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, June 13, 2026 from 9am-1pm.

Please note that June 13th is an updated date from the originally posted date of this event!

Location

This workshop will be held in person on the University of Maryland, College Park campus. Building details will be provided following registration via email.

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

The One Thing Conference workshops provide eligibility for 4 MSDE Professional Development Points (PDPs). You can learn more about PDPs at the MSDE website. Following each workshop or conference,  attendees will be provided with the following completed documentation via email. Attendees will be responsible for submitting the documentation to the appropriate entity to ensure points are counted toward their recertification. Learn more on our website.

Parking and Transportation

Free parking is available on Saturdays in select lots and garages. Parking information will be provided via email following registration.

Registration Tips

If you are not currently affiliated with the University of Maryland (welcome!), you will be prompted to create an affiliate account upon registration. Please do this first by simply following the prompts to create an affiliate account, then you will be able to register. Note: Some users have reported difficulties creating an affiliate account on a Safari Browser. If you encounter issues with this process on a Safari Browser, we apologize; please switch to a Chrome, Firefox, or alternate browser of your choice. We apologize for the inconvenience. 

If you are entering a promotion code during registration, please make sure you are logged in to your UMD or UMD affiliate account before entering the code. When you are logged in, your screen will read: "Logged in as [Name]" above the promotion code box.

Bulk Registration

Interested in registering a group of educators from your school or district? This can be done in one of two ways. 

(1) If you would like to pay by Credit Card, simply select "Bulk Purchase" on this page; you will select the number of educators you want to register for this workshop. After you pay via credit card, you will be prompted to invite the individual educators to register via email. 

(2) If you would like to pay by invoice, please contact Elizabeth Gotwalt egotwalt@umd.edu for assistance. 

Questions?

Please contact Elizabeth Gotwalt, egotwalt@umd.edu