Inclusive Practice in Education Fellowship Program

MITRA: Great. So we might begin there. Thanks, everyone, for joining the session today, and I'd just like to begin with acknowledging the traditional owners of the land that I'm on the Gadigal, people of the Eora Nation and pay respect to elders past and present, acknowledging them as the knowledge holders and owners of this land, and also extends that acknowledgement to wherever it is that you're joining us from. And as always, we always welcome people to just pop into the chat the land that they're from and acknowledge appropriately if you choose to. Also, I'd just like to begin by saying that this session is being recorded.

We're doing that so that we can share the information after the webinar with a number of people who wanted to join us but were unable to attend the session today. So if there's any issues or concerns, please do let us know and we will respond appropriately.

And I'd also like to begin with acknowledging the partners that have come together to bring you this program. And you know, what is so exciting about the fellowship program that we're offering is the fact that it is actually combining the knowledge and experiences of a diverse set of people who have come together and worked together for some time now. And where, you know, almost like that collision of knowledge and experience is the underpinning of what we're hoping to achieve with the fellowship program and the community of practice that might emerge following it. So we're very excited to have you here.

We would like to acknowledge and I put that plus because there are so many others, you know. Remarkable, one of the original organisations that were contributing to this space, and there have been many, many others. And it is off the back of their contribution that we arrived here today.

And we thought we might begin with a bit of a background to give you a bit of history and context of how this project has emerged. And, the Inclusivity Experiments started in 2018, I believe. And it was a combination of the organisations that you saw before and others who came together to talk about inclusive design and inclusive approaches to design practice. And it began with some experiences around events-based sort of offerings where we held these sessions and had people who had various different kind of experiences, share their knowledge.

And we recognised quite early on that that was a very one-way transmission of information, that those knowledge holders were recognised for their knowledge, and they just shared it out. And there was so much missed because the people who were sitting in the audience actually were knowledgeable of this themselves.

And what we wanted to work towards was an opportunity to actually bring these people together. And so that's sort of been the basis of what has allowed us to arrive to where we are today, transitioning from a program a couple of years ago where it was around events to increasingly being more participatory, to arriving at this position at the moment where we're considering how we can more fully support a cohort to come together and share knowledge, connect and learn from each other, and also have the right kind of scaffolding to be able to do inclusive practice with a focus on education.

 

So that fellowship brings together 16 associates and will run through a 10-month program. And it is about capacity building. It's about getting the right kind of support from each other and from the program providers. And also, you know, like really getting into conversation, deep conversation around what are some of the system challenges that we're facing and how can we actually sort of be able to respond to them as a collective in terms of who can engage in this space. We are open to any UTS staff, whether they're permanent or session or casual, whether they're professional or academic academic staff, to actually engage with us.

And we're open to UTS students engaging with us. And really importantly, we recognise that there's really important knowledge outside of the higher education sector. And there are other practitioners that we could learn from and we can contribute to.

So we're also looking for external practitioners to step into this space. In terms of the application process, we are hoping to, well, as you know, the program has launched and we'll be closing applications as received applications on the 21st of September.

We're hoping to turn this around rather quickly in terms of informing successful applicants by the 4th of October and beginning the program by the 8th. It is a very tight turnaround, but in the documentation that we've provided, we've provided key dates of what is going to come so that people can be prepared so that as soon as  they are informed that they're within the program, they can they can begin to participate. And essentially what the program looks like is a structured in almost like three chunks as you have it. The first are a series of workshops at a community of practice, gatherings that are set two weeks apart beginning from October 8th, where we're going to better understand the assets of the network and what we actually each bring into the space. And then some structured conversations around broadening our understanding around inclusive educational practice and figuring out how we can actually frame our practice, imagining a future and work towards it.

The conversation has been going more towards practical workshops where participants will engage in a design studio in that space. We're going to bring together the associates with people with lived experience to really actually consider how we can co-design a future together and engage in some of the activities that we think will bring life to this space.

And we will support our participants with an evaluation workshop. The program is sort of designed so that we can set people up for success and potentially implementations in the new year where we can actually then get together and use the community of practices, brains trust and as an actual learning circle to be able to further develop the kind of work we do and support each other into the future. In terms of the benefits of the program. It's about us coming together as connection. The program itself doesn't, is not the only instigator of developing capacity. The people who participate in it have a lot of knowledge that they will bring to bear.

And it's about us actually facilitating those connections and networks and learning together. It's about development of our capacity through those kind of processes, you know, trying to actually understand the systems that are involved. And then some really practical opportunities that will be open to the people who are participating in this program only.

So one of our partners, Canva, is going to offer three months of pro subscription to have a package which is really super generous of them and exciting to the people who participate in this program. And at its conclusion, will be supported and have access to a Social Impact Grant, which is a five thousand dollar grant that they can competitively apply for. But it will be a closed grant only available to the people who are participating in this cohort. And they can also apply to participate in LX Labs. Academic in residence program will provide additional support and specialised services as well.

We recognise that this space is really you know, there's a lot of people who are participating in inclusive design practice who are not necessarily supported through a formal employment kind of contract and not doing it as part of their work.

But they're doing it alongside because they are casual staff or students and engage in various different kind of spaces. So to in order to ensure that we're actually having full participation, we have to do have some stipends that we will make available to people who are within those categories and need that kind of support to be able to fully participate, because we really value that kind of contribution to the program. So as part of the application process, you'll notice that there's an option that you can actually apply for that, and the stipend will cover the specific hours that are required to participate in the workshops and the activities.

We recognise that this body of work extends well beyond those hours and hope in some way that that stipend contributes to people's ability to participate. And for more information, everything that we've just covered there and more is available on a website that we have set up, which is available through this particular link around inclusive fellowship program, where there's a PDF document where you can access the details of everything I've shared with you at the moment. On that website, we will put the recording of this webinar and generate a list of Q&A questions that come up through the conversation that will follow this presentation.

Hopefully, we will answer your questions and capture those questions so that we can share them with others who are likely to hold similar kind of questions. Now, I've zipped through that because I think most of that information is available through our online space, but also for the purpose of really opening up the remainder of the time that we have together. The last 45 minutes to spend with you as the community to ensure that we're actually answering any questions that you might have. And shortly, I will invite the project partners to join me in in a conversation to be able to do that.

And before I go into the Q&A session, I'm just going to put up this slide, because I notoriously forget to ask for feedback at the end of every webinar I hosted. So I thought I'll slip it in before we actually get there.

We would very much appreciate your feedback. And at the end of the session, I'll put this slide back up again and ask for your feedback through Slido, around whether we've been able to actually respond to the questions that you might have and been able to satisfy the need of you coming to this workshop in the first place. And with that, I might pause and take a breath and invite your community. I'm going to stop sharing so we can all see each other's faces and engage with each other. And my colleagues and I have been participating in this or joined the session, can take the time to answer questions that you might have.

And Katie, I might ask if you could facilitate that for us.

KATIE: Yep, so I thought there's a couple of questions in the chat that I thought it's probably best if we just answer it as a as a group so everyone we can discuss it a little bit further.

 

So Joseph asks about assuming a group application is equivalent to one fellowship position is the first question. And we had discussed that each individual member of the group would be offered an associate position. But again, it would kind of depend on the strengths of the application.

Was there anything that anyone else wanted to add to that?

MITRA: No, the only other thing that I would say is obviously within the application form, we have the selection criteria, and one of the criteria is to ensure diversity.

We were super keen to have groups participate because we think that that in itself provides a really good opportunity for people to be able to support each other in terms of actually actioning the learnings from the fellowship program.

But obviously, we're also hoping to have diversity within that group. So if a group consisted of six people, that would that would sort of negate the diversity criteria that we have as part of the selection process. But, you know, so there would be that kind of a negotiation that we would come back to you and have a conversation about, but we would like parts of a much bigger group to participate if a group was really that big. I would say one other thing is that you will notice criteria like that. We've left open and we had quite a lot of conversation as a group in in determining to do it in that way, because this is the first time that we're actually offering this program. And I think that we didn't want to close doors. You know, we wanted to use the opportunity of this this project as a learning opportunity for us and see what actually emerges and how we can best support the calibre of applications that eventually come through.

KATIE: Joseph, does that answer your question? And Aurora did you have a follow up question there?

AURORA: No, I was just clarifying because Joseph understands the answer. I didn't get the answer. So if we apply as a group, there's like this number of us, is that one of the 16 positions or if there are 11 of us, no, it's 11 positions, if there are 11 in the group.

MITRA: If there's 11 in the group, they would count as 11 positions based on your application. Right. If I were to receive an application with 11 participants, I think that that would actually limit our ability to offer diversity, which is one of the criteria of the selection process. So my recommendation would be to nominate a number of people from that group to actually be the active people. And that's something we would probably contact an applicant that put up 11 people to have a conversation with them about.

AURORA: OK, that's a great idea, OK.

KATIE: OK, so next question from the chat is from Megan, who says, from an external perspective, would those working in workplace inclusive learning practices be considered underneath the education banner. Did anyone want to jump in on that one?

I think we are taking the education banner to be quite broad, so I think as long as you can actually implement, like if you've got an avenue to actually implement these inclusive practices into your own work, I think that's how we kind of looking at that criteria. Anything you wanted to add Mitra?

MITRA: No, I think that that's right. So I try not to overtake the entire conversation. Yeah, but I think that there is a lot of you know, we're looking for spaces that offer transferable skills and knowledge.

 

And, you know, essentially what we're looking for is people's ability to be able to contribute to inclusive education space and people's ability to actually be able to put that into practice through this fellowship program. So as long as you are responding to those key criteria questions, we would be open to actually having people participate.

KATIE: OK so the next question is, if there is someone in the group who is a lived experience partner. Would there be a stipend available for that particular participant? I think with the stipends, it definitely that that would be available. I think you just in the application form, there's just a section for notes. So we just asking for people to provide a little bit of information so we can we've only got limited amount of stipend. So we just need to collect that information so we can make informed decisions on how they operate.

There's another question about group applications. Saying from Pam, it is hard to summarise all members experience and hopes in 300 words. Can we add a group summary and then an appendix?

MITRA: Yeah, I would say that if you're having challenges with the application process, part of the reason we put the three hundred word limit is that we didn't want this to become arduous for people to actually, you know, like this become to become a barrier in and of itself. So, you know, like if you're finding it challenging, responding to some of the questions, please just reach out and we will work with you to make sure that it most fairly represents your group, your needs and your voices.

KAITE: Cool, got the thumbs up there from Pam. The next question is, is the focus on internal university systems, processes, teaching, or can it include wider university interactions with community workplaces and industry? I think is what Mitra said earlier, is that we really are interested in in diversity and in getting different people's perspectives so that we can ultimately change systems and make things more inclusive. So there's definitely not one area that we're focusing on. And I think ultimately our dream would be to have the cohort from really diverse backgrounds all contributing to this area. So as long as you can put inclusive practices into place in your own work, it's not out of scope.

Next question. Couple of... The question is, what do you hope will be the best outcome of this program for you? Can Isabelle, can you, do you mean in terms of like team who's put the Inclusive Experiment together? Can you clarify that one?

ISABELLE: Yes, just when it works really, really well and something amazing rolls as a result. What would that be?

MITRA: We had a beautiful map that I think speaks to this space. Three circles, circles are fantastic. At the centre of it are people who are actually experiencing learning experiences, students or what have you. And I think that's what we are hoping is through the implementation of this program, that we're creating inclusive educational spaces so that learning is achieved at its best for people who are engaging in a learning space. The second tier for us is people who are practitioners, are educators in inclusive education space.

And we're hoping that through the fellowship that they feel supported, that they're building capability and they feel like they're more prepared and able to actually engage in this space deeply. And I think that's the final layer, is that actually probably the most complex one and one that we have to figure out as a cohort around how we actually going to engage in that space. And I think success for us would be to actually recognise that there are external systems, forces that really impact this space. And how we, how can we as a collective, better understand those system forces and advocate into that space and lobby for systems change?

That part is probably less tangible for us at this point, and we hope to clarify that together as a group. But those are the three layers.

KATIE: Another thumbs up, so on to the next question. From a diversity perspective, would neurodiversity be considered within that space or is this more around diversity of workplaces?

So I think we've intentionally left the application in the criteria broad. We're not wanting to… we're talking about inclusive practices and we're not necessarily wanting to define that ourselves. It's going to be something that we really want to talk to the group. So, again, we're not we're not refining the script for this. We want you to kind of see what you throw at us, really.

BETY: You know, I just want to add in there that we really I mean, I guess one of the outcomes as well is really looking at the space of inclusivity and the very, the multiple perspectives that come into it, the different ways of making sense of it. You know, it was so much richer perspective on what inclusively means across the education system, into community, into the workplace. So that diversity of, you know, allowing for plurality in that space is really important.

KATIE: Thanks. There's a question about would an honours student be considered for an undergraduate research applicant? So any UTS student we're accepting so it doesn't matter what what level you're at. Put in your application.

MITRA: I actually had a question via email on that, and it was a scenario where there was a student who was set to graduate at the end of this year. And my response to that student was that essentially the criteria of who you are to participate is... there's an intention of openness to that. So we recognise that we value that once you actually come and become part of the program, it doesn't really matter whether you're a student or a professional.

So if you graduate and become a professional practitioner after the fact, then it is absolutely fine. So if you're graduating, it's absolutely fine. The question for us is more about an opportunity to actually act your learning in a space. And so I would encourage people to actually think about how to articulate that clearly.

KATIE: So there's a follow up question, how open are you to including students with lived experiences? Obviously, their experience in the space will inform the practice very differently.

But it is something that we'd be considered valuable, and that's definitely something that we've discussed. And we're also going to be having some... so as well as accepting students as offering them associate positions, we're also going to be hiring some students to actually be in some of the workshops as well. So we're definitely wanting to bring that lived experience throughout this this process as well.

PERSON #1: And I think that also talks to the foundation of this program which is really about opening up space of mutual learning where we are not learning from just one person, one group of people. We're in no way here to say this is what inclusiveness, this is what diversity is. We're here to bring a group of people together who are willing to share their experience. Co-design is going to be a really foundational part of the process that we go through. And so involving students, different voices, external partners and groups in these conversations is critical and welcomed in all capacities.

 

KATIE: So the next question from the chat is, what does the selection process look like? Is there a panel? Mitra I might throw that one to you again.

MITRA: Yeah. Yeah, there is. So we'll have, ah, well, in the application process, the selection criteria are articulated and there will be a rating of the applications based on that criteria. We will be having a panel. We haven't formalised all the members, but we're happy to share with you who the panel members are, but they will include diverse voices, obviously, including learners, academics, practitioners within that space, and they will collectively go through the process of doing that.

KATIE: So the next question is someone who's concerned about taking up lived experiences partners' time on the application and when the outcome might be uncertain. So they're wondering if that there is any provision for a more open application with a person later providing details once a spot is guaranteed, e.g., the person has a specific experience such as mental distress or alcohol or other drug use.

I suppose it depends because we still like... it's a bit of a tricky one because we do need to have information to be able to judge applications well, but I think as long as you're answering the selection criteria, I don't think it matters so much. But Mitra you might be able to answer that one a bit better?

MITRA: Yeah. Can I just ask a clarifying question? So Jo, do you mean that your, the application process involves you as one position and the person with lived experience as a second position, so you would be applying on their behalf to actually become one of the members of the 16? Or that you're leaning on their experience as part of your application process?

JO: No, I guess some really interest in co-designing with people with lived experience. So be great if we came in a team. But I just know I worked with lived experience partners and I know that it's sort of a bit hard if you keep pulling people into applications when there's no guarantee for them down the track, that that's actually going to be any sort of anything happening or any statement for that. So sometimes we you know, I'll talk to a few I'll talk to people and say, look, are you happy for me to put this in or has it by them but I don't want them to have to commit time to that. So they're just not named or... at that point.

MITRA: Yep. Yep, yep. So I think we've got an alternative, a good alternative solution to that respect. So as in addition to the stipends that we're providing for people who are potentially not doing this as part of a paid position, what we really want to do is actually invest in that lived experience as part of the program.

Now, we haven't actually identified who those people would be, but they would be paid. So once we actually get the group and part of that is because, you know, lived experience could be so varied. So once the people who are participating in the program get identified, maybe we could actually have a conversation. If something like what you're describing becomes such a large, valuable part of what you could potentially do, then we could include them as part of that cohort where they actually paid for their time to participate and help us co-design.

We've got co-design embedded across the entire experience. So at each of those workshops, we're hoping to have others join us. As part of the group.

KATIE: Thumbs up there. Thanks, Mitra. So unless I've missed something, there's nothing else in the chat.

 

Anyone want to put up their hand and speak, ask a question audibly? We can also just sit here in silence for five minutes, just so you can get your brains thinking if there's anything else.

 

MITRA: While people are doing that, and we can still we can still have that conversation.

I'm just going to put back that back up again. You know, as an opportunity for people to give us feedback on this session specifically, you know, we take any of these opportunities as a learning opportunity to do better next time. So we value your feedback.

KATIE: And I've just popped the link in the chat as well.

So there's another question in the chat, so Suzanne is interested in knowing a bit more about the research grant.

Are we supposed to propose a research project after completing this fellowship?

MITRA: So that one of the benefits of the program is after the after the initiative in around February, March of 2022 the Social Impact Practice and Research Grants become available. So those are not just research grants, they are research and practice grants. And essentially they're designed to support people to contribute to social change. And the remit around those grants are really, really broad that enable people to actually engage in diverse ways.

So essentially what we're saying there is that there is an existing grants program that offers ten grants annually. We're going to we're going to take one of those grants and make them specifically available to people who are participating in this project alone.

So that's where we're fully supporting people to go through a learning experience and potentially at the end of it, not end in a position where they go, great. I learned that, but now I'm not resourced actually action it.

So there's an opportunity for them to actually apply into a practice or research grant at the end of it. It's a $5,000 grant. And, you know, to essentially enable you to action something that has emerged out of your experience in this fellowship.

PERSON #2: So I could use that also, because I obviously come from a teaching background so I could use it to do something in my teaching with it rather than having to write a research paper on it.

MITRA: Absolutely.

PERSON #2 Oh, OK. OK, well, thank you.

MITRA: Yep. Yep. So you could use it to do it within teaching? Within learning, teaching. You can do it within research. You can do it in the extracurricular life space.

KATIE: Sorry, my puppy has seen some birds or something like that outside and is barking, so apologies if he's too noisy.

There was also just a question that I missed from the chat, so apologies for that. And it was I would like to know what your definition of diversity is. And that's a really good question. And it's something that we really are trying to put to the group once we left, especially that initial kind of sessions.

 

We're really looking at getting that that group definition of diversity, and we're not wanting to put our own labels on it. So that's why we're leaving in a little bit vague. So I'm sorry, that is a very frustrating response if you're wanting more detail.

MITRA: The added benefit of that is that we're actually open to broad definitions of the terms. El-ha has raised the hand. Hey El-ha.

EL-HA: Hi. Hi, everyone. I have a question that follows from the... someone asked about the research grant. The honours project that I'm going to be doing aligns really well with this. I think I've mentioned it earlier. Would I be able to do them simultaneously? Not quite sure how to explain it, but do the research and kind of work alongside the fellowship program in kind of they both feed into each other.

MITRA: Absolutely. I think that what we're hoping to do is that in actual fact, this experience really supports people in what it is that they are doing. And we're actually further enabling people in the in the work that they're doing. And we're creating an environment where we can learn from each other through that practice. So, yeah, absolutely, we would welcome and encourage people to think about how their existing body of work actually interrelates with this and in relation to the grant that comes in right at the end. So we go through the experience of their fellowship and at the end there's an opportunity to put in an application if that happens to be relevant to people. It may not be at all, but we just wanted to say that, you know, there is an opportunity for people to engage in this or this or this after the fact. And we're just mindful that we don't want to just create a learning experience with nothing at the end.

PERSON #1: OK. I've done a couple of grants as part of my Masters PhD work and as Mitra said it's such a great opportunity to bring those worlds together.

And just practically the best starting point is to just chat to your supervisors about how those two spaces will come together, but completely agree that if your work is in this space already, what is beautiful coming together.

EL-HA: Yeah, my supervisor was really interested. She did recommend that I look into it and see if I would be eligible for it. So that was one of the reasons why. Awesome I think I was a bit confused about the grant, I meant more would I be eligible for the program? Yeah. So I was a bit confused, though, I thought. Thanks for answering my question.

KATIE: Thank you, so we've got another couple of questions in the chat. So the first is from Pamela. So, can the application be for a specific group or does it need to be for all diverse groups/situations?

MITRA: I was going to say that it absolutely can be about a specific group. So like if I've understood it appropriately. Oh, well. So please clarify, Pam, if I've misunderstood the question. If it's a group of people who are applying as a group to participate, or maybe I should actually ask for a plan. Frication. Do you mean a specific group, as in a group of people who are applying together to participate or the recipients of the benefit of what you do as a result of the program?

PAMELA: Yes, the recipients of the benefits. Like what? I guess our reason for applying and who we hope to support, empower our and find better ways. You know, maybe some people are quite specialised working with specific groups. And so that's what I meant. Is it can it be specific or does it have to be general or you up for both?

MITRA: Yeah, we're up for both. Essentially, what we're looking for is to support the creation or the scaling or the making possible inclusive spaces in education or inclusive practices in education. And absolutely, open to all of that.

Zozan's asked the question about what's meant by emerging or established academic? Anyone else want to take up that one or should I? Zozan, we're going by sort of like standard-ish kind of definitions emerging academics or practitioners were looking at the first one to three/four years of practice and established people up beyond five. So it's like that space. So we're just looking at what level of experience and hoping to have diverse representations.

I'm just going to stop sharing, so if anyone else wants that special QR code, please snap away so that we can just make sure we.... Seeing everyone, see if anyone's indicating any of the questions.

KATIE: Yeah, there's been no more questions in the chat, but again, we're just going to stare at you all silently for another couple of minutes in case you do have any questions. Still thinking about stuff. Please feel free to yell at us, if you would prefer to do that, rather than the chat.

MITRA: And also open to any comments or just initial reactions to what we're offering.

PAMELA: I was quite surprised. I did a bit of a Google scholar hunt for inclusive practice and in universities, and there wasn't much that was quite surprising, really. So maybe we can all get some publications out of it.

MITRA: What a fantastic opportunity. Yeah.

BETTY: Yeah, I think we also invite the you know, when you come together, the 16 people come together as a cohort, you might find this some serendipity between people you haven't met before. So, you know, and things can emerge, insights that, you know, you might not have planned and perhaps moving forward to a Social Impact Grant, you might actually join forces around something like it's a very exploratory space.

MITRA: Absolutely, Betty, 100% agree. You know, it is it is an opportunity of having students engage as partners, as deep knowledge holders in the space.

PERSON #4: Oh, actually, I have another question.

You want us to get approval or something like this from the dean or supervisor ahead of school or something like this?

MITRA: Yeah. So. Yes, just just for UTS people there.

PERSON #4: Yeah. But there's no there's no upload of documentation.

MITRA: No. We work on a system of incredible trust. That's a process we utilise as part of the social impact grant, and I have to say that it is quite interesting that people get quite surprised by it. It's like, you know, we are colleagues and I totally believe you. If you've said you've done it, you've done it so, so it's all good.

Well, I think that sort of is potentially all of the questions that have come through. I might start beginning to wrap up the session and just thank you very much for attending today's session.

We will put the recording online as soon as we're able to. And if you do have any other questions, please do reach out. There's a number of us, and I'm sure that we can share among ourselves and come up with some kind of a sensible answer to the questions you might pose and really looking forward to receiving applications and working alongside a community to further this space. So thanks so much, everyone.