Co-creating course material and teaching practices with students is essential in courses such as social work. How can a student social worker understand equity and inclusion if they experience discriminatory approaches to the subject and teaching practices?
“As courses transitioned to online learning, it became clear that course syllabi are not neutral documents; rigid policies, deficit-based language, and unconscious biases disproportionately impacted students from historically marginalized backgrounds.”
An interesting look at introducing co-creation, or co-design as a means of both learning and shaping course material. The title of the paper is, Collaboration and co-creation: fostering student learning through syllabus redesign.
From the introduction
Four approaches for re-designing course material are explored as a means of achieving student engagement: universal design, human-centered design, the liquid syllabus, and anti-racist pedagogy materials. We also offer examples from our own anti-oppressive teaching practices. We conclude with our shared experiences and a reflection from a former student.
From the abstract
The social work profession continues to prioritize diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility within curricula and the classroom. Consequently, instructors must consider the syllabus as a foundational element. Often overlooked in discussions of power and oppression, the syllabus not only sets the tone for the course but also establishes the policies and practices that influence student engagement with both instructors and course content.
This article explores the approaches to teaching and co-creating course material and design. It focuses on the importance of language and tone, and the process of cocreating course content, assignments, and grading schemas with students. We conclude by sharing lessons learned and implications for both instructors and students. We hope to encourage ongoing dialogue on fostering classroom inclusion through syllabus redesign and a reflexive examination of the power dynamics that exist within the classroom.