Dr. Tabia Lee
Dr. Tabia Lee, EdD, a founding member of Free Black Thought, has contributed to the design, implementation, and evaluation of numerous educational and professional development programs. Her commitment to teacher education and pedagogical design is grounded in her experience as a lifelong educator and a National Board Certified English, Civics, and Social Studies teacher in urban American public middle schools. Dr. Lee prepares K-12 and higher education faculty to work with diverse students by focusing on better understanding the pedagogical and curricular implications of ideology-in-practice. Her Race Ideologies Resource Site, featuring interactive dialogical activities and resources for exploring race ideologies that may be used by DEI professionals, faculty, staff, and students, may be found here.
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Who are you?
I am a lifelong educator that is committed to the continuous improvement of teaching and learning. For me, teaching is not just a job, it is my vocation. I don’t use many words to describe myself as I reject most labels (i.e., left-wing, right-wing, liberal, conservative, republican, democrat, libertarian, socialist, communist), however, some accurate descriptive words for me are: scholar, teacher, learner, and humanist.
What do you do?
I develop TK-12 and higher education faculty capacity to design learning experiences that are informed by and emphasize significant, mindful, and embodied learning experiences toward more humanistic and inclusive ways of teaching and learning. I facilitate learning opportunities that encourage teacher candidates to identify culture, language, and technology as essential mediators of human existence and expression that form the foundations for teaching and learning processes. I facilitate generative dialogue by direct and immersive instruction on its principles and fostering a classroom environment that encourages democratic and deliberative dialogue processes. I prepare teacher candidates to use intentional learning design and practice to support socially just, dialogical, and positive learning environments that provide enriched learning opportunities for culturally and linguistically diverse students. I foster a better understanding of the nature of interconnected, multilingual learning environments that is needed to foster sustainable local and global development. I emphasize that working in schools involves confronting and navigating wicked problems that may not have neat or permanent solutions. I build understanding that the difficult and ongoing work of collective inquiry is the work of teachers, and the fulcrum of the Craft of teaching.
What do you believe?
I believe that humans are complex beings and that action for social justice, innovation, and creativity is manifested through the power of human agency and free will coupled with a recognition that freedom and individuality are central to our interconnectedness. I believe that inquiry-based, collaborative, reflective, and dialogical learning are skills that can and must be lived in order to be taught.
