Call for Proposals for Teaching Anti-Racism/Anti-Black Racism Courses Facilitated by Undergraduates with a Faculty Mentor
Applications due: June 7, 2023
Selections announced: July 24, 2023
In the national, and even international, context of demand for pedagogical and educational materials to tackle the issues of racism in academic disciplines, UCLA has a role to play.
There is an evidence-based rationale for teaching anti-racism/anti-Black racism courses in schools starting early in elementary through the college years. Anti-racism/anti-Black racism education at early stages starts with increasing elementary school students’ awareness of themselves, of others, and of how those differences can be the foundation for differences in worldviews and positions in society, as well as how society protects and privileges some while at the same time fails to provide equity in opportunities to others. The field of Psychology indicates that the role of social emotional learning in anti-racism is important because it gives students the tools to manage and express their feelings, the key of race and equity work at early stages of education. Studies by UCLA developmental psychologists and others in the field demonstrate that children between the ages of two and four can detect racial differences as well as show racial biases. Moreover, by the time students are in kindergarten, research indicates that they show some of the same attitudes about race as the parents/caretakers and other adults in their lives.
UCLA students find themselves in diverse environments in college and some students are without the skills and language to express themselves or to be understood about their views on diversity issues. Campus racial/ethnic tensions find themselves in classrooms, in affinity group meetings, in social settings, and some parts of the campus climate. The experience of engaging others in open conversation about these often complex and uncomfortable topics, and of doing so in an academic context, facilitates leadership growth in students and develops skills to talk to others about anti-racism and anti-Black racism, enhancing communication and social connectedness. Campus experience of this sort can infuse students with optimism and the skills needed to further lead and transform the larger society, particularly in their academic fields of study.
For many students, their UCLA education is and can be an opportunity to expand value systems and cultural sophistication to meet realities that differ from their home culture/race/ethnicity. This expansion will lead them to reimagine their own racial existence as anti-racists and as leaders in the important task of communicating about lived experiences that can be transformative to anti-racism learning experiences. The growth and development that the students can experience will enable them to effectively lead the diverse world they inhabit, regardless of whether their immediate post-baccalaureate pursuits are oriented around work or graduate or professional school, or whether they are civically engaged volunteers in society or simply informed participants in a civil society. This Call for Proposals for Teaching Anti-Racism/Anti-Black Racism Courses Facilitated by Undergraduates with a Faculty Mentor constitutes a curricular response to the current challenge higher education campuses face in educating future leaders who, regardless of their majors, are civically engaged in and/or socially responsive to societal expectations for a better world.
Not all students major in subjects in which these developmental tasks can be addressed in their courses. The course initiative that generated this Call for Proposals invites all eligible students from all majors, regardless of whether the academic focus is at the cellular level or in the social sciences where race/ethnicity is a fundamental scholarly tenet in the field, to become learned peer leaders in facilitating courses designed to educate about scholarly subject matter relevant to anti-racism/anti-Black racism educational content.
Thank you for your interest in this call. Please consider submitting a proposal to contribute to producing anti-racism/anti-Black racism course materials that can be curated and archived for general campus use.
Who is eligible to apply?
Advanced juniors (must have taken courses at UCLA for one year) and seniors in conjunction with a faculty mentor are invited to submit proposals to develop and facilitate new courses with content designed to examine anti-racism/anti-Black racism based in scholarship in your discipline. Undergraduates in good academic standing who are pursuing any area of academic study within the College of Letters and Science or the Professional Schools are encouraged to apply. Interdisciplinary proposals are also welcomed. Honors Programs enrollment is not requisite. Any student who previously served in a mentored facilitator role is not eligible for this opportunity.
What kind of courses will these be?
Similar in format to Fiat Lux courses, these 1-unit Pass/No Pass courses will enroll no more than 25 students and meet for one hour each week during Winter 2024, including a final class during finals week. A unique aspect of these courses is the expectation for student facilitators, working under close supervision of the faculty of record, to develop anti-racism/anti-Black racism teaching tools (e.g., creating music, videos, lyrics, art, animation, interactive games, apps, lab exercises, etc.) for general campus use. Materials produced will be evaluated in collaboration with the UCLA Library for potential curation and archiving for general campus use.
Each course will be facilitated jointly by two students who are expected to prepare their application in collaborative activities with their faculty mentor, who will sign off on the final syllabus for distribution to the students enrolled in the class. If the proposed course is selected, both students are expected to participate actively in the development and facilitation of all class sessions with their faculty mentor providing guidance and course oversight. At least one of the two student facilitators should have the skills to develop the types of teaching tools referenced above. If not, a third student who will work on the curation of materials should join the team. UCLA regulations require that no seminars may be facilitated independently without a faculty mentor, who is the instructor of record for the course and who is responsible for the syllabus, the assignments, and submission of grades.
For students who may be interested in applying for enrollment in these seminars, a description of the courses will be made available, and a contract as to expectation of interactive participation will be part of the online registration process. Any undergraduate students will be allowed to enroll regardless of their year and they will not necessarily need to be a part of Honors Programs.
What are the expectations for student facilitators?
Spring 2023—Application Process
Student teams that are interested in applying to facilitate an anti-racism/anti-Black racism course should work closely with their faculty mentors to select an academic area and develop a course proposal for 10-weeks plus a session during finals week. Faculty mentors must be Academic Senate ladder faculty, as the mentoring of students, oversight of student enrollment in a course during the preparation of the course, and being an instructor of record for the actual course are important components of this activity.
The following materials must be submitted by the June 7, 2023 application deadline:
Application, which includes the name of the faculty mentor indicating their involvement in developing and endorsing the submitted course proposal;
Current resume for each student, which describes their expertise in proposed content area and experiences in teaching, tutoring, and engaging in peer led activities;
Unofficial transcript; and
Faculty Mentor Agreement of course supervision, and agreement to work with the students to develop the course, approve the final syllabus for distribution to the class, visit at least one class, assign grades, and submit grades.
Fall 2023—Mentored Course Development Experience
Student facilitators will enroll in a 4-unit academic activity (e.g., independent study, teaching practicum or directed readings) of the faculty mentor’s determination. The faculty mentor will guide the students in creating a syllabus and preparing teaching tools and materials, including 5-6 course activities intended for curation.
In addition to whatever meetings and work requirements of the faculty mentor, the students will be required to meet twice with University Librarians to learn about protections of, and requirements for, public archiving of the curate materials; this training will need to be completed during Fall Quarter while teaching tool products are being finalized. A first draft submission of the syllabus for feedback and review by members of our advisory committee by Week 6 is required. Two meetings, one of which will be devoted to diversity and inclusion practices in teaching (CAT/CEILS), will be arranged and attendance is required. An additional meeting will be arranged with a faculty, graduate student, or postdoc on the experience of teaching about discipline materials on racism and race in a mixed class and attendance is required. Lastly, participation in a Slack Channel (or something equivalent) with other students preparing to facilitate these seminars to share experiences, resources, and ideas will be offered.
Winter 2024—Facilitation of Course
Facilitators offer the anti-racism/anti-Black racism seminar with close supervision of their faculty mentor, who will be the instructor of record for the course.
At the end of each class session in which a curated tool is used, student course participants will be required to fill out an evaluation indicating their thoughts about the usefulness of the teaching tools/material for curation. These student evaluations will be sent directly to the faculty mentor who, at the end of the quarter, will share them with Honors Programs and University Librarians for selection of curatable materials. If there is useful feedback to improve the material development, the faculty mentor can give feedback to the student facilitation team. Each course is expected to generate 5-6 useable produced materials suitable for curation. Students will be required to work with transfer technology and copyright rules to allow free non-commercial use. All other products not housed in the library system may be housed, with proper attributions, in Honors Programs, the Office of the Dean of Undergraduate Education, Student Affairs, and/or other Department or faculty mentor websites for general use.
To promote the exchange of ideas and knowledge and to provide and receive peer support across courses, student facilitator teams will also engage regularly with each other throughout Fall Quarter 2023 and Winter Quarter 2024 via Slack, Google, or GroupMe chat.
How many courses will be offered?
We anticipate selecting potentially up to five proposals for courses to be developed in Fall Quarter 2023 and offered in Winter Quarter 2024.
Students and faculty will be notified of the application results via email by July 24, 2023.
Student facilitators and student curators whose course proposals are selected will each receive a $500.00 stipend to be paid in Spring Quarter or Summer Quarter (for curation-related tasks that may continue into the summer) 2024, respectively.
Questions?
Please contact Honors Programs: honors@college.ucla.edu