The third in a series of webinars for the Ascender Foundational Seminar took place on June 18 with approximately 30 in attendance. It featured Laura Rendón, Professor Emerita, University of Texas-San Antonio, and was titled “Working Effectively with Underserved Students During the Pandemic.” The session focused on the importance of validation-rich learning environments, the need to recognize, validate and leverage student assets, and the importance of engaging students in deep, contemplative learning experiences. Dr. Rendon ended her session with a reading of her poem “Realm Shift” and a Q&A session.
“In less than six months our world has been turned upside down with chaos, stress and uncertainty. People from underserved communities have been disproportionately impacted by the Coronavirus pandemic, and now is a critical time to assure that students are assisted to learn and fulfill their hopes and dreams,” stated Rendon.
The next zoom session’s objective is to introduce the participants to CTN’s language arts component. It will be on July 17 with guest speaker Norma Elia Cantú, a prominent Chicana/o and Latina/o cultural studies expert and author, as the Norine R. and T. Frank Murchison Endowed Professor in Humanities at Trinity College. Cantú is professor emerita of English and U.S. Latina/o Literatures at the University of Texas at San Antonio. Her teaching career also includes a 20-year tenure on the faculty at Texas A&M International University in Laredo, Texas. Her research and creative writings focus on the cultural and literary production along the U.S.-Mexico borderlands.
On July 27th and 28th, CTN will be conducting three Q&A practitioner panels via webinar addressing the following topics: Curriculum and Instruction, Mentoring/Student Engagement, and Advising. The final webinar will be on August 14th.