Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Commons^™

Guidelines For Sustainable Use Of Mobile Instant Messaging Apps In Higher Education: A South African Case Study, Bronwyn C. Swartz, Sweta Patnaik

Higher Learning Research Communications

Objective: The purpose of the study was to propose guidelines to facilitate the sustainable and successful use of mobile instant messaging apps for learning and teaching based on a review of the literature and perceptions of educators. Fraser’s model of redistribution, recognition, and representation served as the theoretical framework. This study provides a mechanism for the development of a socially just and inclusive online classroom environment.

Method: We conducted two focus groups (n = 4 and n = 3) in November 2021 at a university of technology in South Africa to explore the perceptions of educators on using mobile …

Accepting Educational Responsibility For Social Justice: Homeless Mothers’ And Children’S Need Of Education About Health And Nutrition, Smita Guha

Journal of Vincentian Social Action

The goal is to improve health and nutrition among new mothers and their children who were living in shelters. The mothers received workshops and booklets consisting of information, quick and healthy recipes, and learned how to prepare home-made meals with a low budget. The mothers realized nutritious foods are important for them and their children. They learned how to manage time to make nutritious food at the residence. Children regardless of their background, are our future and we need to pay attention to their needs now so that future problems could be prevented. The significance of this study is immense …

Hidden In Plain Sight: Finding A Balance Between Assessment And Learning In Competency-Based Education In Canadian Health Care, Scott Murray

The Dissertation-in-Practice at Western University

Due to its emphasis on skill development and alignment with workforce demands, competency-based education (CBE) has garnered considerable attention in recent years. My organizational improvement plan (OIP) focuses on the potential benefits of incorporating learners’ voices into CBE in Canadian medical education and proposes a corresponding implementation framework. The traditional CBE model often lacks a critical component: the learner’s voice. My OIP reviews the literature and outlines its theoretical underpinnings (e.g., systems theory, adult education theory) within the scope of authentic leadership. The findings suggest incorporating learners’ voices into CBE to boost engagement, motivation, and agency. In response to such …

Just Mathematics: Getting Started Teaching Postsecondary Math For Social Justice, Kenan A. Ince

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

Following the summer 2020 civil rights movement and increasing attention to the intersections of mathematics with politics and power, many math educators have reported a desire to implement an antiracist pedagogy and to examine the intersections of their subject with issues of equity, inclusion, and social justice. Many resources exist for K-12 math educators interested in incorporating social justice into their curricula, but resources are comparatively scarce for college and university instructors (though this is changing quickly!). We discuss why one may want to teach mathematics for social justice, how to begin to implement issues of social justice into postsecondary …

“Why You Always So Political?”: A Counterstory About Educational-Environmental Racism At A Predominantly White University, Martín Alberto Gonzalez

Chicano/Latino Studies Faculty Publications and Presentations

Using critical race counterstorytelling, I tell a story about the experiences of Mexican/Mexican American/Xicanx (MMAX) undergraduate students at private, historically and predominantly white university in the Northeast. Drawing on in-depth interviews, participant observations, pláticas, document analyses, and literature on race and space and racism in higher education, I argue that the racially hostile campus environment experienced by MMAX students at their respective university manifests itself as a form of educational-environmental racism. Through narrated dialogue, Aurora (a composite character) and I delve into a critical conversation about how educational-environmental racism is experienced by MMAX students through a racialized landscape in the …

The Use Of Social Justice Socioscientific Issues In Secondary Biology Classes: An Action Research, Stephanie Marilyn Bailey

Theses and Dissertations

The U.S. Education system is founded on a Eurocentric focus of curriculum, and students of color are not achieving as high as white students on the National Assessment for Education Progress in science. This research aims to repay the education debt owed to students of color by decolonizing science curriculum through the implementation of lessons centered around socioscientific issues grounded in social justice. An action research study was implemented in which 9 ^th grade Biology students participated in three instructional units centered on social justice issues. Data was collected through surveys, focus group interviews, student work, and journal reflections from …

"Dear Stanford: You Must Reckon With Your History Of Sexual Violence" By Seo-Young Chu, Seo-Young J. Chu

Publications and Research

In 2000 a Stanford professor raped me. My rape is now older than I was. (I’m still not as old as he was.) The more time passes the more I’m struck by Stanford’s apathy and fecklessness about sexual violence. I wrote a letter asking Stanford to stop compounding the abuse and to reckon with its rape culture. This letter—including the “Incomplete Compilation of Links to Sources Documenting Stanford’s History of Sexual Violence, in Chronological Order”—should be mandatory reading for administrators, faculty, students, alumni, and stakeholders at both Stanford and CUNY. #MeToo #MeTooAcademia

Writing Methods Key In Preparing Hope-Focused Teacher-Writers And Teachers Of Writing, Nicole Sieben

Teaching/Writing: The Journal of Writing Teacher Education

This manuscript emphasizes the need for positioning students (preservice and inservice teachers) in methods courses as both teacher-writers and teachers of writing. It demonstrates the importance of teaching writing methods with a hope-focused, process-driven approach grounded in social justice reasoning and includes ways of positioning students in methods courses as teacher-writers with valued professional presence in the field of English education. By way of example, the piece includes a description of a specific “Professional Writings” assignment from a methods course for pre- and inservice teachers and models the value of choice and voice for writers at all levels. It then …

Social Justice And The Us Food System: A Critical Course On The Human Dimensions Of Food, Ali Brooks

Food Systems Master's Project Reports

Our world is made up of overlapping political, environmental, and economic spheres that engender social injustice and inequality. Though separate societal issues can seem divergent and unconnected, they are all linked together by one universal necessity: food. Because everyone eats, everyone is connected to—and dependent on—food and the systems that govern it. However, the impacts of our industrial food system are not felt equally among people who hold different positions of power within it.

Today’s industrial food complex operates on the capitalist principle of profit accumulation through exploitation, commodification, and extraction. This set of relations is not defined by scale …

Exploring The Educational Impact Of Academic Field Trips Over Time, Tara Parrello, Colby L. Valentine

Experiential Learning & Teaching in Higher Education

Experiential learning can be in the form of internships, field trips, service learning, and research projects. The practical nature of criminal justice is a logical fit for experience-based learning. Specifically, academic field trips may be viewed as examples of short-term experiential education. However, do experiential learning trips have an academic impact over time? Using survey data, the current study examines if students acquire and retain knowledge after a prison tour of Eastern State Penitentiary. Pre- and post-tour surveys of student learning outcomes showed a statistically significant gain between the pre- and post-tour survey results. A follow-up survey explored if students …

Social Justice Through Service-Learning In Parks & Recreation Management Education, Anne L. Demartini

Experiential Learning & Teaching in Higher Education

This practice-based approach argues service learning can teach social justice in parks & recreation management education. The US parks system creation and history is rooted in injustice. Use of US parks and park service employment remain inequitable today. Significant work must be done in the provision of recreation and park services to all members of the community, including those who have been traditionally marginalized or underserved. The industry requires recreation and parks professionals at all levels who are informed and intentional about inclusion and social justice, which starts with parks and recreation management education.

Service-learning, a form of experiential learning …

Reimagining Scripts For Human And Environmental Justice In Experiential Learning, William F. Heinrich, Benjamin Lauren, Sandra Logan

Experiential Learning & Teaching in Higher Education

This article shares a case study of an experiential learning framework designed specifically for supporting learning in courses focused on human and environmental justice. We argue that our educational practices must substantially change to be accountable to each other as we address social issues and explore societal solutions. Findings from qualitative analyses of student reflective writing led us to a new framework and repeatable pattern for planning and implementing courses with justice-oriented outcomes. Implications for the ways we engage and empower students are considered in light of dominant scripts of power and control in classrooms.

Fundamentals Of Anthropology As Effective Experiential Learning Strategy To Promote Social Justice, Chelsea G. Abbas

Experiential Learning & Teaching in Higher Education

Experiential learning (EL) as it relates to the social sciences, involves going out into the community to conduct field studies or work with different groups who provide new approaches and collaborative perspectives to student learning. EL relies on the fact that students can communicate with distinct populations and oftentimes bridge cultural, linguistic, racial, generational, or geographical divides. As we emerge from a pandemic-induced social isolation into an increasingly siloed and divided political world, creating generative dialogue and skill sets to promote social activism and empathy for the common good is of utmost importance, especially for college students. Two EL experiences, …

Justice Isn’T One-Size-Fits-All: Working Toward Justice In Service-Learning Courses, Chelsea Lauder, Becca Berkey

Experiential Learning & Teaching in Higher Education

Service-Learning is a form of experiential education and a teaching tool that can both enhance student learning outcomes and contribute to community goals. When this type of learning intersects with social justice education, or liberatory education, different types of student outcomes may arise; specifically, those contributing to the development of social and critical consciousness. In this thought piece on praxis, we conduct a content analysis of multiple first- and second- year service-learning courses to determine if there is an observable difference in the development of student social consciousness and commitment as it pertains to the extent to which justice is …

Implementing An Experiential Learning Program Focused On Civic Leadership To Produce Social Justice Outcomes, Glenn A. Bowen, Courtney A. Berrien

Experiential Learning & Teaching in Higher Education

This article describes a civic learning and leadership development program aimed at cultivating civic mindedness and preparing students for social change roles in community settings. Participating students tackle social issues as viewed through a systemic change lens; they explore the root causes of specific social issues and then work collaboratively with community partners to address those issues. The program’s student learning outcomes assessment has shown that participants generally become civic-minded graduates, with the demonstrable capacity and desire to work with others for social change. The authors explain the practice-based approach to the program, summarize social justice outcomes, and delineate program …

Constructivism In Action: A Dynamic Group Process In Defining And Applying Principles Of Social Justice, Tanupreet Suri, Leslie Woolson, Arianna Trott, Marty Apodaca, M. Kathryn Brammer, Dèsa Karye Daniel, Diane Lacen, Thomas A. Chávez

Teaching and Supervision in Counseling

As a part of a Multicultural course, students in a doctoral program at a university in the Southwest worked together to synthesize a definition of social justice. The constructivist process implemented in this educational experience represented social justice in action, through co-construction of shared meaning. This definition, centered on Iris Young’s (2004) Five Faces of Oppression, resulted in the following: Social justice is addressing oppression, violence, exploitation, marginalization, powerlessness, and cultural imperialism through counselors’ efforts and advocacy, while promoting a critical perspective of the culture of silence. Social Justice is an active, effective change on micro- and macro-levels to alter …

Decolonizing & Indigenizing Lis, Heather Hill, Marni Harrington, Paulette Rothbauer, Danica Pawlick Potts

FIMS Publications

What does it mean to Indigenize and decolonize a Master of Library and Information Science (MLIS) program? This paper outlines the process by which one Canadian MLIS program responded to the reports from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada and the Canadian Federation of Library Association Indigenous Matters Committee that specify the implications and provide guidelines for best practices for librarianship and the information professions across Canada. In outlining the challenges of re-engineering our standard procedures, practices, and pedagogies, this paper provides a path forward for other MLIS programs looking to critically evaluate and develop their own programs.

"Side By Side With A Ruinous, Ever-Present Past": Trauma-Informed Teaching And The Eighteenth Century, Clarissa, And Fantomina, Kate Parker, Bryan M. Kopp, Lindsay Steiner

ABO: Interactive Journal for Women in the Arts, 1640-1830

This article explores the need for and applications of trauma-informed teaching in eighteenth-century studies, particularly around representations of sexual trauma (rape) and consent. The prevalence of trauma guarantees its presence in our classrooms, even and especially in its absences. As the field of eighteenth-century studies continues to reframe its white, Eurocentric, male-dominated past through more intentionally inclusive research and teaching methods, particularly those that explore the intersections of eighteenth-century studies and social justice approaches to education, the presence of trauma in our classrooms will become only more significant. Keeping in mind those students of marginalized identities who are most likely …

The Activations Of Activism: An Ethnography Of Emotional Management, Gerson Sanchez

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this ethnography is to explore cultural context of college student activism, especially as it relates to identity. Much has been said about student activism in the higher education literature, but this literature has two major problems: first, it presupposes a pre-cursive existence of identity, and, second, it disconnects meaning-making from action. With regard to the first problem, activism scholars tend to take categories such as race, class, gender, and sexuality as given, thus reducing individuals to biological differences for the purposes of study. Instead of questioning how identities are created and constructed, such studies presuppose markers of …

Myth, Power, And Justice: The Danger Of A Single Story, Christen H. Clougherty

National Youth Advocacy and Resilience Conference

If we hear only a single story about a group, we risk a critical misunderstanding. In this session, learn to critically analyze assumptions of single stories and dominant narratives about community partners. Engage in hands-on activities to explore this issue as it relates to race, poverty, and social justice. Leave with classroom activities to take back to your classroom.

Exploring The Impact Of Field-Based Supervision Practices In Teaching For Social Justice, Detra Price-Dennis, Erica Colmenares

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

The purpose of this study is to understand how field-based supervisory practices support preservice teachers’ conceptualizations of reflective practice, curriculum inquiry, and social justice-oriented pedagogies. Moving away from the more traditional supervisory triad model (e.g., preservice student--cooperating teacher--university supervisor), our qualitative investigation examined five supervisory practices: formal observation, Lesson Study, video debriefs/observations, guided observations, and participation in Intellectual Learning Communities (ILCs). Through a case study of two preservice teachers, this study highlights how these supervisory practices helped support preservice teachers’ notions of reflective practice and curriculum inquiry but did not deepen their notions of social justice and inclusivity.

Bridging The Ivory Tower: Culturally Responsive Education Connects Content To People, Velma Cobb

Graduate School of Education Publications and Research

Higher education institutions shape the professions which are the conduit for the disciplines’ ways of knowing, the worldview or mindset of the professions, and the intellectual frameworks by which problems and policies are defined. The generational, conscious and unconscious agreements between higher education and the professions perpetuate the status quo, resulting in continued disproportional impacts based on race, gender, ethnicity, language, orientation, and differing abilities in every major industry sector; including education, health, employment, housing, finance, technology and the criminal justice system. Cultural responsive pedagogy provides a process of altering these agreements by surfacing the dual consciousness of our multiple …

“You’Re Almost In This Place That Doesn’T Exist”: The Impact Of College In Prison As Understood By Formerly Incarcerated Students From The Northeastern United States, Hilary Binda, Jill D. Weinberg, Nora Maetzener, Carolyn Rubin

Journal of Prison Education and Reentry (2014-2023)

This qualitative study examines the immediate and lasting impact of liberal arts higher education in prison from the perspective of former college-in-prison students from the Northeastern United States. Findings obtained through semi-structured interviews with formerly incarcerated people are presented in the following three areas: self-confidence and agency, interpersonal relationships, and capacity for civic leadership. This study further examines former students’ reflections on the relationship between education and human transformation and begins to benchmark college programming with attention to the potential for such transformation. The authors identify four characteristics critical to a program’s success: academic rigor, the professor's respect for students, …

Vanessa Siddle Walker: Honoring Keepers Of Knowledge By Using Their Stories To Improve Education, Melissa Holmes, Eileen Wertzberger, Kay Ann Taylor, Lori Goodson

Educational Considerations

Dr. Vanessa Siddle Walker, a renowned historical researcher in the field of education, is a leading voice in the history of school desegregation in the United States. In this interview, she discusses positioning black educators as significant agents of change in the collective narrative of schools and highlights how their organized action and strategic advocacy has led to social justice and equity for black students. Her research informs how our schools have worked in the past, and how lessons from our past can serve to mobilize resources for the equitable education of all children today.

Community Engagement Through Interactive Field-Based Activities, Carolyn Casale, C. Adrainne Thomas

Experiential Learning & Teaching in Higher Education

This qualitative case study consisted of social justice interactive field-based experiential learning activities designed to understand community partnerships between a university and local public school. The research question was: How can interactive field-based activities build closer community ties? The theoretical foundation incorporated Ken Zeichner’s “hybrid spaces” with the premise of field-based interactive experiences. The findings indicated the need for further activities that create partnerships between teacher education programs and neighboring public schools.

Finding Remote Service Opportunities Appropriate For A Course On Social Justice, Laura Finley

Experiential Learning & Teaching in Higher Education

This article identifies challenges for social justice educators seeking to engage students in service-learning during the global pandemic of COVID-19. It discusses the author’s approach to finding continued service hours for students learning remotely who began earning hours with a dating and domestic violence awareness initiative. It shows how the author adapted, lessons learned, and ideas for future.

Foreword: The Dispossessed Majority: Resisting The Second Redemption In América Posfascista (Postfascist America) With Latcrit Scholarship, Community, And Praxis Amidst The Global Pandemic, Sheila I. Velez Martinez

Articles

As LatCrit reaches its twenty-fifth anniversary, we aspire for this symposium Foreword to remind its readers of LatCrit’s foundational propositions and ongoing efforts to cultivate new generations of ethical advocates who can systemically analyze the sociolegal conditions that engender injustice and intervene strategically to help create enduring sociolegal, and cultural, change. Working for lasting social change from an antisubordination perspective enables us to see the myriad laws, regulations, policies, and practices that, by intent or effect, enforce the inferior social status of historically- and contemporarily-oppressed groups. In turn, working with a perspective and principle of antisubordination can inspire us to …

Buying A Better World: Students As Conscious Consumers, Sean Murray

Journal of Vincentian Social Action

Conscious consumer movements have given people opportunities to “vote with their dollars” – that is, buy from companies with values matching their own, and forgo products from businesses with questionable policies and practices. After providing brief context about consumerism and conscious consumption, I focus on a Conscious Consumer Project that I teach in my First Year Writing courses at St. John’s University. Excerpts of student writing emphasizing labor issues, as well as student reflections on the project, are shared as I discuss possibilities for revising and improving the assignment. The possibilities discussed include increasing opportunities for students to do academic …

Being In Tension: Faculty Explorations Of The Meaning Of Social Justice In Teacher Education, Mary Shelley Thomas, Christine D. Clayton, Shin-Ying Huang, Roberto Garcia

Excelsior: Leadership in Teaching and Learning

This study explores faculty perspectives of social justice in teacher education within one New York institution with a social justice focus. Grounded in the institution’s self-study process for accreditation, the researchers were a part of a team that collected data from structured interviews, including a card sort, of 42 full time teacher educators across 16 programs in the institution. Informed by sociocultural theories (Vygotsky, 1978, Wertsch, 1991), a content analysis revealed the language selected by faculty as well as their meaning-making process and describes how individuals contextualized those meanings. Findings demonstrated a range of meanings and lack of a shared …

Examining Feminist Consciousness In Lgbtq University Constituencies, John P. Cullen, Angela Clark-Taylor, Catherine Faurot, Alysha Alani, Catherine Cerulli

New York Journal of Student Affairs

There is little data on the perception of LGBTQ constituencies toward feminism. We conducted focus groups on our campus and within the surrounding community on perspectives of LGBTQ students, university-employed gay men, community-based transgender individuals, and community-based gay men toward feminism. We analyzed findings using Bem’s gender schema and Ridgeway’s construct of individual, interactional, and institutional aspects of gender identity. Our results show the majority of our LGBTQ focus groups held positive views toward feminism, associating it with equality for all genders and social justice, with the exception of community-based gay men, who negatively associated feminism solely with women’s rights.