AdvanceRIT Fall 2017, Session Recaps | Early Spring 2018

Participants reported a greater awareness of the meaning of a vibrant learning environment, inclusive of all students. About a month after the workshop, people described motivation to cultivate vibrant learning environments in their own classrooms, believing they could make a difference in students’ lives for the better.

Bystander Awareness Education Workshops with Professor Maureen Scully, University of MA & True Story Theater Troupe

[Six two-hour workshops occurred between October 24th & November 7th, 2017]

This workshop series aimed to help participants understand our reluctance to be an active bystander and learn how to overcome that to make a difference. Sessions were offered for staff, academic leaders, and faculty. Almost 80% of the 72 staff, academic leaders, and faculty in the College of Liberal Arts who attended the Bystander Awareness workshops reported an increased awareness of incidents that could be helped with bystander intervention, and have shared with others what they learned in the session. Half of the survey respondents reported taking action as a bystander since attending a workshop. Most interviewees reported feeling safe to discuss bystander awareness incidents overall (79%), but slightly fewer feel safe being an active bystander in the classroom (60%) and department meetings (58%).