We have chosen a few key terms used in conversations around creating an equitable and culturally responsive learning community to highlight here.

What is Equity?

In this video clip, Kelisa Wing shares her definition of equity from a social, emotional learning perspective.

We chose this clip to provide an alternative to the often used three individuals on peering over a fence definition and to remind us that equity is not about us and our perspective. Equity is about the social emotional sense of belonging of each of our students. The full discussion sponsored by six seconds is found on the Six Seconds Social Emotional Learning Conference webpage.

Equity in California Community Colleges

This video from Center of Urban Education uses a case study approach to illustrate inequities experienced by students in the California Community Colleges. We share it here to provide context for our discussions on equity and how our actions, however well intended, send different messages to different students.

As you play the video, think about your selection of instructional materials. Where might you expand the diversity your materials represent? Think about

- primary sources,
- case studies,
- problem scenarios,
- discussion prompts,
- references to socio-economic status, and
- references to environment ("at home").

If you downloaded the Equity Scavenger Hunt, you can make note of some possible revisions on that worksheet.

Biases are learned over time and as a learned behavior can be replaced with new behaviors and interactions. Read more on the next page.