Welcome to the Tuesday Teaching Tip, an easy-to-implement tool that you can use immediately in your classroom teaching.

TUESDAY TEACHING TIP: Teaching Social Justice through Positionality Mapping

This week, we challenge you to integrate social justice into your curriculum through the lens of "Positionality Mapping." Often, students view course content as objective or neutral. By asking students to consider their own identities in relation to the subject matter, we move from passive consumption to critical engagement. Social justice in the classroom is not just about the content we teach, but the context in which that learning occurs (see Adams & Bell, 2016).

Here’s one way to do it:

• Introduce the Concept: Explain that our backgrounds—race, gender, class, and lived experience—shape how we interpret information.
• The Prompt: Leverage your existing course materials by centering this reflection on a specific assignment, reading or data set from your current syllabus. Ask students to spend five minutes reflecting on: How does my personal background influence my initial reaction to this material? Whose perspective might be missing from this data/text?
• Encourage Reflection: Ask students to write their thoughts by hand. This allows for more intentional processing and helps them sit with the complexities of identity and power.
• Collaborative Dialogue: After the individual reflection, have students pair up. You can accomplish this in-class, or assign student groups to submit their joint reflection as an assignment. The goal is not to debate, but to practice "active listening"—hearing how a peer’s different positionality leads them to a different interpretation of the same material.

Help Students Embrace the Discomfort

Discussing social justice and identity can feel "messy" or uncomfortable. Reassure your students that this discomfort is a sign of cognitive growth. When we analyze the power structures inherent in our disciplines, we are not just teaching facts; we are teaching students how to be responsible citizens in a global community. Remind them that true intellectual rigor includes the ability to question the status quo.

DID YOU DO IT?

Let us know how it went. We would love to hear your feedback about how you implemented today’s Tuesday Teaching Tip in your classroom. Click here to fill out our 3-question survey. The survey is anonymous, but if you choose to enter your name, you’ll be entered in a drawing at the end of the quarter to win a new book from Faculty Development!

 

UPCOMING EVENTS 

• Facilitating Student Belonging Through Advising on Thursday, March 5 RSVP

• First Fridays Shut Up & Write on Friday, March 6 RSVP

• Shut Up & Grade on Friday, March 13 RSVP

 

WANT TO READ A LITTLE MORE?

• Adams, M., & Bell, L. A. (Eds.). (2016). Teaching for Diversity and Social Justice. Routledge.

This week’s Tuesday Teaching Tip was prepared by Thiadora Pina on behalf of the Office of Faculty Development and the Center for Teaching Excellence.

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