Courageous Critical Conversations: Learning How to Facilitate Tough Topics with Elementary Students
Date: Tuesday, April 4, 2023
Time: 9:00am-4:00pm
Location: Hanahau‘oli School Professional Development Center, 1922 Makiki Street, Honolulu, HI 96822
Cost: $250. Registration scholarships available! Inquire here. Additionally, all neighbor island educators are eligible for a $200 travel stipend upon completion of the program.
In this workshop, PreK through 6th grade educators are invited to learn how to integrate the practice of Courageous Critical Conversations–conversations on the topics of race, class, gender, privilege, sexuality, and racial violence–in their elementary curricula. Explore the successes and challenges experienced when having Courageous Critical Conversations, and have the opportunity to plan, practice, and rehearse leading these conversations. Learn how to elicit student thinking, honor multiple narratives and voices, highlight inequitable power relations, and use the conversations as a starting point for taking collective action. Expect to leave the workshop with the knowledge and confidence you need for making Courageous Critical Conversations a regular part of your teaching practice.
All workshop participants will receive two children’s books related to social/environmental justice to facilitate Courageous Critical Conversations with students, and lunch will be provided.
About the Facilitators:
Rayna Fujii, Ph.D. serves as the Elementary Statewide Coordinator for the University of Hawaiʻi Mānoa College of Education providing licensing for K-6 teachers throughout the island state. Previously, she worked as an elementary school teacher for nine years in the Department of Education for the State of Hawaiʻi. Dr. Fujii currently teaches undergraduate courses on teacher preparation, including introduction to teaching, social studies and multicultural education. Additionally, Dr. Fujii has co-facilitated professional development workshops focused on social studies, social justice issues, CCCs and elementary social studies to in-service teachers. Dr. Fujii has presented her work at local, national and international conferences, including the International Conference for Social Justice, Schools of the Future, National Council for Social Studies, Association of Teacher Educators, and the International Conference on Education Hawai’i. Throughout her career, she continues to pursue her interests in social justice, social studies, teacher education and online/distance learning.
Rosela Balinbin Santos, Ph.D. is an Assistant Professor and Cohort Coordinator at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, College of Education working with teacher candidates pursuing a Bachelor's degree in K-6 education. Dr. Balinbin Santos currently teaches undergraduate courses in teacher preparation, including social studies and multicultural education. She spent several summers teaching ethnic studies and women's studies courses at the UH Maui College through the UH Mānoa Outreach Program. She also spent several summers co-teaching an international experience course with other COE faculty in partnership with a university from Japan. Additionally, Dr. Balinbin Santos has co-facilitated professional development workshops focused on social justice, CCCs and elementary social studies to in-service teachers. Dr. Balinbin Santos serves on the UHM College of Education’s Teacher Education Committee on Social Studies and co-chairs the Tinalak Filipino Advisory Council. She has presented her work at local, national and international conferences, including the International Conference for Social Justice, Schools of the Future, National Council for Social Studies, Association of Teacher Educators and the Hawaiʻi Educational Research Association. Throughout her career as a former elementary teacher and in higher education, Dr. Balinbin Santos continues to pursue her interests in social justice, diversity, and place-based experiences.
Lisel Alice Murdock-Perriera, Ph.D. is an Assistant Professor of Early Childhood Studies at Sonoma State University. In addition teaching preservice and in-service teachers during her Doctoral work at Stanford University and as a lecturer at Mills College, Dr. Murdock-Perriera received a three-year teaching fellowship and two independent development (TEAGLE) grants to provide training and course development in rehearsal techniques and pedagogical approaches essential to this project. Her research in this area has been presented at the Literacy Research Association Annual Conference, the American Educational Research Association Conference, and the Conference on Education and Social Justice. In addition to a publication in Professing Education, she has two pieces currently under review on the topic of critical conversations. Dr. Murdock-Perriera has coordinated with eight schools and districts and more than 15 classrooms in implementing CCCs with young children (ages 3-10) as well as teaching sections on this topic in two of her courses each semester.