Queering the Schoolhouse: LGBTQ+ Inclusion for Educators (Coursera)

In this course, you will learn about the history of LGBTQ+ issues in education and develop strategies for building more inclusive learning environments for students, teachers, and community members. This course will provide you with insights and equip you with strategies for exploring inclusion for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer or questioning learners in your specific professional context.

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Throughout the videos, reading assignments, and additional resources we’ve provided, you’ll be exposed to a range of concepts and techniques for enhancing LGBTQ+ inclusion. You’ll be challenged to integrate those concepts and techniques in your practice as an educator. We’ve created this course for anybody who’s interested in learning more about LGBTQ+ identities and experiences. We specifically designed it for educators who want to explore issues related to LGBTQ+ inclusion in their classrooms. Whether you’re brand new to this topic or you’ve been thinking and talking about LGBTQ+ issues for most of your life, we hope you’ll learn and grow as you work through this class.

Syllabus

WEEK 1

Queering the Schoolhouse

Welcome to Queering the Schoolhouse course. In this short module you will get the chance to know the instructors who will help you learn and understand LGBTQ+ issues in education. We hope you enjoy in taking this course as much as we enjoyed creating it.

WEEK 2

Allyship and Advocacy

In this module, we’re going to explore three concepts: allies, accomplices, and advocates. People use these three words to talk about the kinds of actions they want to see from others who want to act on their behalf. Although this module focuses specifically on what it means to be an ally for LGBTQ+ people, many of the ideas we’ll work with here apply to being an ally for other marginalized people and communities. This module will prepare you to talk about allyship, advocacy, and accomplices, as well as to support LGBTQ+ people through your words and actions.

WEEK 3

LGBTQ+ Experiences in Schools

In this module, we will briefly discuss the history of LGBTQ+ experiences in school. Then, we will examine some statistics to understand the current state of LGBTQ+ experiences of school. Finally, we will learn how to frame problems that LGBTQ+ students face in a way that supports school-wide solutions.

WEEK 4

Showing up for LGBTQ+ Students: Five Strategies

In this module, we will walk through some very specific strategies you can use to help make your school more inclusive. The four strategies we will cover in this module are: Ask for and use correct pronouns and names; Start or support a GSA or other school organization; Learn about school policies; and Keep learning locally and generally.

WEEK 5

Curriculum Development for Inclusion

In this module, we’ll explore and apply strategies for evaluating curricular materials. We will also be refining them to make them more inclusive of LGBTQ+ identities and experiences.

WEEK 6

Your Future as an LGBTQ+ Inclusive Educator

In this module, you’ll start planning your next steps as an LGBTQ+-inclusive educator. We want you to think of this work as a kind of personalized research project. You’ve decided to make some changes to your curriculum. Now you need to gather information about how effective those changes are. That information can help you decide what’s working and what’s not. It can also help you as you talk with colleagues, parents, students, and community members about the work you’re doing.