Kimberly Spence, a 2024 graduate of the EdD in Educational & Professional Practice, has written and published her dissertation titled Recognizing Whiteness & Dismantling Racism in Schools: Developing a Professional Learning Series to Prepare a Predominantly White Teaching Force to Teach and Reach Students of Color.
With over twenty years of experience in a large public school system, Spence has worked as a teacher, department chair, and leader in professional and lifelong learning. Her focus has been on the importance of collaboration in the classroom, kinesthetic learning, and antiracist education, where she’s led and facilitated several equity-centered workshops, intentional learning communities, and professional development opportunities. To ensure diverse perspectives and build critical consciousness within the World Language curriculum of her district, Spence created lessons to enhance the learner experience within the existing units.
She continues her work as an antiracist teacher leader through the delivery of her professional learning series, EmpowerED, to offer a transformative experience that empowers educators to refine their practice, reshape their pedagogy, and actively contribute to the reform of the educational system.
Through formative assessment and impact assessment questions, Spence’s dissertation presents research on how classroom teachers can become more effective in teaching their students of color. Through an examination of the literature on critical whiteness studies, critical pedagogy, antiracist education, and transformative leadership, a professional learning program has been designed to offer space for educators to recognize their roles within the school system pertaining to whiteness ideologies and racist policies and practices.
Backward design and understanding by design methods were applied to develop a professional learning program that allows for flexibility in the learning process. Spence’s goal is that the program be delivered for the participants to critically reflect on their current teaching practices and how they may be unintentionally harming their students of color. The professional learning program will offer opportunities for the implementation of new learning that will lead to changes in instructional practices that create equitable learning experiences for all students. Included in the program design is formative assessment as well as impact assessment questions to determine the merit and worth of the program.
Read and download Spence’s dissertation, Recognizing Whiteness & Dismantling Racism in Schools: Developing a Professional Learning Series to Prepare a Predominantly White Teaching Force to Teach and Reach Students of Color.
