Critical Pedagogy Institute

The Critical Pedagogy Institute is being established by a team of educators to provide support to AC faculty who are interested in:

• Challenging the assumptions, values, and beliefs ingrained in their teaching practice and reflecting on how these impact the learner experience
• Identifying and working to de-centre the societal structures of power and knowledge that influence both learner and educator beliefs in the classroom
• Creating an inclusive learning environment that recognizes and represents learner diversity

The Critical Pedagogy Institute will provide 1-on-1 support, resources and reading lists, as well as synchronous and asynchronous professional development opportunities to help faculty implement inclusive education and social justice principles into their teaching practice. The team offered some pilot sessions in Winter and Spring 2021 and is currently undergoing a process of consultation and development in order to offer PD workshops and support in future semesters.

In the meantime, here is a growing list of suggested readings and resources for faculty, curated by the LTS and Critical Pedagogy Institute team:

Challenging assumptions, values and beliefs

• CBC Article – A variety of Canadian university student accounts of experiencing racism on campus.
• CBC Radio Interview – Zahra Clayborne talks about her experience with racism as a Black academic student.
• Article from the OCCRL (Office of Community College Research and Leadership) – Explores the assumptions underlying an anti-racist approach in education.
• Article from Hybrid Pedagogy (online journal) – Looks at specific questions we can ask of ourselves from a pedagogical standpoint.
• Inclusive Teaching pointers from Columbia University (USA) – Guides educators to reflect on how their identities and biases may affect student perceptions and influence the overall feeling of inclusivity.

Identifying societal structures of power and knowledge in education

• Article from the Kappa Delta Pi Record – Explores barriers to structural and societal inclusion and how educators can help students to remove or overcome these barriers.
• Article from The Conversation – Questions academics can ask to decolonise their classrooms.
• Article from Ryerson U. – Summarizes a panel discussion between Indigenous and non-Indigenous educators about decolonizing the classroom.
• Process guide from Bryn Mawr College (USA) – Reflections from a professor who ‘revolutionized’ her curriculum based on a decolonization manifesto.

Creating an inclusive learning environment

• Article from Medium – An overview of critical pedagogy and how it can transform learning, and teaching practice.
• Article from Inside Higher Ed – A Dozen-Plus Ways You Can Foster Educational Equity
• Article from The Chronicle (free account required) – Advice on how to discuss racism in the classroom.
• Article from The Century Foundation – Further advice on how to discuss racism in the classroom.
• Bias Free Language Style Guide from APA – Writing using language that is bias free and “avoids perpetuating prejudicial beliefs or demeaning attitudes”
• Faculty Toolkit from The Learning Portal – Ways of integrating Indigenous history, perspectives, and culture into lesson planning.
• Faculty Toolkit from Wheaton College (USA) – Practices that help educators to become anti-racist.
• Article from Race & Pedagogy Journal – Barriers and Strategies by White Faculty Who Incorporate Anti-Racist Pedagogy.

Looking for more?

This website will expand as LTS works with stakeholders to develop practices and professional development opportunities. In the meantime, here are some external collections of anti-racist and equity-seeking educational materials for those who want to dive deeper.

• Concordia Subject Guide – Anti-Black, Anti-Indigenous & Systemic Racism
• Otis College (USA) Faculty Guide – Building an Anti-Racist Classroom