Jen Westmoreland, Ed.D.
“Education either functions as an instrument which is used to facilitate integration of the younger generation into the logic of the present system and bring about conformity or it becomes the practice of freedom, the means by which men and women deal critically and creatively with reality and discover how to participate in the transformation of their world.”
– Paulo Freire, Pedagogy of the Oppressed, p.34
As I’ve moved through 2020 and into 2021 as an educator, I have had myriad conversations with my students and colleagues about how we will build new ways of being in learning communities with one another during and post-Covid, and as we continue to navigate and seek to eradicate the compounding impacts of systemic oppression. At the core of these conversations is pedagogical practice, and how we might (re)design and facilitate learning experiences within community college contexts that prepare creators, collaborators, disruptors, and leaders for this urgent and collective work. Given the diverse communities we serve, community college literature programs are well-positioned to do this work, and have the responsibility to do so. As literature instructors, we must lean into the power of narrative to open up new ways of thinking and doing, preparing students to be able to “move at the speed of trust” (brown 38) in thought and action, both in and beyond the classroom.
This resource site combines my own scholarship with concrete ideas for community college literature classroom (and beyond the classroom) praxis. The focus is teaching literature through a model that exists at the intersection of interculturality and critical literacy pedagogy, grappling with questions regarding how cultural/social/racial selves are constructed, how systems are culturally/socially/racially constructed, how power functions locally and globally, and the historical and contemporary impacts of systemic oppression.
In a community college context, our students—from high school PSEO students to first-generation college students to mid-career professionals to senior citizens—seek to be engaged and respected for the experience and knowledge they bring to the classroom. As ethnic studies programs are expanded across the country and our students in E-12 contexts receive more intercultural, critical literacy and multimodal education, they will expect to continue to grow in these areas in their post-secondary courses. When instructors co-create learning environments with our students, we disrupt entrenched power structures in higher education and create spaces in which to learn from each other. As Freire writes, “The teacher is no longer merely the-one-who-teaches, but one who is him/herself taught in dialogue with the students, who in turn while being taught also teach. They become jointly responsible for a process in which all grow” (41). Below are some specific practices that can be used in a variety of course settings to co-create classroom experiences that facilitate this process of growth.
Shared Classroom Culture
One of my favorite classroom practices is co-creating a class culture statement with my students. We do this during the first week (or two, depending on the structure of the course) of class. I start out by opening up a discussion of culture, asking students for their definitions of the concept of culture, examples of their lived experiences with culture(s), etc. Next, I acknowledge that traditional classroom culture in U.S. higher education settings is hierarchical and informed by the characteristics of white supremacy culture. I talk about how I was socialized into this academic culture, and how I am actively seeking to create something new with them. This video can be helpful for setting the context for this shared class culture work.
After this context-setting, I provide them with a set of reflection questions, such as: What does an inclusive class culture look like, sound like, and feel like to you? What does a respectful class culture look like, sound like, and feel like to you? How do you learn best? What do you need from your instructor and classmates in order to be successful in an online/in-person course?
I ask students to reflect on these questions and submit responses either verbally (via video or audio recording in an online course) or in writing. Next, I compile their responses into a class culture statement. I ask them to read the class culture statement and tell us if there is anything they would like to see changed. Lastly, we all agree to actively working toward this culture at all times when we are in our class community.
Sample Shared Classroom Culture Statement
In our class community:
- A complex map of experiences, skills, identities, and opinions exist. In building our class community, we seek to better understand all of the elements and intersections that make up this map.
- We are all teachers and have valuable experiences and information to share with each other.
- Discussions and interactions with each other are viewed as opportunities to learn. We value these opportunities and respond to a variety of discussion posts by different people throughout the semester.
- Assignment instructions are clear. The readings and videos support our discussions and reflective writing assignments.
- Feedback is valued. Students and the instructor regularly give and receive constructive feedback.
- Learning is meaningful. We strive to connect the class content to our lived experiences and future goals.
Note: This shared class culture work could also be done using transmediation or other multimodal approaches.
Student-Centered Syllabi
University of Southern California’s Center for Urban Education provides a helpful guide for thinking through how make syllabi more equitable and inclusive. In this guide, it states that “as artifacts of practice, syllabi can reinforce and reproduce the norms and rules that generally align with the experience of white students, or syllabi can counter those norms and rules. For racially/ethnically minoritized students who have experienced exclusion, marginalization, discrimination, and oppression in educational settings and elsewhere, syllabi can be tools for equity-minded practice. In particular, faculty can use syllabi to demystify the implicit norms and ambiguous processes that characterize college such as how to be a ‘successful’ student. Syllabi can welcome them into a classroom where they will be cared for, and validate their pursuit of a college degree and ability to be successful. They can send the message that while students need to work hard in college, faculty are there to support and work in partnership with them. Finally, syllabi can affirm the belonging of racially/ethnically minoritized students in higher education by representing their experiences in the course materials and by deconstructing the presentation of white students and white experiences as the norm” (3).
I apply the Center for Urban Education’s recommendations regarding clarity, student-focused language (ex. “student hours” instead of “office hours”), and affirmation in my written syllabi. I also create vidcasts (especially for asynchronous online courses) to introduce students to the course structure at the beginning of the course and to engage them with the material throughout the semester. Here an example of one that I created for an interdisciplinary studies course.
In addition to paying attention to how I create my syllabi, I also strive to create opportunities for content choice and/or co-curation with my students. For example, in a literature course syllabus, I might offer students the choice between three short stories that all focus on the same theme. I might give students a list of texts that correspond to the overarching themes for the course and ask them which texts they would be most interested in engaging with throughout the semester. I might point students to a website like Words Without Borders and ask them to choose a text that is appealing to them or fits in with a certain genre or theme we are discussing in class. I also ask students to find content and bring it in to class during transmediation practice.
Collaborative Resource Sharing
Another way that I engage students in content co-curation and co-creation is through collaborative resource sharing throughout the course. For example, I might create a digital wall about a specific book and ask students to add resources, prompts, or thoughts to it. Below is a Padlet that students in my YA Literature class created for our work on Dream Country.
Student-Driven Multimodal Work
Please visit this page to learn more about co-creating multimodal projects and assessment practices with students.
Works Cited
brown, adrienne maree. Emergent Strategy: Shaping Change, Changing Worlds. AK Press, 2017.
Freire, Paolo. Pedagogy of the Oppressed. Continuum, 2000.
Narrative (and) Power 