In this module, CoSAs will explore some of the values, approaches, and practices that the CoLab supports. Students will also consider their values and developing role in the CoLab.
Participation Guide: Human-Centered Teaching and Learning
Faculty often come to the CoLab to get help with new modes of teaching. Maybe they are teaching an online course for the first time. Maybe they want to use portfolios with their students, integrate generative AI into an assignment (or bust students if they are using GenAI without permission!), or try a new grading method. Whatever their goals, here at the CoLab we usually try to take a step back to encourage faculty to think about their values and about the humans involved in the teaching and learning process before they make decisions about tools and techniques. We center values in our work with faculty by foregrounding care, equity, and critical pedagogy in the programs we create to help our faculty grow and learn. “Care” and “equity” are two words that are no doubt familiar to you; “critical pedagogy” is a little trickier, but it’s basically an approach to teaching that emphasizes how education intertwines with issues of power, oppression, and freedom. In this topic, you will learn more about how and why we put humanity at the center of our work in the CoLab.
Schedule
Day One: Human-Centered Teaching and Learning
Readings/ Resources
- Basic Principles of Critical Pedagogy. Aliakbari and Faraji
- Pedagogy as Protest: Reimagining the Center, Zeller
Questions
Activities
Day Two: Human-Centered Teaching and Learning
Readings/ Resources
- It’s Hard to Study if You’re Hungry, Goldrick-Rab
- Chronic Illness is a Real Part of College Life, Burtis, Cheney, DeRosa, Hounsell, Smith
Participation Guide: Mindsets of the Successful CoSA
New CoLab Student Affiliates often feel overwhelmed by the prospect of working with their professors and offering their perspective on teaching and learning in the CoLab. We have a lot of preconceived notions about the expertise and authority of our professors – they have the PhDs and masters and years of experience. What can they get from students? Our answer in the CoLab is that students can offer A LOT to our faculty. Students offer a perspective that professors simply don’t have. You know what it’s like to be a student right now. You know about the cost of school, the kind of things that keep you from doing your work, the way you stay engaged or motivated in a class, the reasons why you attend class. You’ve been through years of school and you know what it’s like to have a successful teacher or class. In the CoLab, we want our students to feel empowered to bring their perspective to the table when faculty are seeking advice about their teaching. We recognize that it’s not easy to share your opinions with people that we traditionally see as being authority figures. That’s why your mindset as a CoLab Student Affiliate is just as important as the work you do. In this section of the module, you will learn more about the mindsets of the successful CoSA from Hannah who has supervised a lot of CoSAs over the years! You will also think about your goals as a CoLab Student Affiliate, which will help you choose projects to work on later on.
Schedule
Day Three: Mindsets of the Successful CoSA
Questions
Readings/ Resources
- Students as Partners, Center for Engaged Learning at Elon University
- Teaching as Reflective Practice, Montclair State University Office for Faculty Excellence
Activities