Learning Resources
Lumen Learning Partners with Howard U for Equitable Courseware
Lumen Learning has announced a partnership with Howard University's Center for Excellence in Teaching, Learning & Assessment (CETLA) to help develop equity-centered learning solutions for a new statistics course and platform. The goal: to develop more effective and culturally relevant courseware for minority and low-income students and improve outcomes in gateway courses.
Howard faculty and CETLA staff are providing feedback throughout the courseware development process, such as how specific courseware features might be used and best practices for supporting faculty in their courseware implementation. Their insights — particularly around creating inclusive and supportive student learning environments — are informing the way Lumen designs features of the new statistics platform, the company explained in a news announcement. For example, the collaboration has helped Lumen build tools that share timely information about students' engagement within the course and identify students who may need additional support.
"Our partnership with Lumen Learning is helping to address learning experiences and environments for underrepresented students, with an intentional focus on students of color," said Morris Thomas, Ph.D., director of the Center for Excellence in Teaching, Learning & Assessment, in a statement. "I am confident the insights we're learning in partnership with Lumen will provide direction for enhanced courseware design leading to more equitable outcomes for underserved students who are participating in gateway courses, such as Introduction to Statistics."
"We are so grateful for the opportunity to partner with the renowned faculty and staff at Howard University to create future courseware that will meet and exceed the educational needs for all students," said Kim Thanos, co-founder and CEO of Lumen Learning. "Howard has long led the field in creating learning experiences that engage and empower Black students, with inspiring results. Having Howard's voice at the table is instrumental to guide our design processes, creating solutions that incorporate and build on Howard's expertise. This is central to our goal to improve outcomes for all students in key gateway courses, and to ultimately eliminate race and income as predictors of student success."
About the Author
Rhea Kelly is editor in chief for Campus Technology, THE Journal, and Spaces4Learning. She can be reached at [email protected].
