ELWB Agenda June 2-4, 2021*
6am-9am Pacific / 9am-12pm Eastern / 4pm-7pm Eastern European (EET)
Each day will include a panel session
Note: This panel session will be broadcast via Zoom. This will be followed by all participants sharing and Q/A
Note: This panel session will be broadcast via Zoom. This will be followed by all participants sharing and Q/A
Discourse on Artificial Intelligence and the Role of Ed Leaders
Wednesday, June 2, 2021
Implicit biases are part of the human experience that we know as emotional beings. When A.I. software is used in classrooms educators must
participate in that equation which designs the learning process.
Rosemary Papa
Current implementation of artificial intelligent (AI) systems in education, now ubiquitous due to the pandemic, is limited and afflicted by the same biases that plague our existing educational programs and data systems. At this early moment in AI development and implementation, educational leaders have the chance to interface with AI developers and content experts to establish how these new systems can use optimal teaching skills and strategies for the ethical ‘good’ of the learner. If educators are viewed as only software purchasers and limited content experts without acknowledgement of the multiple strategies they use to inspire and encourage student learning, then AI development may get teaching very wrong. This is a chance for educational leaders to imagine a future world and our role as educators in that world.
Guiding Seminar Questions:
1. How can we both prepare students and teachers to work with transformative technologies, like A.I., while also questioning their use and development?
2. How are transformative technologies being implemented now in classrooms and school systems?
3. How do we merge our learning and leadership theories to technologies and the algorithmic biases that may maintain the social injustices of today into our future?
4. How can educational leaders use technologies like AI to prevent social injustices while also preventing social injustices in technologies?
Moderators: Rosemary Papa & Karen Moran Jackson
participate in that equation which designs the learning process.
Rosemary Papa
Current implementation of artificial intelligent (AI) systems in education, now ubiquitous due to the pandemic, is limited and afflicted by the same biases that plague our existing educational programs and data systems. At this early moment in AI development and implementation, educational leaders have the chance to interface with AI developers and content experts to establish how these new systems can use optimal teaching skills and strategies for the ethical ‘good’ of the learner. If educators are viewed as only software purchasers and limited content experts without acknowledgement of the multiple strategies they use to inspire and encourage student learning, then AI development may get teaching very wrong. This is a chance for educational leaders to imagine a future world and our role as educators in that world.
Guiding Seminar Questions:
1. How can we both prepare students and teachers to work with transformative technologies, like A.I., while also questioning their use and development?
2. How are transformative technologies being implemented now in classrooms and school systems?
3. How do we merge our learning and leadership theories to technologies and the algorithmic biases that may maintain the social injustices of today into our future?
4. How can educational leaders use technologies like AI to prevent social injustices while also preventing social injustices in technologies?
Moderators: Rosemary Papa & Karen Moran Jackson
Hope and Fear: The Duality of the BIPOC Experience and the Fight for Equity
Thursday, June 3, 2021
I would not have you descend into your own dream. I would have you be a conscious citizen of this terrible and beautiful world. ~Ta-Nehisi Coates
Historically, individuals that identify as Black, Indigenous, or People of Color (BIPOC) continue to struggle for the same inalienable rights and freedoms enjoyed by Whites. When choosing hope, BIPOC individuals and their accomplices are able to use their voice and collective power to influence individual, institutional and systemic change towards justice around the world. The fear lies in the sustainability of substantive changes in the face of negotiated power and resources. Many institutions which govern educational, social and economic arenas serve to maintain the status quo for the minority in power. But the reality is much more complex. While inclusion is perhaps a good start, it is nowhere adequate to deal with the histories of systemic racism in all walks of life, but especially in universities and a wide range of scientific organizations and educational agencies. More recently, there have been an influx of performative statements that nod to a commitment for racial and economic justice for people who have been marginalized. The gap between words to action remain unclear. Even more elusive is the path to eradicate systems that perpetuate inequality and racism to the detriment of everyone in society. So, the question remains, how can the collective voice and levers of power be used to affirm the basic humanity of all individuals in a culture not built to recognize that humanity?
BIPOC (black, indigenous, people of color)
Guiding Seminar Questions:
1. How can advocates work towards racial equity in a way that promote substantial change to individuals, organizations and systems?
2. How can systems and organizations be imagined ensuring equitable outcomes for individuals that identify as BIPOC?
3. How can awareness and consciousness of systemic discrimination be discussed if those impacted by them are impervious to their existence?
Moderators: Kelly Brown & Fenwick English
Historically, individuals that identify as Black, Indigenous, or People of Color (BIPOC) continue to struggle for the same inalienable rights and freedoms enjoyed by Whites. When choosing hope, BIPOC individuals and their accomplices are able to use their voice and collective power to influence individual, institutional and systemic change towards justice around the world. The fear lies in the sustainability of substantive changes in the face of negotiated power and resources. Many institutions which govern educational, social and economic arenas serve to maintain the status quo for the minority in power. But the reality is much more complex. While inclusion is perhaps a good start, it is nowhere adequate to deal with the histories of systemic racism in all walks of life, but especially in universities and a wide range of scientific organizations and educational agencies. More recently, there have been an influx of performative statements that nod to a commitment for racial and economic justice for people who have been marginalized. The gap between words to action remain unclear. Even more elusive is the path to eradicate systems that perpetuate inequality and racism to the detriment of everyone in society. So, the question remains, how can the collective voice and levers of power be used to affirm the basic humanity of all individuals in a culture not built to recognize that humanity?
BIPOC (black, indigenous, people of color)
Guiding Seminar Questions:
1. How can advocates work towards racial equity in a way that promote substantial change to individuals, organizations and systems?
2. How can systems and organizations be imagined ensuring equitable outcomes for individuals that identify as BIPOC?
3. How can awareness and consciousness of systemic discrimination be discussed if those impacted by them are impervious to their existence?
Moderators: Kelly Brown & Fenwick English
Responding to Climate Change and Sustainability in Education
Friday, June 4, 2021
The greatest threat to our planet is the belief that someone else will save it. Robert Swan
As we start a new decade after experiencing the hottest decade in recorded history, the Covid-19 crisis presents a historic chance for us to turn around from the disastrous path of climate change and other environmental and social emergencies by creating more sustainable, resilient and inclusive societies. Yet, societies cannot transform if the why, what and how we learn remain the same. Education leaders need to use this period of disruption to transform education that moves away from a focus on cognitive learning over to social-emotional and behavioral learning, which are important tools in empowering learners, developing resiliency and adaptability, and making change happen. In response to these challenges, education for sustainability supports curricula that include learning about environmental integrity, economic viability and how to work towards a just society. But it also requires pedagogical changes, using transformative, collaborative, and experiential forms of learning that leads not only to cognitive knowing but also social and emotional ways of knowing that includes signs of empathy, compassion, and creativity as new indicators.
However, the concept of education for sustainable development has not been sufficiently integrated into education frameworks and the concept of transformation in higher education institutions, including teacher and administrator preparation. It is a transition that requires reflections of the educators and academics on their own values, the adoption of new pedagogies, including relational approaches and a connection to nature in support of interdisciplinary collaboration, all of which is crucial for developing the transformative potential of students as agents and of a sustainable future.
Moderators: Anna Saiti & Faye Snodgress
As we start a new decade after experiencing the hottest decade in recorded history, the Covid-19 crisis presents a historic chance for us to turn around from the disastrous path of climate change and other environmental and social emergencies by creating more sustainable, resilient and inclusive societies. Yet, societies cannot transform if the why, what and how we learn remain the same. Education leaders need to use this period of disruption to transform education that moves away from a focus on cognitive learning over to social-emotional and behavioral learning, which are important tools in empowering learners, developing resiliency and adaptability, and making change happen. In response to these challenges, education for sustainability supports curricula that include learning about environmental integrity, economic viability and how to work towards a just society. But it also requires pedagogical changes, using transformative, collaborative, and experiential forms of learning that leads not only to cognitive knowing but also social and emotional ways of knowing that includes signs of empathy, compassion, and creativity as new indicators.
However, the concept of education for sustainable development has not been sufficiently integrated into education frameworks and the concept of transformation in higher education institutions, including teacher and administrator preparation. It is a transition that requires reflections of the educators and academics on their own values, the adoption of new pedagogies, including relational approaches and a connection to nature in support of interdisciplinary collaboration, all of which is crucial for developing the transformative potential of students as agents and of a sustainable future.
- What are successful examples for the integration of sustainability into teacher education and leadership?
- How can transitional forms of education for sustainability best be designed, organized, supported and evaluated?
- What are the barriers and drivers for educators and academics in integrating sustainable education?
- What are the steps that need to be taken with implications of a more ecological/sustainable approach to teaching and learning for teacher training and professional development?
Moderators: Anna Saiti & Faye Snodgress
*Subject to change