Collaboration Toward Inclusive Learning: �Co-Creating �Curricular Objectives
Jessica Aguirre
Paul Michael Leonardo Atienza
Heavyn Johnson
Jade Khalid
Naia Planty
Z Zenobia
Teaching Excellence Symposium
Center for Teaching & Learning
Cal Poly Humboldt
CRGS 430, Spring 2023
Decolonizing Gender & Sexuality?
April 28, 2023
Aguirre, Atienza, Johnson, Khalid, Planty, Zenobia 2023
pmla1@Humboldt.edu
CRGS 430 class small group discussions on Mar. 23, 2023 in HGH 106.
Photo by PML Atienza.
GOAL:
Foster a decolonial praxis for class design, learning, and assessment.
Resources considered throughout the process are available on this shared document:
“Disrupting colonial ways of teaching would look like equal partnership between professor and students, providing room for co-creating and collaborating in a shared learning environment. When students are given the opportunity and tools to build the curriculum, we are able to implement our own experiences and share them respectfully in a collective way.
Knowledge is a tool that produces power. As a student, it is valuable to be able to share knowledge in a place where I’m investing my time and money. Our voices are heard.
We get to share our perspectives in an intimate setting
(small groups) and then as a whole (class). I appreciate this
style of teaching and learning. My peers make me feel comfortable in our classroom, while challenging academic infrastructures.”
Jessica Aguirre
Aguirre, Atienza, Johnson, Khalid, Planty, Zenobia 2023
pmla1@Humboldt.edu
CRGS 430 class small group discussions on Mar. 23, 2023 in HGH 106.
Photo by PML Atienza.
CLICK ON THIS LINK
… Collaborating in creating our syllabus made me appreciate and respect Professor Atienza because it showed me that they wanted us to uphold our values.
Our room seating arrangement decenters the instructor and the inherent power dynamics of a classroom. “We are not in a traditional setting where everyone is facing the teacher, we all sit in a circle where everyone can see each other. At times Professor Atienza sits in the circle with us, at our level, and I think this allows us to have control in the classroom.”
Professor Atienza cares for our well-being. “…having the opportunity to be in a decolonized classroom where we can feel the most comfortable, empowered, and engaged, allows me to leave the classroom with ease and ready to come back the next week with excitement.”
Heavyn Johnson
Aguirre, Atienza, Johnson, Khalid, Planty, Zenobia 2023
pmla1@Humboldt.edu
Check out our
co-created syllabus,
a living document.
The classroom is less of a lecture and more of an open dialogue where we each have the opportunity to share ideas and perspectives while critically assessing the material we’re working with.
We are trying to deconstruct infrastructural constraints and respectability politics within academia that uphold notions of colonialism and white supremacy.
Collaborating on the curriculum allows for more agency and an equal opportunity to engage.
Jade Khalid
Aguirre, Atienza, Johnson, Khalid, Planty, Zenobia 2023
pmla1@Humboldt.edu
Ungrading / Assessment
Everyone’s voice is heard and encouraged to collaborate on the “rules” that we want to collectively uphold for our classroom. In a traditional classroom, the course materials and course calendar are set leading up to the class, and there is no space for the students to have a say in what interests them or be able to share the wisdom that we have from our own lived experiences.
The traditional education setting takes away students' power and autonomy. I noticed my body feels calmer and at ease within this classroom setting.
Decolonizing the classroom is empowering to students.
I find myself feeling more engaged, and excited to go to class and my creative juices flowing in our learning space.
Naia Planty
Aguirre, Atienza, Johnson, Khalid, Planty, Zenobia 2023
pmla1@Humboldt.edu
Professor Atienza, facilitated with our peers, treating us as equals, who were coming to the space already full of our own experiences and expertise. There is something decolonial about someone genuinely wanting you to learn and they actively show us that through collaborating with us on class material, creating a learning agreement, and respecting our humanness.
I am neurodivergent and this is one of the only college classes I have ever had where I felt accepted to do the things that my brain needs to do to *actually* learn the best. I feel welcomed and trust that every person in that classroom has co-agreed on a standard of engaging with each other and the material. I feel seen and heard. I am excited for every single class session and I value each minute as an act of decolonization.
Z Zenobia
Aguirre, Atienza, Johnson, Khalid, Planty, Zenobia 2023
pmla1@Humboldt.edu