Accelerated Learning Frameworks for Educational Equity with Sonya Murray-Darden | EP 16

Our food choices can impact our physical, emotional, intellectual, and spiritual well-being. So, while challenging, being strategic about the food we ingest is important. Much like food, the ideas and practices we consume in education also shape our well-being and the well-being of those we serve. In this episode, Dr. Sonya Murray-Darden and I discuss her book Serving Educational Equity: A Five-Course Framework for Accelerated Learning, as well as the practical and essential ways our education systems can serve a diet of, and hunger for, grade-level, engaging, affirming, and meaningful instruction.

Key Takeaways:

• Accelerated learning focuses on providing students grade-level access and content, regardless of their current performance level, whereas remediation often isolates skills and does not connect to students’ real-time learning needs.
• Relationships are critical – “no significant learning can occur without a significant relationship.” Building connections with students increases their motivation and engagement.
• It’s important to take a holistic approach and consider the academic and social/emotional needs of the whole child. External factors outside of school impact what happens inside the classroom.
• Mentorship is invaluable for educators to get feedback, stay encouraged and focused, and make the adaptive changes needed to achieve educational equity over time.
• The “Serving Educational Equity” book provides a practical, comprehensive framework centered around the analogy of a multi-course meal to help educators accelerate learning. It includes actionable strategies to strengthen relationships, instruction, seeing each student, planning, and using technology appropriately.