Teaching and Learning Book Discussions

A Book Discussion where it’s OK if you didn’t read the book!

Are you eager to discuss new and thought-provoking books about teaching? Do you have a pile of books you haven’t yet had the time to read?

This informal discussion group will explore a different book or resource at each meeting. After a brief overview of the book’s main themes, we will spend most of our time engaging in informal discussion about the ideas and their implications for teaching.

Be sure to vote on a future book or suggest your own options below.

Next book discussion: Transforming Hispanic-Serving Institutions for Equity and Justice

Sign up to join the discussion

Two sessions are offered, you are free to attend either or both sessions. (Feb 29 will focus on chapters 1-3, and April 3 will focus on chapters 4-6)

 

Transforming Hispanic-Serving Institutions for Equity and Justice

By Dr. Gina Ann Garcia

Transforming HSIs book cover

Beyond having over a quarter of their undergraduate students Hispanic, what makes Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs) uniquely Latinx? And how can university leaders, faculty, and staff transform these institutions into spaces that promote racial equity, social justice, and collective liberation? In this book, Dr. Garcia argues that in order to serve Latinx students and other students of color, these institutions must acknowledge how whiteness operates across the organization, from the ways that it is governed and how decisions are made to how education and knowledge are delivered. Diversity alone is insufficient for achieving a dynamic learning environment within higher education institutions. In Transforming Hispanic-Serving Institutions for Equity and Justice, Garcia offers a framework for transforming HSIs into truly Latinx-serving. The framework is grounded in critical theories, yet it advances new ways of thinking about how to organize colleges and universities that are actively serving students of color, low income students, and students from other minoritized backgrounds. This framework connects multiple important dimensions, including mission, identity, strategic purpose, membership, curriculum, student services, physical infrastructure, governance, leadership, external partnerships, and external influences. Drawing on over 25 years of HSI research, Garcia offers unique solutions for colleges and universities that want to better serve their students.

 

If you‘d like to review a copy of the book before the discussion, please email Bridget Arend at [email protected]

Suggested Discussion Guidelines

These discussions are intended to create save/brave spaces for thought-provoking discussions. To that end, the following guidelines are suggested.

  • Speak your own truth – use “I” statements
  • Respect the truth of others – listen to understand, suspend judgment and turn to curiosity
  • Ask questions to expand our thinking
  • Hold ourselves accountable for our statements
  • Participate at your comfort level, yet aim to hear as many voices/perspectives as possible
  • Take the learning outside the discussion, but keep any personal information confidential

Vote on or Suggest Future Books

Help steer our exploration by voting on future book discussion options and sharing your own recommendations.

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Past Book Discussions