, etc.
2) Non-visible disabilities – are not readily apparent to those interacting with the person who has them; learning disabilities, epilepsy, diabetes, mental health conditions, etc.

Question 10

• Dyslexia, dysgraphia and dyscalculia are all common examples of

Answer 10

learning disabilities

Question 11

• Name a few best tutoring practices for working with students who are deaf/Deaf/HoH:

Answer 11

o Looking at student, not interpreter (if one is present), not shouting at student, keeping mouth visible while speaking, don’t pretend to understand if you didn’t at first, etc.

Question 12

• What is a mental health challenge and how does it differ from mental health crisis?

Answer 12

o Mental health challenge is a “major change in a person’s thinking that interferes with daily life and lasts longer than typical emotional reactions vs

o Mental health crisis: A situation in which a mental health problem can lead someone to hurt themselves or others, or put them at risk of being unable to care for themselves or function in society. Situation is characterized by intense difficulty, danger, distress…

Question 13

• Name at least one piece of assistive technology offered through RRCC Accessibility Services Office:

Answer 13

o Livescribe pens, otter A.I. speech-to-text, NVDA screen-reader, braille labeling, etc.

Question 14

• Tutors should NEVER attempt to _____ or ______ learning disabilities or mental health conditions

Answer 14

diagnose, treat

Question 15

• What steps should you take to refer students to resources?

Answer 15

o Don’t express belief of disability, use observational statements to broach, ask if student is aware of relevant resources, offer to direct/introduce the student to resource office

• Congratulations on remembering so much from last session!”

Question 16

Slide: Tutor Orientation Overview – Key D.E.I. Definitions

Answer 16

Of course, this will be the true memory test, as new tutor orientation was at least a couple months ago, and perhaps even a year ago, and the new tutor orientation did not have a D.E.I. component before last year as it is…

…if the material is not familiar, that’s okay…
* Let’s see how many basic D.E.I. definitions we can recall from the orientation D.E.I. module:
o [ask class for each definition in turn and reveal each one at a time]

Question 17

Diversity is…

Answer 17

• – [read def] – as I mention in the new tutor orientation class, diversity is the fact of our campus community; to what demographic groups do our students/staff belong? Contrast w/

Question 18

Inclusion is…

Answer 18

[read def] what do we do to create a culture of belonging for all members of each demographic group…how do we feel about those in our community?

And of course, inclusion and diversity are very different things: It is possible for a community to be very diverse but not very inclusive, as the history of our national community shows…

Question 19

Equity is…

Answer 19

– [read def] remember that there is a critical difference between equity and simple equality. More on that in just a moment. We’ll also explain the emphasis on race in our institution’s definitions of equity as we get into historical background later on…

Question 20

A Stereotype is…

Answer 20

this is probably the most familiar concept defined in the new tutor orientation module…we also discussed specific examples in tutoring as with “All Asians are good at math…”

Not only is such belief offensive, but if acted on, it will hinder the tutor’s ability to tutor effectively, as they will assume certain demographic groups already have the skills they tutor mastered, and perhaps not provide adequate support…

Question 21

A Microaggression is…

Answer 21

[read def] Again, it’s been my experience that microaggressions tend to result more from implicit bias (bonus points for anyone who can define that for us…) than from explicit prejudices…examples include the infamous “You’re English is so good!”

• Very sharp memories all around! Excellent!”

Question 22

Slide: Tutor Orientation Review – Basic Inclusive Tutoring Practices

• “Alright, now that we’ve re-defined some basic terms, can anyone recall some of the best tutoring practices for ensuring inclusion in our sessions from the orientation module? Feel free to just call some out…

Answer 22

• Getting to know students personally – inclusion begins with humanization, and humanization often begins with establishing personal familiarity
• Modeling inclusive language – not allowing our language to reflect implicit biases/assumptions that disregard the diverse experiences, cultures and values of students…
• Avoiding interrupting students – common way that implicit biases manifest, as women and members of racially minoritized groups are more likely to be interrupted in discourse

Question 23

• Keep tutoring space physically accessible – harkens back to our material of session #1 and how accessibility issues are intimately bound up with issues of inclusion
• Reflect on how your implicit biases may play a role in your approach

Answer 23

Which means…
Take responsibility for microaggressions you commit – again, we’re all human - everyone is susceptible to implicit bias/microaggressions; it’s the will to improve that matters most…
* Others? [allow responses]

• Okay, terrific! Let’s dive more deeply into this topic, by really honing our understanding of equity as a concept…”

Question 24

Slide: Equality vs. Equity vs. Justice

• “So here we have an image that does a capable job of showing the critical distinctions between equity and other concepts often confused with it

Answer 24

– it’s a useful cartoon despite reminding me of illustrations from the book ‘The Giving Tree’, an incredibly sad and somewhat disturbing children’s book that you may have come across….but I digress…

Question 25

• First off, there is the state of inequality, shown at top left, whereby there is simply unequal access to opportunities for success in a society

Answer 25

• Then there is equality, which amounts to an even distribution of resources for all, regardless of need in the context of unequal access

Question 26

• Thirdly, we have equity, which is our focus today. This is where a society provides custom tools to distribute resource and opportunity access on the basis of need in light of pre-existing inequalities

Answer 26

• Finally, there is justice, which is the whole-sale re-design of unequal systems from the ground up, to offer equal access to opportunities from the beginning…
• Unfortunately, U.S. society is still a long way off from establishing justice in our systems and institutions, so we must prioritize equity in the face of pre-existing inequalities at RRCC…

Question 27

• In effect, equity is to justice in the field of D.E.I. what accessibility accommodations are to universal design in the field of disability access

Answer 27

– one is the necessary short-term compensation, while the other is the long-term fix and overhaul of systems and structures

• Anyone have any questions about distinctions outlined by this graphic? Anyone have traumatic stories about reading the giving tree as a child? (lol)”

Question 28

Slide: Introducing Equity-Mindedness
* “So now that we’ve sharpened our initial comprehension of equity as a concept, it’s time to introduce the concept most central to this training session: that of equity-mindedness!

Answer 28

• This will allow us to go beyond the material of the D.E.I. module in new tutor orientation, and more fully actualize our practice of inclusion, because it develops a critically important mindset:

Question 29

• Equity-mindedness [read definition] – you will notice that there’s a lot to the official definition of equity-mindedness, but a few components should stand out; there is

Answer 29

o Institutional responsibility – willingness to consider that different outcomes in student success may arise from issues at the core of how our systems operate

o Critical reassessment – this involves looking objectively at what data and statistics might imply about practices at RRCC

o Race-consciousness – this implies an awareness of the historical role that racial categories have played in creating inequalities in U.S. socio-economic systems

Question 30

• I hope that you will come away from this session with an acute appreciation for the importance of becoming more equity-minded…

Answer 30

So why is it important? What is the benefit for us as tutors, for students we serve and for RRCC if we prioritize this way of thinking?”

Question 31

Slide: Why is Increasing Equity-mindedness Important?
* “Well, first of all, we as a department have committed to creating that “Welcoming and inclusive learning environment” we mentioned in session #1

Answer 31

• As we will see, inclusion is maximized when our equity-mindedness drives our efforts – and we have a departmental obligation to maximize inclusion…

Question 32

• Other reasons, beyond our department’s commitment include:

o Best tutoring practice – inclusive study environments are comfortable ones, and comfortable study environments are most conducive to learning; in short, it helps us do our jobs as tutors/communicators of academic information

o Enhances our role as educators – education is a “socially equalizing” institution; it provides opportunities where none existed before, which is what equity-mindedness is all about!

o Reinforces a good perception of tutoring – increasingly, we inhabit a world where a huge component of professionalism in the workplace, and credibility as a workforce means embracing justice consciousness and social responsibility

Answer 32

o Helps fight the stigma of seeking a tutor – students from certain demographic groups will be more susceptible to the “intimidation factor” of tutoring, as a lack of representation or exposure reinforces the “alien” nature of the encounter

o Aids in our contribution to RRCC’s commitment to closing equity-gaps – this is not just a commitment of our department, but an articulated series of goals at the highest levels of the college and the CCCS [talk a bit about moonshot for equity initiative]

o Ethically responsible – We should all want to live in a more just, friendly, accepting and equitable world!”

Or as one tutor trainee in our first version of this course eloquently put it: We should want to not be jerks!

Question 33

Slide: Activity – RRCC as a Village of 100

• “But before we can get down the business of increasing our equity-mindedness and augmenting our practices of inclusion, we must properly contextualize our discussion.
• We do that by building up our foundational grasp of diversity in our own campus community. So let’s have a quick guessing game…

Answer 33

• Imagine that the entire population of RRCC was summarized as a village of just 100 people. How many of those people would be in each group…take a minute or two to jot down your responses on the RRCC as a Village of 100 Worksheet in the packet…
• Alright, let’s take a look at the true figures for our RRCC “village” [reveal answers]”

Question 34

Slide: Activity – RRCC as a Village of 100 (cont.)

• “Was anyone surprised by these numbers? [allow responses] In general, how accurate were your guesses? [allow responses]

Answer 34

• I myself was a bit surprised to learn how many of our students are first-generation! It was actually higher than I would have guessed for our area. Also, that the school is not aware of the Pell Grant eligibility for so many students was a bit surprising for me…”

Question 35

Slide: Data-Driven Discussion – Equity Gaps at RRCC

• “Now ten or twenty years ago, the conversation might end with a mere viewing and appreciation for the diversity borne out in our community’s data. But we have evolved to recognize that a just community must go beyond celebrating diversity and analyze how rates of student success reflect or fail to reflect proportions of the identity groups in our population.

Answer 35

• When that reflection is not present, we have what is known as an Educational Equity Gap, here defined as [read definition] – again note the emphasis on race/ethnicity, but also that this does not come to the exclusion of considering gaps along other identity lines

– again note the emphasis on race/ethnicity, but also that this does not come to the exclusion of considering gaps along other identity lines

• We are now going to have a look at data compiled by our institution specifically to assess the equity gaps that exist for us: take a look at the Data-driven discussion handout and spend about 10 minutes discussing the questions on the reverse side with a partner…”

Question 36

Slide: Equity Gaps at RRCC (cont.)
* “Alright! Has everyone had an opportunity to discuss with their partner? Let’s answer some of these discussion questions together…”

• [ask questions, allow responses, facilitate discussion and refer to instructor copy while doing so]
• “What a robust dissection of the data! I’m always impressed by the analytical acumen of our tutors!

Answer 36

• Now that we’ve established that equity gaps do indeed exist in our college community, we must begin to examine possible origins and sources of those gaps…

how do we explain these differences in rates of student success despite the established proportions of membership in various demographic groups? We’ll discuss competing explanations next, but first…

• Take 5!”

Question 37

Slide: Deficit Mindedness – A Losing Explanation

• “Okay folks, welcome back from break! As we mentioned before, the data in higher education on equity gaps, not just at our institution but all over the U.S., has become impossible to refute.

But how we interpret or explain gaps that appear in the data remains a matter of some controversy…

Answer 37

• One very common response when educators see equity gaps exposed by data is what is called
• Deficit-mindedness – would anyone like to hazard a definition of that term, perhaps?
  o Very good guesses! For our purposes, deficit-mindedness is defined as [read definition]

Question 38

• Educational researchers have, in recent years, exposed serious flaws in deficit-minded explanations for gaps in success between students from different identity groups

Answer 38

• To help illustrate those findings, let’s look at a case study exercise together – on your own, take about 5 minutes to read the Deficit-Minded Professor Case-Study in the packet. Then, take some time to answer the few questions on the reverse side…[give time for exercise]
• Alright, all. Let’s bring it back together to for a group recap.” [use instructor copy to facilitate]

Question 39

• Great work everyone! Now let’s speculate as to some other hypothetical deficit-minded explanations that may be floating around when data on equity gaps is presented…

Answer 39

o Students from that group are just less motivated – note emphasis on personal traits
o Their culture just doesn’t value education – traits aren’t personal but still inherent to the background/identity of the group
o Inner-city high schoolers go to college unprepared – this one is really lacking, isn’t it? There is no consideration of why, if that observation were true, it would be the case…
o Parents/families failed them – again, individuals are to blame, rather than systems”

Question 40

Slide: Deficit-mindedness- A Losing Explanation (cont.)

• “As mentioned before, educational researchers have discovered that educators’ expectations about a student’s potential predict success more effectively than the student’s level of motivation as measured by the VERY SAME EDUCATORS surveyed….

But defensiveness can lead those educators into deficit-minded thinking when faced with differential outcomes between identity groups…

Answer 40

• Ultimately, deficit-minded explanations fail because they ignore key disadvantages of students from minoritized groups such as the general lacks in [read list]
• Reliable internet connection at home; increasingly an issue popping up in political debates/discussions on equity

 	- A quiet place to study and do homework; most colleges offer spaces like this, but certain demographics may be less likely to be able to take advantage of them, due to lack of time or ability to travel to campus whenever they need to study

	- Income above poverty line, childcare, housing/food security; the basic lack of these fundamental aspects of success in adult life are increasingly challenging, especially for community college student populations - fully 10% of our student body was housing insecure at CCD, and that was almost 10 years ago!

	- Physically safe neighborhoods in which to work/study; more on why these neighborhoods are less available to those from minoritized student groups a bit later on...
	- Other things that middle-class (most often white) students		  	  	   take for granted…As the data showed, RRCC is overwhelmingly white and many students hail from the middle class...which makes our staff especially susceptible to the assumption that our students can take the above items for granted...

• Deficit-thinking is ultimately too reduction-istic and simplistic to explain the gaps…”

Question 41

Slide: Introduction to Structural Inequality
* “But without a doubt, those gaps do exist! So the question remains…where do they actually emanate from?

• To answer that question, we need to bring in a new concept: Structural Inequality. Volunteers to define for us?” [allow responses]

Answer 41

• “Right! It’s more or less exactly what the term itself would imply (I’m really not trying to fool you all!) It is [read definition].
• In the United States, structural inequalities have been baked into the foundation of our social systems from the beginning. They have been established, to a very great degree, on the basis of race and ethnicity – THIS is why we emphasize these so heavily in the definition of equity-mindedness!”

Question 42

Slide: Structural Inequality – Systemic Racism in U.S. History

• “Much as many political commentators in this day and age would deny it, structural inequality as a function of systemic racism is VERY MUCH rooted in the history of U.S. laws, codes and common social practices…

Answer 42

• The shipping of black Africans for enslavement in U.S. agricultural systems was a long-established by 1789, the year our Constitution was fully ratified. U.S. participation in the Trans-Atlantic slave trade remained federally legal until 1808…
• American Indians east of the Mississippi River were relocated and their ancestral lands confiscated with the Indian Removal Act of 1830, under Andrew Jackson. More than 4,000 Cherokee died during the removal process…
• In 1850, the Fugitive Slave Act mandated the return of black enslaved persons to owners, even if they were discovered living in a free state…

Question 43

• We all have learned about how local slave trades and auction blocks operated and were legally sanctioned in slave states until 1863, with the enactment of the Emancipation Proclamation and the 13th Amendment to the constitution, abolishing slavery as a formal institution
• Black codes or “Codes Noir” as they were known in states like Louisiana and Mississippi, were enacted to limit the voting and civil rights of black southerners even post-slavery…no federal action was taken to combat these for almost a century
• American-Indian boarding schools were established to force American Indian children into white culture assimilation; some of these schools continued to operate until the 1980s

Answer 43

• Asians and Asian-Americans also become the brunt of racist policies – the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 forbade immigration to the U.S. from China for an entire decade, for fear that Chinese workers would take mining jobs from white Anglo-American westerners
• The Convict-Lease system allowed for the renting of uncompensated laborers from prisons…unsurprisingly, most of these incarcerated forced to work for free were black
• Then the U.S. had the share-cropping system, where legal contracts established harshly exploitative tenant farming – again the victims of this system were largely black

Question 44

• Jim Crow Laws prevailed in the American south (though not exclusively there) for almost 100 years after the Civil War; they legally mandated racial segregation of public facilities
• The 1930s saw the institution of the Mexican Repatriation Program, designed to expel/deport millions of Mexican-Americans; 40-60% were citizens of the U.S.

Answer 44

• WWII gave rise to Japanese and Japanese-American internment camps; at least 125,000 were interned between 1942 and 1946, in miserable conditions
• Of course, we have had the ongoing problem of the overincarceration and over-policing of non-white communities – in 2021, over 2/3rds of the incarcerated U.S. population was non-white, despite whites representing 71% of the total U.S. population
• And of course, voter suppression laws have been enacted by many states, (and continue to be), though poll taxes and literacy tests have largely been phased out…
• And this is VERY far from a comprehensive list…there is simply no question as to the influence of racism on U.S. policy and social norms”

Question 45

Slide: Systemic Racism in Resource Distribution

• “One type of structurally racist policy that has particular relevance for higher education is the type of policy and social practice that has denied access of non-white communities to economic resources…

Answer 45

• And one such policy is that of Redlining – bonus points for anyone who can define this term for us briefly…what is redlining? [allow responses]
• Indeed! You’ve more-or-less summarized our working definition for this training exactly: [read definition]

Question 46

• I’d like for you all to turn to the Redlining Video Worksheet in the handout packet for this session; we are going to watch a short video on the history of redlining and its effect on black Americans specifically; as we watch, please answer the fill in the blank questions. Also, I’ll give some time to respond to the short answer questions on the bottom half of the page once the video is over…” [play video]
• “Alright folks, now go ahead and take some time to jot down brief responses to the short answer questions at the bottom…just a few minutes…

Answer 46

• Terrific! We’ll that was certainly an interesting video; I realize that the language used was a bit…colorful…in describing this dynamic, and my goal in showing that video is not to shock with the use of language in the video or to insist that we necessarily understand redlining in the exact terms of the video, but that video is very valuable in that it effectively summarizes the tragic realities of redlining, and draws upon some potent examples of it’s impact up to the present day.
• Let’s do a bit of group discussion using the questions on the bottom half of the sheet…” [facilitate discussion, refer to instructor copy as you do]
• Okay! Excellent discussion…I can see that we all were able to take something insightful from the video in hopefully combatting some of our own deficit-thinking…”

Question 47

Slide: Structural Inequality in U.S. History

• “Again, while race is the primary lens through which we view equity issues, given the massive emphasis on race as the main factor in structurally unequal policies in U.S. History, we cannot ignore that many structural inequalities have resulted from policies that target and discriminate along other than racial identity lines as well…

Answer 47

• Women’s Suffrage denied until 1920 – with ratification of 19th Amendment to U.S. constitution, after nearly 100 years of struggle of feminist activists to win that right
• No federally recognized right to form labor unions until 1933 – with National Industrial Recovery Act, aimed at fighting the Great Depression, after decades of pro-union activism of Eugene V. Debs and others…
• Marriage equality for same-sex couples denied until 2015 – the fairly recent Supreme Court ruling of Obergefell v. Hodges; and this after the open struggle of gay and lesbian activists and allies since 1969’s Stonewall Riots
• Bans on the discussion of non-heteronormative sexuality/transgender issues in public schools – only VERY recently…despite ongoing work of activists
• Gender Wage Gap still persists, with women earning about 83 cents on every dollar earned by men for comparable work, despite attempts to pass an ERA, which has never materialized
• Clearly, U.S. society and politics have a lot of work to do on the front of closing equity gaps due to structural inequality, and many of these issues impact education and what we do as front-facing workers in higher ed…”

Question 48

Structural Inequality in Higher Education
* “Speaking of which, here is a list (again non-comprehensive) of structural inequalities that are baked into the foundation of the higher education system…

Answer 48

• Unequal distribution of public school resources before college (mostly the function of property tax) – this leaves students coming to colleges from lower income high schools at a significant disadvantage in terms of their content exposure and educational resource access
• Students of wealth and privilege are prioritized in admissions, particularly at prestigious universities – the varsity blues scandal is a great example of this, and though parents and administrators involved have been punished, there is evidence that such practices continue…
• Higher education curriculum lacks “universal design” needed to guarantee physical/neurological accessibility – this echoes all that we looked at in detail in the last session

Question 49

• States have been reducing funding for higher ed financial aid, which decreases higher ed. access for lower-income (often non-white populations)
• Higher enrollment of students from minoritized groups correlates with rise in ratio of students to computers – meaning there are fewer technological resources to go around in institutions that serve higher proportions of minoritized students
• Stereotyping, harassment, hostility discourage female and non-white students from majoring in STEM disciplines – those of you in the class who are women in STEM will likely have experienced this…I know my sister, who has an engineering degree, has some horror stories…

Answer 49

• 71 cents are spent on women’s collegiate athletics for every dollar spent on men’s…even, in many cases, at the same institution…this has resulted in tragically inadequate pools of equipment and training resources from which female athletes can draw…
• Higher education institutions have been slow to critically analyze their own contributions to inequities – deficit thinking is still a norm in U.S. higher ed., and its prevalence has helped to perpetuate the equity gaps that type of thinking is trying to explain…”

Question 50

Slide: Structural Inequality – A Product of Socialization
* “Now most higher educators are not ignorant or evil people…so what makes them prone to deficit-thinking and to resisting responsibility when their practices are shown to reinforce equity gaps?
* As with many things ideological, it often comes down to the process we all go through as human beings, the process known as

Answer 50

• Socialization – can I get a volunteer to read the definition of this term for us? [allow response] Right! So socialization is simply how we integrate into pre-established social norms, and of course, those norms are dictated by the ideological/cultural majority…
• We are now going to break into a reading and partner exercise of 10 minutes. Please turn to and read the article about the “Socialization Cycle” in the handout packet…for about 10 minutes to yourselves. Then, work with a partner to label the blanks on the Socialization Cycle Worksheet…for 5 minutes. After that, we’ll come back together to discuss…”

Question 51

Great work, everyone! And it’s okay if you didn’t get the placement of all the components of the cycle in the exact right positions in this diagram…

Hopefully the general flow of the steps in the process is what you were able to reproduce…

Answer 51

• I’m actually not quite sure why certain of these items are listed in the order they are, especially at the end, but
• I hope you’ll pay special attention to where these two arrows break off from one another…that’s where the cycle of socialization can be disrupted…”

Question 52

Equity-minded Tutors: Disruptors of the Status Quo
* “And that connects beautifully into our last topic before another break: what role do we play in light of all these facts?

• First, we can recognize that the status quo for explaining equity gaps is deficit-thinking…examples stretching back into the 1700s abound. See Richard Valencia’s book: The evolution of deficit thinking for specifics…
• Ultimately, an educator’s role can be as a very effective disruptor of the status quo when they reject deficit-thinking and consider the broader factors behind equity gaps in education

Answer 52

• Higher educators can diverge at the final crossroads on the socialization cycle diagram, to help break the cycle and the equity gaps it reinforces…
• We, as tutors, even in our small corner of academia, have a role to play in this regard…
• But before we discuss specific actionable tutoring practices that allow us to play that role…time for our second (and final) break!”

Question 53

Slide: Equity-Minded Tutors – Foster a Sense of Belonging
* “Welcome back, folks! Let’s move into our final series of modules for the training: how we, as tutors, can develop our equity-mindedness and act as disruptors of structural inequality at RRCC
* As we mentioned before break, our ability to serve unique students at their specific point of need depends on discarding deficit-thinking…

Answer 53

• And while this is beneficial for all students we work with, it is especially important that we do so when assessing those from underrepresented groups that higher ed systems were not designed to benefit…
• Studies have exposed one particular need that is extremely critical for student success: having a sense of belonging on campus…critically, students from marginalized groups are less likely to develop that sense…

Question 54

• In a moment, we’ll see some data that shows the effect of having a sense of belonging on student success, but first, let’s actually define the “sense of belonging” as it is laid out in the research I just alluded to….

Answer 54

• Will someone please read this definition here? [allow response] Excellent.

Now it probably isn’t hard to see why this is desirable for students, but when considering the relationship to student success, we can use Maslow’s hierarchy of needs to really illustrate the dynamic. Anyone familiar with the hierarchy?

• Right, so most foundational are physiological and safety needs; without meeting these, nothing in the higher tiers can be addressed…but notice how the love and belonging tier is in the center of the pyramid, and notice what it falls beneath….
• That’s right! Self-actualization is what we as educators are asking students to do…but without that sense of belonging and connection, it is VERY difficult for students to aspire to…”

Question 55

Slide: The Importance of the Sense of Belonging

• “But you don’t have to take my or even Maslow’s word for it…the importance of this sense in students is well-established in recent research…
• Please consider this visualization of data from a major study in Science Advances in 2020…what data trends do you notice in the plot at the right? [allow responses]

Answer 55

• Excellent eyes for data in here! The two main take-aways that really stuck out to me were:

1) Socially disadvantaged students who received the customized social belonging treatment/ intervention were nearly 9% more likely to continue than socially disadvantaged students who did not…

2) Socially disadvantaged students with the intervention were even more likely to continue than socially advantaged students with the same intervention…

Question 56

• One thing the study showed (but is not depicted here) was a .19% average increase in GPA for socially disadvantaged students who had the intervention over the course of the study period
• So ultimately, how might we (intuitively) make sense of or interpret these data trends? [allow responses]

Answer 56

• Excellent thinking!

It would seem to suggest that the feeling of belonging is perhaps even more important for social disadvantaged students, taken as a whole, than for their non-socially disadvantaged counterparts. Intuition may suggest that this is because those with less social advantage have fewer social connections across society as a whole, which may make school one of the only places where social connection is attainable.

It really seems that however our intuition guides us in interpreting the data, we have to conclude that the impact of the sense of belonging on student success, particularly for the socially disadvantaged students (which includes the minoritized/marginalized groups) is highly significant!”

Question 57

Slide: Fostering a Sense of Belonging (cont.)
* “So now let’s bring it all back around to tutoring. What are some best practices we can employ to help make our space one of belonging for those we assist? Any ideas?

Answer 57

o ALWAYS greet students when the come into the center; use names/preferred pronouns – For me, almost nothing says I belong less than coming into a space where I need assistance or attention in some way and meeting with stony silence…So our failure to greet students is more than just poor customer service…it can impact their mentality by decreasing the belonging sense and ultimately, that hurts student success

o Don’t use discipline-specific jargon without making sure the student knows the meaning – much of the world’s jargon acts as a barrier to belonging…indeed much of it was designed to do just that…establish in-groups…and while math jargon or biology jargon may not have been expressly designed for that purpose, it can have the same effect if we throw around terms that have been ill-defined in our company

o Avoid exclusionary speech – does anyone have any examples? [allow responses] Those are great examples: some things I can think of would include “Well this problem should be easy for you…” (decreases the sense the student belongs if they disagree that it is easy) or “You’re in the wrong lab!” (frames the student as belonging elsewhere…)

Question 58

o Avoid exclusionary actions – again, any examples you can think of? [allow responses] Excellent!

Some examples that occur to me include: holding exclusive study groups that disallow participation of some who are in the same class or having extra long study sessions, but only with students with whom we are familiar and used to working…

Remember: Tutoring shouldn’t play host to silos of social cliques (even if tutors are members of those in-groups – it’s a place where everyone should feel belonging and a sense that they will have their needs addressed equitably)

Answer 58

o Be as ready to interact with our adult learners as with fellow tutors or instructors –

This may be less of a problem if you are student tutor, but establishing a wall between staff/faculty and students in our space only serves to decrease the sense of belonging;

it’s certainly okay to hang out with other tutors, just not to exclusion of greeting/mingling with students…

Question 59

o Share your stories of challenge/success in college – reassure students that they are not alone! – Recounting stories of our common lived experience in higher ed (where it exists) can really help to cement the sense that they are in a community that understandings, values and includes them…

avoid exactly equating your lived-experience of being in an identity group with theirs however, even if you are both members of said group…

Answer 59

o Offer to personally introduce students to those who provide helpful resources – we mentioned this practice last session as well…warm hand-offs keep students from having to awkwardly introduce themselves to other in-groups on campus

o DO NOT tolerate hateful/hurtful speech in the Learning Commons – again, this point is reiterated from orientation. Not only do we have a zero-tolerance policy for this kind of thing, we recognize the immense harm it does to keeping the tutoring space one of great belonging, as it must be if we are to be effective in our roles…

• Great ideas, all round, everyone!”

Question 60

Slide: Equity-Minded Tutors - Embrace Cultural Engagement

• “Along with a sense of belonging, we have a second critical component for helping to close equity gaps in a college community: that is the practice of engaging with the specific cultural values and backgrounds of students…

Answer 60

• Indeed, this is related to the sense of belonging, as that sense is increased the more a college practices effective cultural engagement…research bears out that relationship

Question 61

• That research, conducted by a prominent education theorist named Samuel Museus of the University of California, San Diego, introduced what is called the Culturally-Engaging Campus Environments or CECE Model

Answer 61

• Would someone volunteer to read the definition of the CECE model for us? [allow response] Terrific! Everyone should give ___________ a hand; that was the longest definition so far!

Question 62

• Great, well if you think back to Theoretical Foundations (or level 1 certification class), you’ll remember that we learned about constructivism- the process of building knowledge through our own experience and exploration.

Answer 62

• In the constructivist spirit, I am now going to shut up and let you all loose for 15 minutes to independently research the CECE model. See what you can find online in that time, using whatever device you prefer (we have laptops here as well) and fill in the CECE Model Worksheet as you research…”

Question 63

Slide: The CECE Model
* “Okay, everyone! That’s 15 minutes! Let’s go ahead and wrap up the research and come together for a recap.
* So firstly, I’m sure you discovered the two broad categories of culturally Engaging Campus Environments in Museus’ model…what are those two broad categories? [allow responses]

Answer 63

• Precisely! We have “Cultural Relevance” and “Cultural Responsiveness”.
• What does Museus mean by “Cultural Relevance”? [allow responses] Right! He is essentially referring to all the ways that a college campus environment house structures and spaces that are relevant to the cultural experiences of diverse student groups.
• And what about cultural responsiveness? What is the meaning there? [allow responses] “Exactly. This speaks to how philosophies, ideologies and attitudes adapt to reflect the norms and needs of diverse students cultures.”

Question 64

• Then we have the five components of cultural relevance…can anyone name a few? [allow responses]…right! We have [expose/read components]. What about the four components of cultural responsiveness? [allow responses]. Yes! For that full list, there’s [expose/read components]

Answer 64

which of these components of cultural engagement are most relevant to what we do as tutors? Any ideas? [allow responses]

Question 65

• Excellent thoughts on how these things connect back to tutoring! Factors of cultural engagement that jump out to me as being especially relevant to tutoring would be more on the cultural responsiveness side:

Answer 65

o “humanized environments” includes the tutoring environment, where all students regardless of cultural background, are encouraged to feel the sense of belonging through relatable interactions and human connections
o holistic support – as I always mention in the orientation classes, at RRCC, we tutor the whole student, connecting them with communities and resources based on their unique needs…this includes understanding their cultural values and needs, and accommodating them in our space as well…

• Good thinking, folks! We could obviously spend a lot more time on this topic, and Museus has a lot more to say on the matter in his theoretical work. But of course, we don’t want to leave the discussion purely in the realm of theory…”

Question 66

Slide: Culturally Engaging Campuses (cont.)
* “Let’s brainstorm some actionable tutoring techniques to help us contribute to cultural engagement, as defined by Museus, at RRCC…
* What are some ways that we, as tutors, might contribute to cultural engagement for RRCC students? [allow responses]

Answer 66

• As per usual, those are some really impactful suggestions! A few best practices that we recommend in engaging students culturally include:

Question 67

o Memorizing correct pronunciations of student names/using those pronunciations
 We already mentioned how greeting students is crucial for the sense of belonging, but doing so with deference to their language and culture, by respecting proper pronunciations, is vital for cultural engagement

o Signal support for underrepresented cultures, esp. those you identify with…
 Examples anyone? [allow responses]
 Yep. Anything from a pin or flag showing affiliation, support or ally-ship can engage directly with cultures from which students hail, be they ethnic/national cultures, the cultures along the LGBTQIA spectrum [we aren’t just talking about national/ethic cultures], religious cultures, etc…

Answer 67

o Tutor in a preferred language of the student, if able, but not to the exclusion of others in a study group
 If able and not to any other student’s exclusion are the key phrases here
 But a one-on-one tutoring session in a language the student prefers and in which you are fluent is a great way to engage with student’s ethnic culture

o Learn about/respect the principles of a student’s religion
 Examples that may come up in the tutoring context? [allow responses]
 One of many examples we might name could include a Muslim student needed to halt a tutoring session early in order to pray at a specific time [we have a prayer room on campus in the Library, if the student mentions this and the tutor wants to make them aware]

Question 68

o Honor the culturally-rooted values of the student.
 Some values are not religious but are deeply ethnically ingrained. Examples that may impact tutoring? [allow responses]

 Good examples. One other one might be if a Latinx student prefers group study sessions, given the pronounced emphasis on communal experience in the cultures of many Latin American nations/societies, don’t insist on one-on-ones

Answer 68

o Anticipate/Respect Different Cultures/Approaches to education
 For example, many East Asian students may be hesitant to say much during tutoring sessions, as educators (tutors included) are often seen as authority figures, not be questioned…we should balance our attempts to evoke participation in the session with a respect for that traditional cultural boundary

o Consider attending multi-cultural events hosted by RRCC, esp. if students inform you of them
 International Student Services and Student Life may hold such events as celebrations of culturally specific holidays and remembrances…your participation, if appropriate, can help further connect you to the cultures of the students we serve

Question 69

• Alright, terrific discussion.

Answer 69

We have one more module for the training now, concerning a final important aspect of helping close equity gaps through tutoring and that is…”

Question 70

Slide: Equity-Minded Tutors – Recognize and Check their Privilege
* “…Recognizing and mitigating the impact of relative differences in student privilege.
* Now it really should not come as much of a surprise, given what we’ve learned about structural inequalities, that U.S. society has tended to endow certain identity groups with greater levels of material & social privilege with respect to other groups…

Answer 70

• To understand how these differences in levels of privilege impact the world of higher ed., we are going to watch a ted talk video from Anthony Jack, a Harvard Professor of Education
• As we do, please fill in the blanks and short answer questions on the Access Ain’t Inclusion Worksheet in the training packet [play video]
• Alright, that was a fascinating video introduction to the lived experience of students from less privileged identity groups when they first come to college…Let’s recap/discuss some of the questions on the worksheet together now…” [facilitate discussion, using instructor copy]

Question 71

Slide: The Privilege Shop
* “Well done. Very thought-provoking reflections on that video! However, it isn’t quite enough for us just to hear about the research and the personal experiences of several students from less privileged, minoritized groups in college…

Answer 71

• We are going to turn now to an exercise that I hope will illustrate something of the deep impact differences in levels of privilege have for student success…welcome to the Privilege Shop!
• For this exercise…[read instructions on slide]
• [Give 5 minutes for selection of privileges by groups]
• [facilitate the “Who gets to graduate?” thought-experiment, using instructor copy]

Question 72

• Alright, so coming back together now, let’s share out our group’s experiences and success outcomes…[facilitate discussion of all questions, using instructor copy]

Answer 72

Thank you all for open-mindedly engaging with that exercise – it can be difficult to put yourself in the shoes of people from less privileged groups if you don’t have those experiences personally…but I find that exercise to be remarkable powerful and insightful, myself…”

Question 73

Slide: Recognizing/Checking our Own Privilege (CONT.)
* “So as our final major discussion for the training today, what are some things that we as tutors can do to check our own privilege in our work with students from marginalized groups?

As you respond, be thinking especially about the impact our relative privileges may have on how we assess the progress of students during sessions… [allow responses]

Answer 73

• Some very intriguing suggestions indeed! Some best practices on this front that we would recommend include:

Question 74

o Don’t assume a student has access to the same knowledge you had in college
Examples of things you might avoid saying? [allow responses]

 “For this problem, you can use rules you learned in high school” or “Why haven’t you gone to office hours?” – better responses would be “Do you recognize this rule from your past math classes?” or “Did you that your instructor offers “office hours” to meet with and assist you outside of class? Do you know when?”

Answer 74

o Don’t assume that a student has access to the same resources you had in college
Examples of things you might avoid saying based on this assumption?

 “You need to be reading your textbook!”- not all textbooks are open-resource/free to use
 “You can just google that when you get home…” – not all students will have reliable internet access at home

Question 75

o Avoid unhelpful comparisons to your progress in college: Examples of such comparisons?

 “By the time I got to this class, I was already proficient in Python coding.” – well bully for you, the tutor, but your own progress through higher ed. was likely made possible by privileges that the student may not share. A better thing might be to ask “Do you have some experience in coding with Python? That can help you to validate/check your work in this class…, maybe we can work together using a computer in the lab to check out some basic python coding”

Answer 75

o Validate the lived experience of marginalized students. Examples?

 Don’t discount narratives of oppression shared in student papers – a student who writes about their experience of over-policing shouldn’t have that experience called into doubt, whatever your personal politics may be…

Question 76

o Recognize that students from marginalized groups may have greater need for tutor time and attention: True equity does not equal simple equality
 You may have wondered about the reason for the existence of tutoring labs like the College Prep Zone; why do certain students get an entire lab dedicated to their select few classes? Why is there not a calculus lab, and a statistics/applied math lab, and so on?

Answer 76

The reason has to do with equity, rather than simple equality. The students the College Prep Zone serves are, for many diverse reasons, generally lacking in some of the more foundational math and English skillsets.

Often, this is due to structural inequalities and privileges not afforded their more advanced fellow students…So the college offers more resources (more frequent, leisurely, and immediate assistance in their own lab) to help make up for those gaps, because the NEED exists.

 This is just one of several examples, where understanding privilege and equity gaps can help to grasp the operations of our department a bit better, which in turn can help you in explaining those operations to students who ask…”

Question 77

Slide: Resources That Help Close Gaps in Privilege
* “When we understand that different life experiences imply different relationships to privilege, we build up our sense of empathy, a key component of affective tutoring/teaching.
* We see how important it is that we are familiar with on-campus resources that are designed to help close gaps in privilege for vulnerable, minoritized and marginalized student groups…

Answer 77

• So what are some of those resources? And where are they located? Anyone know of any? [allow responses] All great examples! Our full list, which I can make available to you if you see after class, includes: [read all resources/locations]
• Again, gaining familiarity with these resources puts you in the powerful position of someone who can connect students who may not be aware of their existence, or whose lack of privilege is so internalized, that they are self-conscious about asking for help.”

Question 78

Slide: Equity-Minded Tutors – Show Sustained Commitment
* “Naturally, I couldn’t let you go today without discussing what is perhaps the most important aspect of all of equity-minded work at RRCC: ongoing commitment to improving ourselves and increasing our contribution to equity.

Answer 78

• Aspects of that commitment are listed here. I want us to go around and read them out in turn together, just as we did with our philosophy of access-oriented student service last session…[round robin read through of all items on slide]
• Terrific read-through! I want to turn your attention to the equity-mindedness commitment pledge in the packet. Please take a few minutes to contemplate and complete the top half of that document, up through the signature portion. The bottom half, while helpful for your reflection purposes later on, is not required for completion of the certificate…”

Question 79

Slide: Closing Remarks, Questions & Class Business

Answer 79

“Alright, so after all that material today. Are there any final questions/comments/thoughts about anything in the various modules? Any final stories or experiences anyone would like to share out?

Question 80

• Fantastic! Well you have been a wonderful class. As a bit final class business, you will need to do all of the following going forward before you submit the portfolio:

Answer 80

o The comprehensive post-test [may need to do as take-home]
o Complete your research paper assignment
o Complete 25 hours of tutoring (not including the hours you spent for Theoretical Foundations or for Roles, Methods and Resources)
o Complete the reflection assignment, reflecting on the 25 hours you tutored
o Organize all the handouts from both sessions
o Submit portfolio to my office at your earliest convenience – you have until the end of next semester…
o Complete the training course evaluation – leave by the door on your way out