Decentering Whiteness

Course Description

This digital course called Decentering Whiteness will provide you with valuable insights and practical strategies for creating a more equitable and inclusive learning environment. UMD instructors have an important responsibility to serve all members of our diverse community and to prepare scholars for success in all disciplines. Throughout this course, you'll explore the pervasive impact of white supremacy on education, understand the transformative goals of anti-racist education, and learn how to implement strategies to decenter whiteness in your teaching. This course will guide you through self-reflection, critical analysis, and practical strategies to dismantle white supremacy culture in education. You'll be equipped to identify and address systemic biases, reshape your syllabus, and foster an environment where every student feels valued and empowered.

Course Learning Outcomes

By the end of this digital course, you will be able to:

• Define white supremacy and white supremacist ideology and articulate their pervasive impact on education.
• Explain the transformative goals of anti-racist education.
• Discover and implement strategies to decenter whiteness.
• Identify three strategies to decenter whiteness in your syllabus and reshape your course.

Content

1. Unpacking White Supremacy and Its Impact on Education.
2. Goals and Benefits of Anti-Racist Education.
3. Practical Classroom Strategies to Decenter Whiteness.
4. Transform Your Syllabus.

Expectations

This digital course consists of 4 lessons, which altogether will take approximately 50-70 minutes to complete. Additional resources or tips for further exploration are provided at the end of each lesson. Each lesson culminates in a reflective journaling opportunity or action item and to enable you to move on to the next lesson.

Intended Audience

UMD faculty, staff, and graduate students

Digital Badge

By completing this course, you will earn your Decentering Whiteness micro-credential. To receive recognition for your efforts, simply explore each page and complete all reflective journals or action items within this course.

This badge is an exciting step towards earning your Inclusive Pedagogy Practitioner meta-credential from the TLTC’s Teaching Academy.