Fireside Chat: Improvement: Promoting Change and Guiding Resistance

One of the most promising aspect of Improvement Science is the potential of the work to accelerate outcomes for students furthest from success. How do you stay the course with that objective when talking about targeting by some characteristics causes political problems. what strategies or tactics can protect the equity work in these difficult environments? About the Speakers Dr. Brandi Nicole Hinnant-Crawford is an Associate Professor of Educational Leadership at Clemson University. She holds bachelors degrees in English and Communication from North Carolina State University, a masters in Urban Education Policy from Brown University, and a PhD in Educational Studies from Emory University. Brandi has studied and worked in K-12 and higher education policy for the last 10 years, doing research, evaluation, and policy analysis with entities as varied as the University System of Georgia and Syracuse City School District. Her research agenda employs justice framework where she intentionally seeks to expose policies and practices related to exploitation, domination, and marginalization; her broad interest include multicultural education, teacher activism, African American activism, improvement science, and education policy. Louis Gomez is a Distinguished Professor of Education at UCLA. Before joining the UCLA faculty, he was the Helen S. Faison Professor of Urban Education and Sr. Scientist at the Learning Research and Development Center (LRDC) at the University of Pittsburgh. His scholarship focuses on understanding how to support organizational change in schools and other institutions. Along with his colleagues, Professor Gomez has been dedicated to collaborative research and development with urban communities, bringing the current state-of-the-art instruction and support for community formation to traditionally underserved schools. Most recently, Professor Gomez has focused on problem-solving research and development. This is R&D organized around high-leverage problems embedded in the day-to-day work of teaching and learning, as well as the institutions in which these activities occur. Professor Gomez received a B.A. in Psychology from the State University of New York at Stony Brook and a Ph.D. in Cognitive Psychology from the University of California at Berkeley. Moderated by Juli Coleman, Chief of Improvement, School Networks, CORE Districts