Outschool
Open currency, time zone, and language settings
Log In

Multiverse Travelers: Lgbtqa+ Doctor Who Fandom Club

In this weekly fandom club, episodes of the new Doctor Who, confronting stereotypes, hopefully making new friends, and perhaps seeking new ways to change the world.
Iris Imaginoria (Jessica Gray)
Average rating:
4.8
Number of reviews:
(482)
Class

What's included

1 live meeting
55 mins in-class hours per week

Class Experience

Doctor Who is back and so are we! We're going to come back to class to explore the new specials and Season 14 with the 15th Doctor in this interactive club.

In this ongoing club, geeky LGBTQA+ youth and allies will gather to explore themes and topics in episodes of the new Doctor Who, confronting stereotypes, hopefully making new friends, and perhaps seeking new ways to change the world. All of the sessions are based firmly in social emotional learning standards. 

Each week’s class is based on an episode of the new Doctor Who, with exercises, guided discussion, video clips, bits of trivia, and thought-provoking hypotheticals meant to bring the story into the students’ reality. We use a program called Nearpod for interactive activities and collaboration. It’s perfect for LGBTQA+ Whovians, but if you’re new to the show, we’ll catch you up. Didn’t have a chance to watch this week’s episode or haven’t seen it lately? That’s ok. We always start with an episode summary to make sure everyone has the info they need to participate fully. 

The teacher, Dr. Jessica Gray, is trained to approach social emotional learning holistically, using stories, costumes, characters, and art to guide students through a variety of lessons based on queer culture, identity, history and more, incorporating pop culture examples mostly from the LGBTQA+ friendly worlds of the BBC show Doctor Who.

One of the major goals of this program is student empowerment, so Professor Imaginoria will endeavor to listen twice as much as she speaks. While she will present information, problems to be solved, examples, and activities, the discussion belongs to the students. 

The Schedule:

This fall we will be watching the New Who on Disney+ and BBC iplayer starting with the 60th Anniversary specials.

Sept 1 - 60th Anniversary Special 1 - The Star Beast
Sept 8 - 60th Special 2 - The Wild Blue Yonder
Sept 15 - 60th Special 3 - The Giggle
Sept 22 - Season 14:1 - Space Babies
Sept 29 - Season 14:2 - The Devil's Chord
Oct 6 - Season 14:3 - Boom
Oct 13 - Season 14:4 - 73 Yards
Oct 20 - Season 14:5 - Dot and Bubble
Oct 27 - Season 14:6 - Rogue
Nov 3 - Season 14:7 - The Legend of Ruby Sunday
Nov 10 - Season 14:8 - The Empire of Death


After this point we will decide on what episodes we want to watch in the interlude before Christmas. 

This was an extremely exciting season for LGBTQ+ fans, and we will have so much to discuss as we watch and explore these new episodes together. With the return of David Tennant, the first openly transgender companion in the 60th episodes (nonbinary actress Yasmin Finney as the daughter of Donna Noble)... and with more to discuss and share than ever before...
Learning Goals
Topics will be developed while considering the following Social Emotional Standards:

1. Self-Awareness 
The ability to recognize one’s own emotions, thoughts, and values and how they influence behavior and to assess one’s strengths and limitations.
1A Individual demonstrates an understanding of one’s emotions. 
1B Individual identifies when help is needed and who can provide it. 
1C Individual demonstrates awareness of their own personal rights and responsibilities. 
1D Individual demonstrates knowledge of their own personal strengths, cultural and linguistic assets, and aspirations. 
1E Individual seeks to understand and identify their own prejudices and biases.

2. Self-Management 
The ability to regulate one’s emotions, thoughts, and behaviors in different situations and to set and work toward personal and academic goals.
2A Individual demonstrates the skills to manage one’s emotions, thoughts, impulses and stress in constructive ways. 
2B Individual manages materials, space, time and responsibilities effectively. 
2C Individual demonstrates skills to develop, evaluate, modify and achieve goals. 
2D Individual demonstrates a resilient attitude and growth mindset, even in the face of adversity and challenges.

3. Social Awareness 
The ability to take the perspective of others and empathize with them, including those from diverse backgrounds and cultures, and to understand norms for behavior.
3A Individual reads social cues and responds appropriately. 
3B Individual seeks to understand and demonstrates respect for individuals, including those with diverse backgrounds, cultures, abilities, languages, and identities. 
3C Individual demonstrates empathy for other people’s emotions and perspectives. 
3D Individual recognizes and respects leadership capacity in oneself and others. 
3E Individual contributes productively to one’s school, family, workplace, and community.
4. Relationship Skills 
The ability to communicate clearly, listen well, cooperate with others, resist inappropriate social pressures, and to seek and offer help when needed.
4A Individual uses communication and interpersonal skills to interact effectively with others, including those with diverse backgrounds, cultures, abilities, languages, and identities. 
4B Individual uses appropriate communication strategies and interpersonal skills to maintain relationships with others. 
4C Individual demonstrates the skills to respectfully engage in and resolve interpersonal conflicts in various contexts. 
4D Individual recognizes when others need help and demonstrates the ability to provide or seek assistance.

5. Responsible Decision Making 
The ability to make constructive choices about personal behavior and social interactions based on ethical standards, safety concerns, and social norms and to evaluate the consequences of actions and to consider the safety and well-being of others.
5A Individual applies problem-solving skills to engage responsibly in a variety of situations. 
5B Individual uses and adapts appropriate tools and strategies to solve problems. 
5C Individual evaluates impact of decisions on self, others and the given situation and adjusts behavior appropriately. 
5D Individual considers ethical, safety, and societal factors when making choices and decisions. 
5E Individual considers and responds appropriately to external influences (e.g. media, peers, authority figures) on decision-making.
learning goal

Other Details

Parental Guidance
LGBTQA+ students need support from their parents first and foremost. If they are in a dangerous situation where they need mental health or physical care, I will contact the parent immediately. However, a lot of students just want to talk to friends, and having an adult they are not related to that they can go to for advice is helpful. I'm glad to be able to be in that mentor role for young tweens and teens. I will seek to teach this class using gender inclusive language, with the assumption that people of all genders (male, female, nonbinary) engage in relationships. We will always ask what pronouns a person uses and what name a person wants to be called. This class will give examples of diverse sexual identity/relationship dynamics: heterosexual, homosexual, bisexual, asexual, demisexual. All are considered natural/normal. This is not a “sex education” course, though it will touch on some very sensitive topics including the prevention of date rape and other nonconsensual sexual situations. We will not be covering typical “sex education” topics like anatomy or reproduction. The instructor will send parents a list of suggested resources for teens for these topics if they want to find more information in the future. This is also NOT group therapy. Students will be given guidelines at the start about what will and will not be able to stay "confidential." Anything shared in the group relating to self-harm or others' harming them will immediately be shared with their parents so they may make whatever decisions they deem appropriate.
Supply List
It is recommended that students watch the Doctor Who episode of the week, though it's totally ok if they've never watched any other Doctor Who episode. It's also ok if they haven't seen it (I'll give a full recap). These episodes are all available on  BBC iPlayer in the UK and Disney+ in the rest of the world.
External Resources
In addition to the Outschool classroom, this class uses:
  • Nearpod
Sources
BBC Doctor Who
Joined November, 2019
4.8
482reviews
Profile
Teacher expertise and credentials
As a wellness and sexuality educator, Jessica Gray has completed training in, coordinates, and facilitates elementary (beginning at K-1), junior high, high school, and adult comprehensive sexuality education programs. She created and directed Rainbow Wizards as an in-person wellness day camp and afterschool program for LGBTQA+ students in 2017. For several years Dr. Gray worked with high-risk youth who were dealing with teen pregnancy, substance abuse, and significant health issues, among other challenges at an alternative high school. Dr. Gray also taught wellness in public school at the middle school level. 

Reviews

Live Group Class
Share

$15

weekly
1x per week
55 min

Completed by 31 learners
Live video meetings
Ages: 11-15
3-11 learners per class

About
Support
SafetyPrivacyCA PrivacyLearner PrivacyManage Data PreferencesTerms
Financial Assistance
Get The App
Download on the App StoreGet it on Google Play
© 2024 Outschool