Abstract

Unchecked implicit bias among educators poses a significant obstacle to establishing inclusive and equitable learning environments. In many cases, in-service professional development (PD) in schools falls short in providing educators with effective opportunities to deeply scrutinize and reflect on their biases, or to establish personal and professional accountability systems to address them. As part of a larger participatory action research partnership between university researchers and a social justice community agency, this article reflects an iterative process of collaboratively developed PD evaluation tools tailored to meet the needs of the facilitators and educators they serve. The virtually delivered workshop of focus utilized restorative pedagogy to cultivate adult learning environments that encourage community building, trust, reflection, and dialogue. Mixed methods strategies used to evaluate participants experiences with the workshop are presented, encompassing pre- and post-surveys assessing implicit bias knowledge, attitudes, and skills, along with process-oriented questions capturing participant experiences with restorative pedagogy (N = 100). The results offer insights into the impact of using restorative pedagogy in a virtual setting for implicit bias training. The article concludes with implications for practice and outlines future directions for research in this critical area.