Innovative Equity-Focused Professional Learning Series Now a Book

By NWEA

On September 26, 2023

"The Equity Expression: Six Entry Points for Nonnegotiable Academic Success," by NWEA's Fenesha Hubbard provides educators a framework for building more equitable classrooms.

PORTLAND, Ore., Sept. 26, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- K-12 assessment and research organization NWEA announced today the availability of a new book by author Fenesha Hubbard, M.Ed., lead professional learning designer at the organization. Jointly published by Corwin Press and NWEA, the book, titled "The Equity Expression: Six Entry Points for Nonnegotiable Academic Success," is based on the equity-focused professional learning series offered by NWEA for K-8 educators featuring the innovative framework centered on six entry points to equity: mindsets, relationships, products, spaces, processes and systems.

"Equity work is complex. Sometimes just talking about equity work is difficult and that's why I've developed a resource that will guide educators in their equity conversations and empower them to create learning spaces and opportunities that build more equitable classrooms and instruction," said Hubbard.

The workshop series and the book address several key elements currently missing in equity conversations, including:

Addressing teacher efficacy, which is the level of confidence the teachers have in their ability to guide students toward success.
Making sense of pedagogical content knowledge, which is a combination of what teachers know about the subject they teach, and how they teach it to make that content come alive for students.
Highlighting concepts and approaches that support a teacher's continuous personal growth and professional learning - such as academic identities, data identities, and self-reflection as a practice.

One of the distinguishing features of this professional learning series, and a highlight of the book, is a specific framework organized around six entry points for equity:

Mindsets: Focuses on how mental attitudes impact academic identities, or how a person thinks about teaching and learning, engages with students, and what they believe about teaching and learning.
Relationships: Dives into the importance of understanding how building and maintaining psychologically safe relationships with other educators can amplify their agency as an equity empowered educator.
Products: Highlights the equity look-fors in the tools used to support teaching and learning, and understanding why products need to reflect the ideas and experiences that learners will recognize.
Spaces: Examines the environments created for learning and the messages these spaces convey to learners.
Processes: Investigates what educators have been taught about assessments, and reconsiders how they think about assessment processes in teaching and learning.
Systems: Featuring advice from fellow educators, this entry point focuses on how to thrive in systems fraught with inequities.

"What makes this framework so impactful is the focus on the individual teacher and helping them understand all the aspects of themselves that they bring into their classrooms," said Hubbard. "The series and the book are a way for them to holistically improve their own craft of teaching and connect equity to their day-to-day instructional practices. It's deeply personal work."

The new book is available at https://us.corwin.com/books/equityexpression-284012

Learn more about the professional learning series at https://www.nwea.org/professional-learning/creating-supportive-environments/

About NWEA

NWEA^® (a division of HMH) is a mission-driven organization that supports students and educators in more than 146 countries through research, assessment solutions, policy and advocacy services, professional learning and school improvement services that fight for equity, drive classroom impact and push for systemic change in our educational communities. Visit NWEA.org to learn more about how we're partnering with educators to help all kids learn.

Contact: Simona Beattie, Sr. Manager, Public Relations, simona.beattie@nwea.org or 971.361.9526

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SOURCE NWEA

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