by Sarah Rutherford
Sarah Rutherford, MFA is an associate professor of design and the undergraduate director of design at Cleveland State University. She researches, writes, and speaks about pedagogy and learning in higher education. Her Master of Fine Arts is from the School of Visual Communication Design at Kent State University.
Is the way we teach giving students silent permission to disengage? Instructor-centered models of teaching undermine student learning because they invite students to misplace the responsibility for their own learning on the instructor. If your students are disengaged, showing limited interest in homework, having trouble following directions, or are frequently absent, examining how you exert control in the classroom might open new solutions to bring students more fully into the learning environment. Through personal reflection and large group sharing, participants in this session will examine classroom power dynamics through the lens of critical pedagogy and explore how evidence-based teaching strategies like active learning, ungrading, and curriculum co-creation can be implemented to engage students by sharing power.