Kristin J Jacobson

Inspired teaching happens in the presence of stimulated, informed students. My critical pedagogy aims to challenge and empower “active intellectuals,” or students invested in their education. My use of multimedia technology in the physical and cyber classroom as well as other creative forms of managing class discussion cultivate an active learning environment. For example, I have used a technique that asks students to come to every class with discussion topics and questions. I then put several students in the “hot seat” each period, asking them to share their topics and frame the day’s discussion. I notice a significant increase in overall participation when students set the agenda.

I have also used techniques that ask students to be physically as well as mentally active. In classes as small as twelve and as large as one-hundred students I have used tactics like throwing around a ball during discussion. Such activities consistently break down the fear factor of speaking in class and foster student attention and investment in course discussion. I frequently use discussion games to achieve a goal of one-hundred percent participation. Students who never would have thought of speaking in class speak on those days. From past experience, I know that once the “silence is broken” a student is more likely to contribute in the future—without outside prompts.

As active intellectuals, the students and I consistently and consciously evaluate the state of our knowledge. What do we know? What do we need to learn? What do we want to learn? Why? How? My essay exams follow this questioning model, asking students to synthesize course material, rather than memorize banked responses. For instance, a final exam question I used in my course on popular and folk culture asked students to imagine that the college was considering eliminating the course from the curriculum. Drawing from specific readings and other course materials, the students were asked to construct an argument about the value of this course within the college’s curriculum and beyond.

My teaching philosophy situates me as an instructor-expert in the classroom and a fellow learner. By the same token, my students are teachers as well as learners. My assignments reflect this philosophy. I regularly assign individual and group assignments that require work to be shared with classmates and the campus community as well as the instructor. Such assignments have taken the form of class presentations, poster presentations of student research presented to the university community, and posts to class electronic message boards. In my literature and general studies courses I regularly include peer writing workshops.

My pedagogy, which demands public intellectual work and critical self-reflection, necessitates a safe learning environment. A safe environment—a space open enough to accommodate different learning styles, opinions, cultures, expressions, and mistakes—fosters mutual respect. This does not mean that statements are made and accepted at face value. In this respect, a safe classroom is not necessarily a comfortable classroom. Rather than ignore controversial or difficult issues, my role as instructor is to help guide the class through struggles.

I am specifically committed to fostering discussion about class, race, sexuality and gender issues. I use a variety of tools—including anonymous midterm feedback, anonymous course polls, reading journals, and informal electronic message boards—to provide students with safe places to explore their arguments and provide me with constructive feedback.

Thus, by breaking hierarchical teaching models, assuring my course pays critical attention to race, gender, sexuality and class, and fostering a learning environment attentive to the needs of students from a variety of subject positions and backgrounds, my teaching pedagogy can also be summarized in one word: feminist.