-
Transformative Spaces: Feminist Pedagogy in Academic Conferencing
In our collective journey as women deeply immersed in the world of online higher education, we have steadfastly embraced the tenets of feminist pedagogy. Our approach is grounded in the ethos of collaboration and communal contribution, underpinned by a strong commitment to authenticity, inclusivity, and the acknowledgment of diverse lived experiences. This dedication to feminist principles recently culminated in a transformative experience at Courtney’s “Culture Think” conference, held in October 2023.
-
Supporting Online Student Persistence:
I’m an avid podcast listener, and I cherish those moments when I can relax and enjoy some downtime with my miniature schnauzer, Heiter, who lives up to his name by always being a cheerful presence. As I was recently engrossed in a podcast episode about the subtle presence of patriarchy in our relationships with dogs, it got me thinking about how our interactions with our furry companions can serve as a mirror reflecting our societal norms. It’s fascinating how deeply ingrained the patriarchy is in every aspect of our lives, even in something seemingly innocent as our bond with our…
-
Harnessing Generative AI to Support Feminist Pedagogy
As I welcomed my first-year students to class this semester, I posed a simple question: Who had used ChatGPT before? To my surprise, not a single hand went up. It became evident that many students had been discouraged or even barred from using ChatGPT in their previous educational experiences. Only one student in the class even had an account. This observation is not unique to my class; it reflects a broader trend on our campus. Many of my colleagues are either intimidated by Generative AI or actively banning its use in their classrooms. I believe that resisting this evolving technology…
-
Time Equity for Mothers through Labor-Based Grading
In 2022, I left Texas and made a ten-day journey to Fairbanks, Alaska for graduate school. When I arrived, I came as a single mother with a three-year-old son and a list of worries I was intent to leave at the door. In fact, I arrived at my Teaching Assistant Orientation with a stroller and a sleeping preschooler. However, as my cohort spent extra hours on lesson plans and getting ahead on work, I found myself uploading documents to Google Classroom while making toddler snacks and filling my office with toys. The learning curve was steep, and I had little…
-
Online Moms: Distance Education and Women Nontraditional Students
Online education can provide a range of advantages for women, particularly those who face barriers to accessing traditional education due to family responsibilities, financial constraints, or social norms. These programs attract women students because of their flexibility and the possibility of managing existing family commitments while obtaining a degree-level education. Although there is an extensive research literature focused on the demands of working students (for reviews, see Creed et al., 2015; Giancola et al., 2008; Park & Sprung, 2013), there are comparably fewer studies on the challenges women face when pursuing degrees in higher education as nontraditional students (for reviews…
-
Allowing for Silence in the Asynchronous Online Classroom
A pedagogy of listening in a first year composition class necessitates allowing for silence. But what does silence look like in a course taught asynchronously and online? This past semester I taught first year college composition alongside a team of two fellow graduate teaching assistants. Our class was a hybrid online/in person model, which was a new experience for all three of us. Once we figured out the technological platforms, we were excited to use them to foster an online classroom community. Our team used Slack as a base of communications with our online and in person students. We formed…
-
Power to the People! Vernaculars are Revolutionary
The day after I first read about “other Englishes” in my pedagogy class, an old friend remarked that I never speak anything but “the Queen’s English.” I was sad to admit he was right. Don’t misunderstand me. I’m an English teacher—I love English! That’s why I love “other Englishes.” Other Englishes arise and flourish when cultures and languages mix (think Hinglish, Spanglish, or Swenglish) and represent language at its liveliest. One has to wonder if Latin “died” because its grammar ceased to change with the times. By encouraging students to focus on Standard English, are we asking them to look…
-
Feminist Pedagogy after Roe
The recently leaked SCOTUS draft decision on Dobbs v. Jackson has generated turmoil in the lives of many feminist educators and their students. Although the final decision will not be released until this summer, experts agree that it is unlikely to change much from the leaked draft. Long-time activists, advocates, and scholars of reproductive rights, health, and justice are preparing for the impending social, political, and health crisis that will ensue. As practitioners of feminist pedagogy, we must ask ourselves what this means for our classrooms, both onground and online. Given women aged 20-24 received 27.6% of abortions performed in…
-
Invitational rhetoric is powerful, but it needs a collective!
In the fall semester of 2021, four first-year graduate students, and one adjunct instructor and academic advisor, were connected to team-teach an asynchronous, first-year composition course. Our approach to team teaching used invitational rhetoric as a strategy to help students feel more comfortable sharing their ideas and writing since it deemphasizes argument and emphasizes the sharing of multiple perspectives (Kirtley, 2014, p. 340). Invitational rhetoric, at its core, is a style of writing largely rooted in feminism that encourages experimentation (even fun!), reader-audience connection, and empathy over values of “traditional” (and often patriarchal) academic writing like authority, persuasion, and argumentation.…
-
Considering the Consequences of Continuing on as Normal
As students reviewed the prompt for their second essay of the semester, I started to get nervous. I could sense, almost tangibly, an overwhelming feeling of burnout from everyone. In my first-year writing courses, some version of this happens right around the fourth paper of the semester. To try and ameliorate those issues, I typically end up cutting one small assignment—like a reading response or short writing task—which usually helps students push through. But, of course, in the fall of 2021, things were anything but usual. We were enduring a second year of the COVID-19 pandemic (with no clear end…
-
Complicating “flexibility” in online learning from a feminist perspective
When I put together the syllabus for my “Introduction to Critical Disability Studies” class this term, I deliberately made the schedule, assignments, and grading policy maximally flexible (and I was proud of the final result). These decisions included a fully asynchronous format, multiple options for how to engage with each assignment, complete/incomplete grading for all class activities, and flexible due dates. No sooner had I distributed the syllabus to students than I began to understand some of the flaws of my plan. For example, I had set up the “weekly rhythm” of the class so that I would post materials…
-
Welcome to the FPTO Blog!
Welcome to the inaugural edition of the Feminist Pedagogy for Online Teaching Blog! It is the hope of the Feminist Pedagogy for Online Teaching website curators that this blog will be a space for feminist educators to share insights and inspiration. Promoting the voices of feminist educators who have much to share is central to the vision the curators have for the further development of this community. For too many of us, there are limited opportunities for sharing and learning about the ways in which feminist online pedagogy fosters transformative learning experiences. We may each be the only person in…
Feminist Pedagogy for Teaching Online
A Digital Guide