What can I expect in an NCBI session?

Workshops are conducted for staff, faculty and students. The workshops allow participants to gain self awareness, stretch beyond their comfort zone, and develop new understanding of different groups. The workshops are interactive, experiential, and high energy. Participants are both teachers and learners.

In our workshops, we:

• Celebrate differences and similarities
• Identify misinformation about other groups
• Identify and heal from internalized oppression
• Claim pride in our own identity
• Gain empowerment by learning ways to challenge bigoted comments and actions
• Learn to become allies to groups to which we do not belong

How does this fit into my curriculum?

Teachers from many different disciplines have requested NCBI sessions, including: English, History, Criminal Justice, Human Services, Philosophy/Logic, Psychology, Early Childhood and more!

Some of the things teachers have said about NCBI sessions is that they:

• Build classroom community
• Develop self awareness
• Model respect for other identities
• Offer a frame for discussing difficult issues

How do I request an NCBI session?

It’s easy to request a session, click here to fill out the online request form.

You select the class date and time for the session to take place. Once your request is submitted and co-facilitators are available for your workshop, a team member will contact you to discuss the guidelines for the session. The team member will also answer any questions you may have.

Students have said…

Angie: "NCBI was an amazing experience, sitting down and sharing similar yet slightly different views on diversity and how it affects us and others was not only reflective it was also emotionally moving. Usually we as people perceive diversity with an association of the past, but we also forget that it still plays a major part of our lives today, it's all around us from the media to religion, it is world wide. There is no one in this world that has not experienced some type of stereotype or discrimination or has also unconsciously expressed some stereotypical notion of someone else. I am proud to say that I have gained more knowledge in the time spent in NCBI than anywhere else. I am aware of not only others, but of myself when it comes to diversity."

“I learned that being proud of who you are is just as important as respecting others for who they are.”

“The presentation helped me feel more open with classmates I didn't know.”

“I learned that all groups or types of people have stereotypes, but we are all of the same nature and can learn from each other.”

“I think that this program is excellent because it allows people from different ethnic groups to identify what they think the problems are without conflict.”

Faculty have said…

Kristi Arford, Professor of Behavioral Sciences: "I love having NCBI workshops in my classes! They allow me to get to know my students in a way that I wouldn't necessarily otherwise have the opportunity for. And the students get to know one another too! After a workshop I'll often notice that a friendlier rapport develops among the students, and my class discussions become livelier as a direct result of this!"

Deirdre Budzyna, Professor of Early Childhood Education: "My Early Childhood Education Practicum students agreed that the NCBI presentation was an extremely positive experience. Although these students had been in class together for almost a year, NCBI taught them to recognize and appreciate their differences. It was definitely a team building experience. Many students reflected that NCBI helped them be more effective teachers. They learned to think twice before making a quick judgement about a student."

Elizabeth Casanave, Instructor of Philosophy: "NCBI has hosted a workshop in my Practical Logic class for the past several years. My students always gain so much from the experience. They come away from the workshop with a better awareness and understanding of bias, racism and stereotyping. These workshops are always engaging, interactive and thought-provoking. I love the critical thinking NCBI fosters in my classroom."

Jane Gagliardi, Professor of Human Services: "I have hosted NCBI trainings in my classes and students consistently give me positive feedback about their experience. It is the most successful way I have found to address issues of diversity and create a sufficiently safe environment that promotes self reflection and helps move us all toward increased cultural competency!"

Brenda Salines, Assistant Professor of Health Services: "As a new full time faculty member last year, I first experienced NCBI by attending a workshop called Welcoming Diversity sponsored by the NCBI Team. I was impressed enough to invite the Team to present in two of my classes. The response by the students was overwhelmingly positive. The workshops affected the students in a number of ways, but most apparent, was the sense of cohesiveness, cooperation, genuine respect, camaraderie and real friendship and support for one another that lasted the entire semester. This experience was repeated the following semester in three other classes, with three additional groups of student. I am pleased and proud to say that I have become an NCBI facilitator myself, with aspiration to co-facilitate workshops with my colleagues."

Other Faculty Comments:

“In end-of-term reflections, many students invariably identify the NCBI presentation as one of the most meaningful experiences of the semester, or one that had the greatest impact.”

“When NCBI is brought to the classroom, faculty and students work together and share in exercises and discussion surrounding personal beliefs, values and misconceptions.”

“Students are given opportunity to explore who they are and where they come from.”

“Students are given the opportunity to see similarities and differences between themselves and their classmates; for some, a deeper understanding of why acceptance and tolerance are so important is achieved through this shared experience.”

If you have an interest in learning more about how NCBI can be made available to you or your group, please contact Judith Kamber at (978) 556-3955 or at jkamber@necc.mass.edu.

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