"When The Heart of the Student-Clinician Becomes the Voice of the Community: Moving the Needle from Justice-Centered Pedagogy to High-Impact Advocacy"

Presenter(s): Leslie Gruber, Ed.D., CCC-SLP, TSHH,
Director of Clinical Education and Clinical Services, School of Education
Track III. Teaching Forward: Equity, Innovation, and Transformative Learning 

Abstract: This presentation will demonstrate how student clinicians can identify systemic barriers to communication access and design measurable advocacy initiatives that support community clients through reflective practice and Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound (SMART) goal development through the Lehman College graduate course, Social Justice in Speech-Language Pathology — a case study for equity-focused pedagogy and high-impact clinical advocacy. Rooted in the philosophy that justice is the public face of love, the curriculum challenges students to move from theoretical understanding and toward transformative learning experiences that center marginalized populations that they know through interdisciplinary principles of social justice and cultural responsivity that help student clinicans identify systemic, linguistic, and cultural barriers that obstruct equitable access to service provision.

• Themes: equity-centered pedgaogy, social justice, clinical decision making and advocacy, SMART goals, curricular design, culture, community.

"Translanguaging & Teaching: Opportunities for Teaching Candidates to Connect Theory to Practice"

Presenter(s): Martha Rosas, Ed.D, Assistant Professor
Early Childhood & Childhood Education, School of Education
Track III. Teaching Forward: Equity, Innovation, and Transformative Learning 

Abstract: The presentation discusses a fieldwork assignment for teaching candidates to work with a bilingual child on a translanguaging strategy which they choose based on translanguaging theory and classroom observations of the child’s languaging practices. The use of translanguaging in the classroom is considered an equity-based pedagogical approach because it leverages the full linguistic repertoire of bilingual children in content-area teaching. Although teacher candidates learn about translanguaging theories in their teacher education programs, they do not necessarily always have opportunities to enact these practices during the fieldwork experiences they have during their first semesters in which they are expected to observe the teaching practices in a classroom. This presentation discusses the use of a fieldwork assignment in which incoming teaching candidates try out a targeted translanguaging strategy with a bilingual child which they choose based on what they have learned about this child's languaging practices through classroom observations and class discussions.

• Themes: translanguaging, equity-based pedagogy, fieldwork, early childhood and childhood education.

"From the Boogie Down to Ciudad de los Tinajones: Learning, Community and Transformation in Cuba"

Presenter(s): Jaye Jones, Ph.D., Senior Director of Student Support Services
Division of Student Affairs
Track III. Teaching Forward: Equity, Innovation, and Transformative Learning 

Abstract: In January 2026, a multidisciplinary delegation of faculty and staff from Lehman College embarked on a 10-day educational journey titled "Lehman in the Provinces." Traveling across the island from the urban beauty of Havana to the historic city of Camaguey, participants engaged with local educators and students, community leaders, and cultural institutions. This panel features members of the delegation who will explore how this immersion into the Cuban educational, social, and cultural landscape has reshaped their professional identities and pedagogical approaches.

• Themes: Cuba, professional development, international education and pedagogy, culture and community.

"Reimagining Academic Advising Through a Human-Centered Design Thinking Sprint While Helping to Prepare Students for the Future of Work"

Presenter(s): Andy Gold, Clinical Professor, School of Business,
Richard Finger, Vice President for Enrollment Management, Management & Business Innovation - Division of Enrollment Management
Lisa Moalem Shechter, Director, Undergraduate Academic Advisement -
Division of Enrollment Management
Track III. Teaching Forward: Equity, Innovation, and Transformative Learning 

Abstract: This session will show how Lehman designed and facilitated a human-centered 'design thinking sprint' for academic advisors to attend to the non-linear and evolving needs of Lehman College students. Participants in this session will engage in a brief applied activity and leave with practical tools to adapt for advising, teaching, and student support. Participants will also gain insight into how advisors worked across units, taking on the perspective of various core stakeholder groups to develop an empathy focused problem statement and ultimately co-create a prototype for an actionable solution. Rather than focusing on theory, the sprint emphasized practical tools such as empathy mapping, problem framing, rapid ideation, and simple prototyping. The process led to shared problem statements, clearer identification of friction points in advising, and early prototype ideas focused on more proactive advising conversations, stronger career signaling, and greater student ownership of academic decisions.

• Themes: design thinking sprint, academic advising, empathy mapping, problem framing, student support.

"Moving the Needle: The Power of Relational Pedagogy in Promoting Belonging and Equity in Higher Education"

Presenter(s): Mohan Vinjamuri, Associate Professor, Department of Social Work and Eleni Toumarides, Clinical Assistant Professor, Wurzweiler School of Social Work - Yeshiva University
Track I. Belonging: Teaching as a Human-Centered Practice 

Abstract: In a time of social and institutional uncertainty, higher education faculty are navigating classrooms shaped by exposure to trauma, complex identities, and shifting norms of professionalism. Yet traditional academic models for teaching often prioritize emotional neutrality and content delivery over relational engagement. When faculty approach teaching as a relational, human-centered endeavor, they create conditions in which students—particularly those from historically marginalized communities—can take intellectual risks, engage authentically, and exercise agency. This interactive workshop draws on trauma-informed pedagogy and reimagines teaching as a human-centered, equity-focused practice in which relational presence and ethical engagement with vulnerability cultivates belonging and student agency. Additionally this workshop emphasizes that equity-focused teaching is not an add-on but a daily practice embedded in how educators respond to uncertainty, difference, and emotion. Through guided reflection, applied vignettes, and collaborative dialogue, participants will leave with practical strategies to move from practice to impact in their own teaching contexts.

• Themes: trauma-informed pedagogy, agency, belonging, intellectual risks, emotional complexity.

"From Creative Practice to Measurable Impact: Arts-Based Teaching in the First-Year Experience"

Presenter(s): Shahaan Azeem, Coordinator and Education, School of Education
Track III. Teaching Forward: Equity, Innovation, and Transformative Learning 

Abstract: First-year seminar courses play an important role in shaping students’ transition into academic life, particularly at diverse urban institutions where students enter with varied educational experiences and levels of confidence. This session will explore how arts-based teaching practices translate creative engagement into measurable impact within the first-year experience. Evidence of impact for arts-based teaching includes increased class participation, deeper reflection in student work, and noticeable growth in confidence and peer connection. These outcomes show how intentional creative practices can lead to meaningful and measurable improvements in student learning and engagement.

• Themes: arts-based education and teaching, student engagement, student voice, peer conntection, urban education, confidence.

"Promoting Inclusion and Belonging in a Hispanic Serving Academic Institution"

Presenter(s): Darcel Reyes, Deputy Chair, Associate Professor - Department of Nursing, School of Health Sciences, Human Services, and Nursing.
Track I. Belonging: Teaching as a Human-Centered Practice 

Abstract: Inclusion and Belonging (I&B) are increasingly vital at Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSI). In this workshop, participants will learn how The School of Health Services, Human Services, and Nursing (HS2N) responded to I&B related needs through an interactive workshop serires for faculty and staff in the 2024 - 2025 academic year using the Whole Experience Framework (WEF) as the guiding pedagogical framework, which consists of five core elements: Welcoming (creating a sense of belonging), Holistic (considering the whole person), Open (encouraging feedback and self-reflection), Liberating (offering flexibility and adaptability), and Empowering (providing participants choice in how they learn). Takeaways for this session will include insights into I&B related issues that each session addressed and the teaching strategies such as collaborative learning, reflective writing, community concept mapping, and problem-based learning. Each session centered on a specific I&B issue: listening to community voices, practicing cultural humility, addressing racial and ethnic health inequities, deconstructing racism in academia, and understanding bias in artificial intelligence. Racially diverse facilitators ensured credibility and relatability for participants. This series found that WEF fostered open discussion and validated diverse experiences, supporting adult learning and inclusion. Participants indicated plans to integrate I&B principles into curricula, professional relationships, and policies.

• Themes: Whole Experience Framework, Hispanic-Serving Institution, inclusion and belonging, active learning strategies.

"Reading I Am Alfonso Jones: Student Voices Speak to Book Bans and Censorship"

Presenter(s): Mariposa Fernández, adjunct professor, with English Major students Elisia Ayala, Chantal Jimenez, Nahomi Gonzalez, Eloise Rigaud, Natalie Rodriguez.
Track III. Teaching Forward: Equity, Innovation, and Transformative Learning 

Abstract: This presentation explores how teaching banned and challenged books safeguards First Amendment freedoms and affirms students’ right to read, explore and think independently. Focusing on I Am Alfonso Jones and selected poems by Tony Medina, Chulito: A Novel by Charles Rice-Gonzalez, and Pájaros, lesbianas y queers…¡a volar! An LGBTQ+ Anthology of Dominican Transnational Writers, edited by Yoseli Castillo Fuertes and Alicia Anabel Santos Diaz, Mariposa Fernandez examines how literature centering Black, Afro Latinx, and LGBTQ lives resists censorship. By situating these texts within ongoing national debates about book bans, the presentation argues that teaching them is both a pedagogical and civic act that defends intellectual freedom, cultural memory, and democratic discourse.

• Themes: banned books, Latinx, Afro-Latinx, LGBTQ, first amendment, intellectual freedom.