The One Thing Conference Workshops: Culturally Responsive Teaching

The One Thing Conference Workshops: Culturally Responsive Teaching

Date and Time

This is a one-day, four-hour, in-person workshop on Saturday, March 28, 2026 from 9am-1pm.

Location

This workshop will be held in-person at the Edward St. John Building (4131 Campus Dr, College Park, MD 20742) on the University of Maryland College Park Campus. Room details will be provided following registration. 

Learning Paths

Registrants will choose one of two tracks to focus on for this workshop.

Option 1 is designed for Middle and Secondary Educators, and Option 2 is designed for Early Childhood, Elementary, and Middle Grades Educators.

Option 1: Hip Hop Pedagogy as a Tool for Culturally Sustaining Practice

Hip Hop Pedagogy offers a powerful approach to culturally relevant and sustaining instruction. In this track, you’ll explore the principles behind this culturally sustaining approach, write and perform your own rap using primary sources, and develop a ready-to-pilot assessment—complete with rubrics—designed to honor and elevate your students’ voices and experiences. If you’re looking for an assessment tool that is both rigorous and real, this workshop is for you. Note: This track's target audience is middle and secondary educators. 

Option 2: Layered Read Alouds to Amplify Cultural and Linguistic Diversity

Imagine a read-aloud that does more than tell a story—one that opens windows, builds bridges, and invites every student’s identity into the room. Layered Read Alouds do exactly that. In this track, you’ll experience one from the inside, unpack what makes it work, and collaboratively create your own LRA tailored to your grade level and students. You’ll leave with a finished, classroom-ready LRA and the confidence to keep building more. Note: This track’s target audience is early childhood, elementary, and middle-grade educators. 

Audience

This workshop is open to ALL Early Childhood, Elementary, Middle Grade, and Secondary Educators, and is designed specifically to support MSDE licensed educators to earn Professional Development Points (PDPs) for recertification hours.  If you are not currently affiliated with the University of Maryland (welcome!), you will be prompted to create an affiliate account upon registration. Simply follow the prompts to create an affiliate account, then you will be able to register.  

Faciliators

Track 1: Dr. Sehrish Shikarpurya and Diamond E. Williams (for Middle and Secondary Educators)

Track 2:  Dr. Reka C. Barton and Dr. Keisha Allen (for Early Childhood, Elementary, and Middle Grades Educators)

PDP Alignment

Culturally Responsive Teaching or diverse student identities in education

Parking and Transportation

Parking and public transit instructions can be found on our website.

Questions?

Please contact Elizabeth Gotwalt, egotwalt@umd.edu