Three Clark State College professors have received the Ohio College Teaching Consortium (OCTC) Inclusive Teaching Endorsement.
Dr. Patience Olajide, Dr. Danielle Roach and Dr. M. Katie Rismiller are three of 90 educators statewide who completed required professional development hours and reflective activities.
“I am extremely proud of Dr. Patience Olajide, Dr. Danielle Roach, and Professor M. Katie Rismiller for taking on this additional task amid everything else they were doing in 2020-2021 academic year, said Dr. Tiffany Hunter, Provost and vice president of academic affairs at Clark State. “This was a rigorous year-long professional development experience, and they excelled in their work.”
The OCTC was founded in the fall of 2020 to equip higher education instructors with evidence-based teaching strategies that contribute to learning environments supporting the success of all learners, particularly first-generation students, members of under-represented groups and adult learners seeking to complete a college degree or retrain for the workforce.
Dr. Olajide, assistant professor in the Clark State School of Health, Human & Public Services, said that achieving professional knowledge is an ongoing quest, and she is open to available opportunities that address racial bias both at the interpersonal and intrapersonal levels that could help sieve out any bias that can discourage student learning outcome in a college environment.
"This OCDC inclusive teaching endorsement was an eye opener that sent me into doing in-depth research on equity and biases that go unnoticed,” she said.
Roach, assistance professor for the college of arts and sciences said her favorite courses to teach are English I and College Writing Essentials because often she is meeting students toward the beginning of their time at Clark State.
“The OCTC Inclusive Teaching program encouraged me to think about a lot of different ways to foster equity and inclusion, especially in those early classes, so that students feel like a valued part of our college community,” she said. “I hope the Consortium continues to offer this particular program and that more faculty are able to participate.”
Roach said the course topics and themes align with much of what Clark State is doing with Achieving the Dream and the Strategic Plan, especially in regards to first-generation and underserved students populations.
“It was energizing to hear from experts from other Ohio schools and to get to be part of a larger community of folks who are committed to the same goals and outcomes for our students,” she said.
Rismiller said she and others want to be more inclusive in the classroom.
“Achieving this endorsement gave me tangible strategies to implement this semester and will have an immediate effect on student comfort and success,” she said. “One of the most important things to keep in mind is, no matter how much work we do to improve our understanding of inclusive environments, the work is never done.”
Hunter said the OCTC Inclusive Teaching Endorsement provided Olajide, Roach and Rismiller with the opportunity to learn new teaching strategies that will better support all students.
“I am honored to have them as faculty at Clark State College,” she said.