"Beyond the Deficit: Relationships and Rigor" is a four-part workshop series that introduces asset-based teaching—a student-centered approach that recognizes learners’ cultural knowledge, lived experiences, and community strengths as powerful resources for learning. This framework challenges deficit-based narratives and emphasizes that fostering inclusion and connection in the classroom enhances, rather than diminishes, academic rigor. Adapted from an NSF-funded professional development program created by UNLV faculty for use across Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSI's), this home-grown series—presented by UNLV faculty and the Teaching and Learning Commons—represents a unique opportunity to engage with a nationally significant model developed right here at UNLV. 

Participants who complete the full series will earn a digital badge of completion, while individual sessions may also be attended independently.

Please RSVP for one or all virtual Google Meet sessions. All meetings will occur from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

• Session 1: Oct. 30 – Asset-Based Teaching: An Introduction, explores the foundations of asset-based pedagogy and how it reframes student success.  
• Session 2, Nov. 6 – Self-Awareness and Asset-Based Teaching, invites participants to examine how their identities and experiences shape their teaching practices. 
• Session 3, Nov. 13 – Asset-Based Learning and Active Learning, demonstrates how culturally responsive strategies can deepen engagement and motivation through active learning. 
• Session 4, Dec.4 – Syllabus Audit, guides faculty in creating syllabi that communicate equity, inclusivity, and high expectations.