The RISE Institute

The RISE Institute Overview and Purpose

The Office of Diversity and Inclusion (ODI) and the Center for Teaching Excellence (CTE) have collaborated on a new approach to engage Lansing Community College’s (LCC) faculty, through focused pedagogy. Addressing unconscious bias and critical issues that educators face every day, the RISE Institute - Reframing Inclusion through Scholarship and Equity - is designed to encourage ownership of professional growth and learning, in a concise format. The ultimate goal is to improve teaching and therefore success for all students through Critical Pedagogy and Universal Design for Learning. The RISE Institute offers LCC’s employees a new model to include self-reflection and introspection, in regards to their classrooms and areas of engagement.

Overall Learning Objectives

• Explore frameworks to prepare for inclusive and transformative projects related to teaching and student engagement.
• Reflect on identity and diversity in the classroom: Who are you? Who are LCC students?
• Explore selected evidence-based pedagogical strategies to create and sustain inclusive learning, a diverse climate, and engaging environments.
• Engage with peers to transform an area of the institution.
• Improve teaching, student success and promote inclusive excellence and diversity.

RISE Institute Outline

The RISE Institute offers an opportunity to work with an interdisciplinary peer group to explore how to create and support an inclusive learning environment. A four-point framework invites entry from all disciplinary perspectives: Consider who you are, who you teach/interact with, how you teach/interact, and what you teach. Projects for RISE Fellows are intended to make transformative impacts on the LCC environment relating to Equity, Inclusion, and Diversity.

Interactive engagement with resources and materials along with shared learning from colleagues/peers.

Deep dive into the material through application, role playing, critical conversations, student panels and expert coaching.

By the end of this institute, participants (Fellows) will have had the chance to transform a course, or other areas of the College through the lens of diversity and inclusion, creating an action plan for inclusive excellence through Critical Pedagogy and Universal Design for Learning. Fellows will be equipped with strategies and intervention methods for engaging with and supporting underrepresented student groups.

Participants

• Any staff or administrators may apply.
• Any individual who teach credit-bearing, semester-long courses at LCC may apply.

  • Both full-time and adjunct faculty are eligible to participate

  • Faculty from all disciplines are welcome and encouraged to participate

• All Participants will be called “Fellows”.

• Small cohort sizes each academic year.

  • A select number of spaces will be reserved for staff and administrators to participate.

Incentives for RISE Fellows

• Contribute to a book, published using Press Books Jim Luke partnership.

• Professional Development for your personal C.V.

• Fellows will receive a Diversity Champion Certification.

• Opportunity to continue engagement as a Mentor to new Fellows.