Teacher Preparation

The Teacher Preparation Toolkit provides a searchable database of resources related to encouraging and inspiring future educators for equity and inclusion - important aspects of educator preparation. Resources can be searched by keyword and filtered by category, subject, and media type.

We welcome new resource suggestions; you may submit them using the teaching for diversity suggestion form. Generally, these resources are available at no cost or through a subscription carried by CSU campus libraries.

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The Making Caring Common Project This link will take you to an external website in a new tab. website, hosted by Harvard's Graduate School of Education, features resources for educators connected to creating more caring schools and classrooms focused on the idea of the common good. Resources include articles, strategies, discussion guides, and more. In addition to resources for educators, the website also features resources for families.

With a focus on the elementary classroom, this paper analyzes the purported neutrality of mathematics textbook word problems and considers ways to use mathematics to analyze social inequities in the world.

Derald Sue’s book explores the topic of unintentional bias. The book examines the psychological effects of unintentional bias on both the perpetrator and the victim.

This brief conceptual article discusses how understanding the cultural context of the learning environment is a primary factor in effective classroom management.


Mistakes We Have Made: Implications for Social Justice Educators is an edited collection from eleven authors with a wealth of experience teaching in K-12 schools and utilizing culturally relevant practices. This book is current with social justice research and strategies while connecting to the audience through personal vignettes in each chapter. The personal connection of research-supported ideas to help new teachers avoid the authors' early career mistakes in the classroom is at the center of this text. The content is organized into three themes: Inclusive Classrooms, Curriculum Implementation, and Professionalism. It can be used as a text in a variety of college courses, professional development workshops, or as a gift for new teachers.

This is a video of a 90-minute seminar led by Rebekah Berlin and Dr. Robert Berry with a group of future teachers around the idea of acknowledging teacher bias and developing teacher agency, particularly around issues of equity in mathematics. What's powerful about this is Ms. Berlin's willingness to share how she confronted her own biases as a new teacher and realizes that "my locus of control turned out to be much larger than I thought" (at about 1:18:00). There are many ways to use segments of the video to spark productive reflection and discussion. Recently, Dr. Mark Ellis, who submitted the resource to the Toolkit, used this with a group of teacher leaders. He had them watch two segments (52:15 to 1:00:03 and 1:12:35 to 1:18:30) and talk about what these brought to mind for both them individually as well as for their work with other teachers to address issues of equity and social justice within their schools and districts.

Native Knowledge 360° provides educational materials, virtual student programs, teacher training, lesson plans that incorporate comprehensive histories and information to enlighten and inform teaching and learning about Native America. Common assumptions about Native peoples are challenged and perspectives are presented that include the vibrancy of Native peoples and cultures today.

This report provides background information on social and emotional learning (SEL), including a framework that identifies key areas that should be part of a comprehensive SEL effort.

Navigating SEL From the Inside Out This link will open a PDF file from an external website in a new tab. (pdf)

Published by: CEEDAR Center This link will take you to an external website in a new tab.

Authors: Jones, S. et al.

The Mathematics Education Through the Lens of Social Justice: Acknowledgment, Actions, and Accountability This link will open a PDF file from an external website in a new tab. (pdf) joint position Statement from the National Council of Supervisors of Mathematics and TODOS: Mathematics for ALL emphasizes social justice as a key priority in mathematics education.

This Padlet is a collection of resources for providing accessible instruction to students with significant support needs.

Access to Core Curriculum for Students with Significant Support Needs This link will take you to an external website in a new tab.

This book shows how veteran, justice-oriented social studies teachers build curriculum, support students’ literacy skills, and prepare students to think and act critically within and beyond the classroom. Part I of the book introduces three ways teachers navigate teaching for social justice within the context of standards-based classrooms (embracing, reframing, or resisting the standards). Part II analyzes specific approaches to teaching the Common Core, using teacher narratives to illustrate key processes. Part III demonstrates how teachers develop, support, and sustain their identities as justice-oriented educators in standards-driven classrooms. Each chapter includes lesson plans drawn from diverse grades and classrooms, and offers concrete recommendations to guide practice.

This article provides a research-based model for teacher educators and K-12 classroom teachers to use to facilitate ethnic identify exploration among students in concert with teaching subject matter content. Researchers have found ethnic identification to be correlated with higher levels of psychological well-being and directly related to school success factors. Moreover, ethnic identity exploration engenders academic engagement and persistence in academic pursuits. This four dimensional model is a resource to help teacher educators to prepare K-12 classroom teachers to begin to meet this critical need among all students in the culturally diverse classrooms in which they find themselves.

The Quality Indicators for Inclusive Building Based Practices was designed to assist school teams in determining if their school buildings are inclusive and meeting the needs of their diverse learners. The instrument was developed to reflect evidence-based inclusive practices and is intended to be conducted through a team process, as a self-assessment.

Maryland Coalition for Inclusive Education: Quality Indicators This link will take you to an external website in a new tab.

Available resources and indicators of high quality inclusive practices are presented in this compilation. Assembling many different resources in one place allows for easy comparison of potential indicators of quality. Excerpts and adaptations of the resources are intended to provide some familiarity with the content of each resource and encourage further examination via links to more complete information.

This conceptual article provides teacher educators with sample scenarios that contain tense situations related to race. The author provides guidance for leading meaningful student discussions that often arise when discussing the scenarios.