Each year, the conference brings together roughly 300 faculty, staff, and other members of the DePaul community to share knowledge, promote effective teaching practices, and improve student learning experiences across the University. The 27th Annual Teaching and Learning Conference was facilitated entirely online.
The conference was co-sponsored by DePaul’s Center for Teaching and Learning and the Office of Associate Provost for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. Key contributors to the planning of the conference included: Student Affairs, the University-Center for Writing-based Learning (UCWbL), and Faculty Council's Committee on Learning and Teaching (COLT).
Schedule
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Please note we will not be recording the keynote or concurrent sessions.
Keynote
We Gon’ Be Alright, But That Ain’t Alright: Abolitionist Teaching and the Pursuit of Educational Freedom
Keynote Abstract
Dr. Love’s talk discussed the struggles and the possibilities of committing ourselves to an abolitionist goal of educational freedom, as opposed to reform, and moving beyond what she calls the educational survival complex. Abolitionist Teaching is built on the creativity, imagination, boldness, ingenuity, and rebellious spirit and methods of abolitionists to demand and fight for an educational system where all students are thriving, not simply surviving.
Learning Objectives:
- Participants learned the concept and importance of culturally responsive and sustaining teaching and learning practices in the classroom.
- Participants examined the impact of America's racism on Black children and Black families.
- Participants engaged with the ideas of abolitionist teaching to foster social justice classrooms and schools.
About the Keynote Speaker
Dr. Bettina L. Love is an award-winning author and the Athletic Association Endowed Professor at the University of Georgia. Her writing, research, teaching, and educational advocacy work meet at the intersection of education reform, anti-racism, carceral studies, abolition, and Black joy. The aim of her scholarship is twofold: firstly, to advance how the field of education understands and critiques the systemic and structural racism of public education within the U.S.; and secondly, to advocate for abolitionist approaches in the field of education that seek new possibilities for educational justice. In the pursuit of making her scholarship a reality, she works with activists, communities, youth, families, and school districts to build communal, civically-engaged schools rooted in the aspirations of abolitionist strategies that love and affirm Black and Brown children. In 2020, Dr. Love co-founded the Abolitionist Teaching Network (ATN). ATN’s mission is simple: develop and support teachers and parents to fight injustice within their schools and communities. In 2020, Dr. Love was also named a member of the Old 4th Ward Economic Security Task Force with the Atlanta City Council. The goal of the Task Force is to advance dialogue and form tangible solutions for guaranteed income.
Dr. Love is a sought-after public speaker on a range of topics, including: Abolitionist Teaching, anti-racism, Hip Hop education, Black girlhood, queer youth, Hip Hop feminism, art-based education to foster youth civic engagement, and issues of diversity and inclusion. She is the creator of the Hip Hop civics curriculum GE FREE.
In 2014, she was invited to the White House Research Conference on Girls to discuss her work focused on the lives of Black girls. For her work in the field of Hip Hop education, in 2016, Dr. Love was named the Nasir Jones Hiphop Fellow at the Hutchins Center for African and African American Research at Harvard University. In April of 2017, Dr. Love participated in a one-on-one public lecture with bell hooks focused on the liberatory education practices of Black and Brown children. In 2018, Georgia’s House of Representatives presented Dr. Love with a resolution for her impact on the field of education. She has also provided commentary for various news outlets including NPR,
Ed Week,
The Guardian, and the
Atlanta Journal Constitution. She is the author of the books
We Want to Do More Than Survive: Abolitionist Teaching and the Pursuit of Educational Freedom and
Hip Hop’s Li’l Sistas Speak: Negotiating Hip Hop Identities and Politics in the New South. Her work has appeared in numerous books and journals, including
Educational Researcher, Urban Education,
The Urban Review, and the
Journal of LGBT Youth.