Sankofian.com
Karibu!
What is Sankofian Action Inquiry?
An active inquiry approach to educational instruction, leadership and research that uses the concept of Sankofa to interpret the semiotic epistemology of West African Adinkra communicators and practically apply knowledge to an educational setting.
What is Motivational Awareness?
Motivational awareness is the ability to identify specific psychological needs that both impact your motivation and define your purpose in a designated social space. These needs include competence, relatedness and autonomy (Ryan and Deci, 2018). This means knowing what factors engage you in a way that impacts your body language, attitude and responsiveness to the environment. Motivational awareness is particularly important for educators and leaders as their multilayered experience with students, colleagues, leaders and families can cause many to feel a sense of burnout which eventually leads to them leaving the profession.
Why Adinkra Semiotics?
The Adinkra symbols have multilayered meanings that are understood at different levels of interpretation based on deep philosophical messages it conveys about social values and behaviors. However it's important that the term “symbol” be interrogated so that its limited usage in this context can be expanded to better understand the depth between these visual images and their contextual application. Temple (2020) emphasizes that the Adinkra system has been incorrectly described throughout the Diaspora and in West Africa today. Her research reveals that the term “symbol” or even “designs” do not fully express the authentic and timeless cultural values they communicate.
Listen to the podcast on Spotify
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About Dr. William N. Thomas IV (Hapi Ma'at)
Educational Leader, Researcher, Writer & Artist
Dr. William N. Thomas, IV has been an educational leader for the past twenty years in urban public and public charter schools. Dr. Thomas is on the faculty at American University's School of Education, serving as the as a Professorial Lecturer and Director of their Policy and Leadership Doctoral program where he teaches courses centered around antiracism in education, humanizing methodologies for practitioner action research and the influence of Popular Culture on educators. His research interests focus on race and equity in education and how marginalized stakeholders can gain more access, opportunities and empowerment in public school settings. In addition, Dr. Thomas is a former middle school science teacher, elementary school principal and high school director for an international studies program. He holds a B.A. in English from Morehouse College, a Master's of Professional Studies from George Washington University in Middle Grade Science and a doctorate in Educational Leadership from the University of Pennsylvania.
Sankofian Inquiry Models: Lesson Planning Cycle
Sankofian Epistemology
This template strategically integrates the concept of Sankofa as a valuable epistemological lens to gain instructional insight on teacher and student motivation in order to authentically apply culturally responsive teaching practices. The findings of its pilot study was presented at the University of Pennsylvania on October 14, 2023.
What is the Sankofian Lesson Plan Template?
The Sankofian Lesson Plan Template is a culturally responsive tool to support teachers and instructional coaches in preparing learning experiences that motivate students to engage authentically in the lesson.
Self-Determination Theoretical Lens
Using Self-Determination Theory as a key lens, this framework anchors in the belief that there needs to be adequate planning for both the motivational needs of the teacher and student.
Read More in Penn GSE's Perspectives on Urban Education
"A Sankofian Approach To Applying Self-Determination Theory In Schools: Centering Teacher and Student Motivation in Culturally Responsive Lesson Planning"
Publications & Presentations
SIG-Research Focus on Black Education
Session: "Black and Male: Intersectionality in Teaching and Learning" (co-presented w/Dr. Erica Edwards)
Presentation: Perception of Black Male Teachers in Boundary Heightening Environments--Challenging the Black Boy Savior Stereotype
Presentation: "Co-teaching as an Opportunity to Enact Social Justice and Create Humanizing Communities" (co-presented w/Dr. Samantha Cohen and Dr. Cheyenne Batista)
Presentation: "Standardized Testing and the Racial Implications of Data Use" (co-presented w/Dr. Phelton Moss)
Blog Posts
On Medium.com
The modern western philosophical study of signs and symbols known as semiotics, began to be written about in the mid-nineteenth century by Charles Sanders Pierce. His research explored the cooperative interplay between three subjects: sign, object and interpretant. This triadic relationship was described with a philosophical logic that explained how signs signify themselves in relation to the type of combination of signs, objects, and interpretants. In addition, he emphasized that some signs can
The dual pandemics of COVID-19 and systemic racism (Jones, 2021) have pushed many school systems to reevaluate how they are centering the social and emotional needs of their students. Whether it’s processing the trauma of police brutality or the anxiety of quarantine culture, students are experiencing a heightened sense of emotional complexity when it comes to making sense of the world.
If you have ever been a non-ELA or Math teacher in a public school, then you might know a little bit about high-stakes crowding. This refers to when school leaders prioritize standards in ELA and Math over the material being covered in their content-specific course...
As a lifelong teacher I have always prided myself in having the ability to take advantage of “teachable moments”. Whether it was connecting political movements to science topics or bringing in popular culture to better understand their interpretation of their reality, I have always used the current events of the day to engage students in meaningful and transformational learning. However, last night as I was facilitating my graduate school course...
Waking up the past couple days has been tough. However, I am grateful to be able to wake up another day. This Monday, a Black father was shot seven times in his back, at point blank range, by police officers in front of his children. Receiving this news through the barrage of media coverage and public responses in the days since Jacob Blake’s shooting in Wisconsin has felt all too familiar.
Radical Student Check-ins is a relational inquiry form of “radical self-care” (Brown, 2007) which is one the many theories within Ravitch’s (2020) “Flux Pedagogy”.
The 3Ms for Educational Leaders during the pandemic
METHODSPACE Blogs
Congrats Dr. William (and tips for success)
Sociocultural Frameworks as a Humanizing Research Tool in contextualizing Black Male Teacher (Part
Sociocultural Frameworks as a Humanizing Research Tool in contextualizing Black Male Teacher (Part
"When I heard that he received double distinction from University of Pennsylvania for his dissertation, I asked him to share his experiences with Methodspace readers. I had a few questions for him, and hope that his suggestions will be helpful if you are trying to complete a dissertation, thesis, or other large writing project..."
Sociocultural Frameworks as a Humanizing Research Tool in contextualizing Black Male Teacher (Part
Sociocultural Frameworks as a Humanizing Research Tool in contextualizing Black Male Teacher (Part
Sociocultural Frameworks as a Humanizing Research Tool in contextualizing Black Male Teacher (Part
The Covid-19 health pandemic has changed the landscape of American education, in particular how it relates to facilitating healthy learning in-person and integrating technology tools to accommodate virtual instruction. Like the simultaneous logistical juggling teachers and professors are experiencing in the education system, researchers are also developing and learning new ways to conduct research among a hypersensitive, racially tense health crisis...
Sociocultural Frameworks as a Humanizing Research Tool (Part 2)
Sociocultural Frameworks as a Humanizing Research Tool (Part 2)
Sociocultural Frameworks as a Humanizing Research Tool (Part 2)
Imenda (2014) makes a distinction between how conceptual frameworks and theoretical frameworks function in research studies in relation to inductive and deductive approaches to the literature and data analysis. According to Imenda, “a deductive approach to literature review typically makes use of theories and theoretical frameworks, the inductive approach tends to lead to the development of a conceptual framework” (p. 185)...
Theoretical Windows and Conceptual Mirrors (Part 3)
Sociocultural Frameworks as a Humanizing Research Tool (Part 2)
Sociocultural Frameworks as a Humanizing Research Tool (Part 2)
I remember during my time as a middle school teacher introducing my students to narrative writing. I assumed at the time that this was mainly to engage the students in stories that were both familiar and meaningful to them. However, I later learned that this exercise was also an implicit process of data collection as a teacher, where the qualitative data that the students were sharing would be used to develop meaningful culturally responsive learning activities that would engage them in authentic tasks. These learning experiences I would curate, acted as both windows to other worlds and mirrors of their own potential...
Creative Writing for Adulting Millennials
Embracing the Wind: A series of Short Stories (Volume 1)
Explore the world of Dr. Nubian Niles, a new professor at Havenmoore University in Gnosis, Georgia.
Great Poetry for Educators
Two great books celebrating richness of Black history and the many contributions of teachers!
Books for Kids, Parents and Teachers
Nathaniel Knight Series
Great poetry books for teachers, parents and kids!
