Denmark, S.C. – Tywana Chenault Hemby, dean of humanities, education, and social science at Voorhees University, will present a pre-conference workshop in Atlanta on June 3 titled “Teaching African American Students.” One component of the workshop, to be held during the 2022 Teaching Professor Conference, will focus on effectively discussing race across disciplines with African American students.
Hemby says that even in today’s politically, economically, and racially divided society, there are teaching strategies to address diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging that increase motivation and academic performance.
“Teachers and the African American students they teach, enter the classroom with their own authoritative experiences that shape their shared learning environment. If the goal of education is to teach students to apply the knowledge, they have acquired to grapple with and solve real-world challenges; then we must address the proverbial elephants in the room,” she says.
According to Hemby, lessons learned from the workshop will enable participants to engage students in difficult conversations about race in higher education, identify the impact of culture and race in educational spaces, and discuss the issues, challenges, and joys associated with teaching African American students.
The three-day conference will offer opportunities for educators to exchange ideas and learn about the latest research in teaching. The goal is to help them prepare students for better learning outcomes.
A high-resolution image of Hemby is available at https://voorhees.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/TC-Hemby-headshot-4-scaled.jpg
