This session takes some self reflection on the part of the facilitator. Please talk this session over with your co-facilitator if you have one, to decide what kinds of personal examples you want to share during this session. If you do not have a co-facilitator, consider reaching out to another facilitator within the Code.org community on Slack or in the Forum as part of your preparation for this session. You can also thought-partner with your local CSP facilitator since a similar session is run in their Workshop 4 also.

Write the definition of “blind spot” on chart paper to reveal and post in the room for this discussion. It can be easy for teachers to think of a “blindspot” as just making an assumption that turns out to be untrue. What makes a blindspot unique is that it is an assumption based on a hidden bias we have about someone’s identity.

Blind spot Examples include: Someone being surprised that you are in a PhD program but are also a High School teacher Someone thinking you weren’t able to use new technology because of your age. Someone being surprised that you teach an AP Computer Science class as a young female teacher. Someone being surprised that you enjoy working in an urban school even though you live in the suburbs.

Consider framing your own personal example using this framework:

1. I first noticed I had a blind spot around (insert a group of people or blindspot here) when (give some context - what happened, who was involved).
2. This made me realize (how did this blindspot manifest itself in your job or classroom).
3. Since then (how have you tried to become more aware of this blindspot of yours).

Below are some examples:

Example #1: 1. I first noticed I had a blind spot around how I talked about women in the STEM fields when I was talking with my sister, who is an engineer. I repeatedly asked her questions starting with “As a female engineer…” She called me out on it and asked me why I always called her a “female engineer” instead of just an “engineer”. 2. This made me realize that I was reinforcing stereotypes about what an engineer is by using this language. I also knew I talked about it in my classroom in the same way. 3. Since then, I have avoided using that phrase and also been more intentional about inviting in visitors to my classroom who work in STEM fields who look as diverse as my students look.

Example #2: 1. I first noticed I had a blind spot around how I thought about “the south” when I was facilitating in Florida. There was a situation where someone used a word to describe someone with a disability that I considered offensive. Later, I talked to another facilitator and asked her if that was “normal in the south”. She told me that she felt I was being biased by assuming that the language used was acceptable in a different part of the country. 2. This made me realize that I did have bias in this area and it colored how I perceived participants in my workshops. 3. Since then, I have been trying to be more aware of when I make assumptions about “the south”, especially as it relates to education. I have a friend who grew up in Texas and is a teacher with my in my school now. I have asked her to help hold me accountable to examining this bias.

The goal of this conversation is to share out ideas and bring the room to a point of closure. You have several options for how you run this conversation:

• You can do a gallery walk in their groups to look at what other people put on posters and discuss in their new small groups.
• If you feel like conversations are going strong in the small groups, you may consider letting those conversations go a little longer instead of doing a gallery walk or whole group share out.

As you monitor the conversations, consider the best strategy for your participants.

If you can tell some participants are uneasy during this session, use the break to check in with them. Likewise if tensions boil up during this session, consider using the break to reach out to key participants.