Microlessons & Skillshops
Microlessons are an effective way to deliver diversity, equity and inclusion training that is digestible and actionable for learners. Faculty and staff will be offering a series of microlessons each semester, which campus community members are welcome and encouraged to attend and engage in. DEIA Micro-Lessons and Skillshops are sponsored by the Inclusive Excellence Council (IEC).
Spring 2024 DEIA Microlessons & Skillshops
Nadine Stecklein, Assistant Director for Internship Programs, The Career and Community Engagement Center
January 31
Noon–1 p.m.
Reid Campus Center 207
This workshop will provide examples for combatting the racial battle fatigue they may experience. Everyone is at a different level of knowing what it means for that fatigue to continue. I plan to give the background/ define racial battle fatigue and allow folks that may be comfortable (in the small group exercise) to share how they experience it and what are some things they do to help. As a large group we will come together with tools they can use to combat the fatigue.
After attending this workshop attendees will be able to:
- Define racial battle fatigue (RBF)
- Identify strategies to cope with racial battle fatigue RBF
- Identify ways to support the Black community and resources for allies.
Tebraie Banda-Johns, Director of the Intercultural Center
February 7
12–1 p.m.
Reid Campus Center 207
Tebraie Banda-Johns will lead a lesson on how “Subtle Acts of Exclusion” can cause harm to others and how to avoid using them. Participants will learn key terms and as a group develop. This lesson is open for all community members. Participants will learn key terms and as a group develop language to use to create an inclusive environment.
Cassandre Beccai, Director of Equity and Compliance, Title IX Coordinator
February 7
4:30–5:30 p.m.
Reid Campus Center 207
During this session, attendees will learn effective techniques for responding to disclosures and discussing any reporting responsibilities with others. A sample script and additional resources will be provided.
NiQo Bullock, Associate Director of Student Activities, and Stace Sievert, Assistant Director of Student Activities
February 14
Noon–1 p.m.
Reid Campus Center 207
Recognizing that we all hold myriad identities, this foundation-level conversation will help participants understand why what intersectionality does is more than what it is. Core tenets and themes of resistance will be named, as well as ample opportunities for self-reflection and group conversation. Diving into recognition of our own lenses in viewing the world, and articulating ways to share them with others, will set up participants for future synthesis of this content both in the Whitman community and in the wider world.
Dr. John Johnson, Vice President for Inclusive Excellence
March 6
4:30–5:30 p.m.
Reid Campus Center 207
This microlesson will focus on the concept of inclusive excellence and the principles that have been posited as integral to the practice. Dr. Johnson will provide a brief summary of the emergence of the concept in higher education and go through each of the seven elements he regarded as essential to the advancement of inclusive excellence at Whitman. This session is open to all members of the Whitman community.
After attending this microlesson, participants will:
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Have a clear understanding of how inclusive excellence is distinct from previous approaches to advancing diversity, equity and inclusion.
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Understand the implications of an unwelcoming climate on institutional success and their roles and responsibilities related to the advancement of inclusive excellence at Whitman.
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Be able to explain the interconnectedness of the seven principles of inclusive excellence.
Adam Kirtley, Interfaith Chaplain
March 27
12 p.m.
Reid Campus Center 207
Andrew Padilla Johnson, Interim Director of Residence Life and Housing
April 3
4:30–5:30 p.m.
Reid Campus Center 207
This session will connect diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging with radical listening and affirmation. It will draw on work in Intergroup Dialogue and Ecological Validation to give participants a deeper understanding of how listening and affirmation can create more inclusive environments. This work is used in Residence Life and Housing at Whitman to teach Resident Assistants (RAs) how to build inclusive communities, and is a valuable skill for participants to use in a variety of work and personal settings.
Participants will:
- Leave with a greater understanding of the connection between DEIB and radical listening
- Practice listening and affirmation through a brief structure validation activity
- Consider how they could integrate listening and affirmation into a variety of community spaces
Makaya Resner, Assistant Director of Admission (deia-Focused) & Lily Painter, Assistant Director of Admission
April 17
4:30–5:30 p.m.
Reid Campus Center 207
In a world of shifting populations in a country that is home to people of all backgrounds, the conversations around race and identity have neglected to include the broader experience of “mixedness”. Peoples from mixed-race or mixed-ethnic identities experience different social and political challenges, but their unique positionality carries a valuable skill set toward building connections across differences. This session, we’ll discuss themes such as code switching, perceived “racial hierarchies”, and how to navigate mixedness as an asset for initiating social change. Open to all but conversations will most likely lean on personal experiences of mixedness.