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Knowing Student Experiences
Ask yourself: Do I know my students’ experiences that bring them to this class?
Tip: You can, of course, set up surveys to get a glimpse of student experiences. Another way to tap into topics that students find relevant is by scaffolding discussions where students are given opportunities to provide examples situated in their experiences, choosing their styles of expression and communication.
Explicit Instruction
Ask yourself: Is it obvious to my students why this topic is important to study?
Tip: Include a quick list of significance and implications in your syllabus. This does not have to be a comprehensive list, but something to hook your students. If you wish to have some fun with, make it a catchy Buzzfeed-like clickbait sentence. However, make sure that you do not frame your clickbaits in a way that take the substance out of the topics, or essentialize students. Here are a few examples that do and do not work.
Situated and Transformative Practice
Ask yourself: Will students be able to go outside and use what they have learned in their real world?
Tip: Create projects or assignments that involve solving a real problem in students’ communities. These could be papers, a survey of their community, or actual working projects. There is always room for improvisation.
Critical Framing
Ask yourself: Are my students critical of the information they engage with, or do they agree without further questioning?
Tip: Show your own skepticism towards marginalizing and unscientific practices (e.g.: practices that are based in evidence, but still value other ways of knowing) in your discipline. Add a question at the end of each topic that makes connections to how it affects (or has affected) social and cultural issues.
Aesthetic Framing
Ask yourself: Are my students genuinely curious about this topic? Do they think about this when they leave my class?
Tip: Pay close attention to your word choice when framing the language in your syllabus, and more importantly, during your instruction. Keep in mind that music, lighting, and other modalities can also have an effect on emotions. Feel free to experiment with the ambiance of your classroom. For example, reading Edgar Allen Poe with dim lights and spooky music creates an eerie atmosphere often associated with Poe’s work and genre, thereby making it more engaging.
Related readings:
- Cope, B., & Kalantzis, M. (2015). A Pedagogy of Multiliteracies: Learning by Design. Palgrave Macmillan.
- Girod, M., Rau, C., & Schepige, A. (2003). Appreciating the beauty of science ideas: Teaching for aesthetic understanding. Science Education, 87(4), 574–587.
- Ladson-Billings, G. (1995). Toward a theory of culturally relevant pedagogy. American Educational Research Journal, 32(3), 465–491.
