Course Introduction
Introduction
About this Course
This course provides educators and school administrators with an overview of four evidence-backed school practices and structures that enhance the wellbeing of LGBTQ students. We’ll describe what these look like, why they’re important, the ways they enhance school climate, and how to apply them in your school’s context.
Each lesson provides opportunities to pause and reflect on your experiences as an educator and how the information could be applied to your classroom or school. These reflections can also become group discussions if you are taking this course with colleagues.
The four lessons also include “Extra Credit” sections that delve deeper into the topics or ask questions that will help you take these practices beyond the basics, furthering the inclusion and support of LGBTQ students and families at your school. Finally, each lesson includes a downloadable list of additional resources, references to the research, and a short evaluation of the lesson.
Depending on the time you take for self-reflection or group discussions, the course should take approximately 2 to 4 hours.
To succeed in this course, learners will need access to a computer, laptop, tablet or mobile device with an internet browser, high-speed internet access, and a quiet environment for reading, listening, viewing, and note-taking. Access to a printer will be helpful if you want to print downloaded materials that are provided.
Learning Objectives and Activities
The Learning Objectives for the course are:
- Learners will be able to describe the practices that help mitigate academic and health risks that LGBTQ students face in school.
- Learners are able to plan the implementation of one or more of the practices described in the module in their school settings.
- Learners will engage in additional opportunities to learn about LGBTQ student support and share information and resources on this topic with peers.
Learning materials and activities include short videos, written content sections, self-reflection and discussion activities, and interactive knowledge checks. Each unit ends with a few questions asking the learner to gauge their understanding, and upon conclusion, learners are asked to evaluate the applicability of the information presented and provide feedback to improve future iterations of the module.
Resources provided in each module include a number of books, websites, peer-reviewed research articles and meta-analyses, and other studies that survey LGBTQ students’ experiences, including the large-scale bi-annual National School Climate Survey by GLSEN and the CDC’s Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System.