Pedagogy Continuing to Shift

Shift happens (July 2018 Remix). Chances are you have seen this video that shares how technology has shifted human interaction. Over the past several months, educators have had to shift their approach to pedagogy with more acceleration and perhaps more uncertainty. As we continue to shift, I would like to share an Inside Higher Ed article entitled "Pedagogy and Course Design Need to Change. Here’s How" by Mintz (2020), published today. The author summarizes research-based instructional methods and identifies major drivers:

A shift in student expectations.
The emergence of a non-traditional student majority.
A shift from relatively homogeneous to highly diverse classrooms.
Changes in the world of work.

Mintz shares pedagogical strategies that can make a difference in student motivation, persistence, skills acquisition and their ability to apply, analyze, evaluate, synthesize and create. Chances are most of you have integrated many of the teaching strategies. As we update our fall courses, perhaps you have been considering adding a few new approaches to your courses and the following list might assist in your next steps. As always, please let me know if I can assist or answer any questions on applying these methods into course design.

Case-based learning
Collaborative and cooperative learning
Critical and transformational pedagogy
Experiential learning
Field- and place-based learning
Gamification
Global learning
Immersive learning
Inquiry-based learning
Research-based learning
Service learning
Public scholarship
Technology-enhanced learning
Learning by making and doing

The author summarizes the shift in pedagogy suggesting that instructors might reconsider the "way we conceptualize the teacher-student relationship, and view our students not simply as objects of instruction, but as partners, collaborators, providers of fresh perspectives and creators." Another paper on this idea (which was the topic of a faculty chat this week- thank you!) is "Andragogical Design Thinking: A Transition to Anarchy in and Beyond the Classroom" by Lockard (2017). In this paper, she reminds us of the benefits of shifting teaching and learning responsibilities where students:

invest and engage;
are empowered through choice and control;
develop autonomy and initiative, which leads to greater confidence;
are motivated internally rather than through external validation;
appreciative the value of making mistakes;
take greater accountability for failed events, which make them more resilient; and
experience a higher level of enjoyment of the course.