Toolkit for Identity. Diversity. Justice. Action.

Familiarize yourself more deeply with Teaching Tolerance’s Anti-bias Framework (ABF) by sorting standards into domains and brainstorming ways to apply the ABF to your own practice. 

"Identity. Diversity. Justice. Action." explained the rationale and basic structure of Teaching Tolerance’s Anti-bias Framework (ABF), so you know it’s structured around four anti-bias goals or domains. But how can you examine the Anti-bias Standards more closely and apply them to your own practice? Using this toolkit, you and your colleagues can work collaboratively to engage with the standards more deeply and discover ways to apply the ABF to your daily work.

Essential Questions

1. What is the purpose of the Anti-bias Framework?
2. How is the Anti-bias Framework structured?
3. How can you apply the Anti-bias Framework to your own practice?

Part One

Preparation

After reading the article, “Identity. Diversity. Justice. Action.” with a group of your colleagues, make enough copies of the anchor standards for each group of three to five participants. Cut each set into strips. Place each set of standards strips in its own envelope or bag.

Procedure

• Pass out an envelope or bag of Anti-bias Standards to each group.
• Instruct participants to sort the standards into the anti-bias domains: Identity, Diversity, Justice and Action. While sorting, participants should discuss how the various standards might apply both in school and community.
• Pass out copies of the Anti-bias Framework. Look at the 20 anchor standards. See how your sort compares, and discuss any discrepancies.
• Some things to consider in your discussion:
  • What do you notice about the progression from the first to the last standard within each domain?
  • How might standards #5, #10 and #15 serve as segues into the next domain?
  • Which standards seem to relate across domains?
  • Why is it important for teaching and learning to take place within each and all of the four anti-bias domains? What is the effect of skipping or getting stuck in a domain?

Part Two

Preparation

After completing the sort, regroup with a different small group of three to five colleagues. Be prepared to present or talk about one unit or lesson you usually teach.

Procedure

1. Have each participant briefly describe a lesson or unit into which they could integrate the Anti-bias Framework. While your colleagues share, make note of ways you see them already applying particular Anti-bias Standards, as well as places where you think more or different Anti-bias Standards apply.
2. After everyone has shared one idea, take turns giving feedback about the ways your colleagues are already doing anti-bias work, possibly without even knowing it. Correlate your feedback as much as possible to specific standards from the sort you completed in part one.
3. Next, work together to give each group member two to three suggestions about how the lesson or unit presented might be modified to address more or different standards. Think about which standards you see as particularly relevant to your school, community or even specific groups of students, as well as why. Make note of the suggestions you receive from your colleagues.
4. Reflect individually by listing which suggestions you find most realistic and making an action plan for incorporating more anti-bias work, based on the ABF, into your curriculum.