About 120 people attended Dr. Hollie's presentation, sponsored by the Center for Visual Literacies and funding from COE Dean Joseph F. Johnson, Jr.
“I recently saw him present and thought the topic of cultural and linguistic responsiveness would be relevant and important for our faculty and students,” said Dr. Marva Cappello, a faculty in COE’s School of Teacher Education and director of the Center for Visual Literacies. “In a region like San Diego which such diverse students, this topic is critical for pedagogy and relationship building in schools.”
The SDSU Center for Visual Literacies focuses on two related goals: improving student learning through visually-integrated teaching practices and exploring the potential of visuals as data and for data analysis in qualitative inquiry.
During his presentation, Hollie, who together with his team have worked with more than 100,000 educators, focused on two interrelated goals: changing mindsets and developing skillsets. He taught participants practical ways to make cultural responsiveness a meaningful aspect of teaching practice.
Cappello indicated the four phases toward responsiveness—validate, affirm, build, and bridge–were helpful.
"Being culturally responsive is an approach to living life in a way that practices the validation and affirmation of different cultures for the purposes of moving beyond race and moving below the surface focus on culture,” Cappello said. “I appreciated the interactive activities that forced us to reflect on our own perceptions of race and ethnicity.”