Combining Problem Based Learning and Activism in a Feminist Classroom

Abstract

Scholar-activists share a desire to expose students to research on societal injustices and to activism working to address injustices. Many of us were drawn to our disciplines because we desire to have our feet in both camps: studying and active engagement in changing society. As a sociologist who also teaches in a women's studies program, I encourage students to critically reflect on role of gender within social institutions and how activists work to create change in those contexts. Popular texts for introductory course support this endeavor by exploring feminism as a response to structural inequality and incorporating activism in 'story' of feminist analyses. Nevertheless, I have found that frequently students are inspired by these discussions yet feel stunted in their own ability to move from analysis to action. Being lulled into debilitating mind-traps of perceiving a world inundated with problems where we lack power to envision solutions and create positive social change is a dangerous place that I argue can be addressed by adopting problem-based learning approach with an activist component. In this article I reflect on incorporation of what I call a Group Action Project which is based on PBL approach in an undergraduate introductory women's studies course. This combination of collaborative learning and activism was used to facilitate study of gender inequality on campus and to inspire class to address problem through activism.I begin with a review of literature regarding pedagogical approaches including feminist, experiential and problem-based learning to develop a framework for examining project we undertook in this course. I provide context and description of project students in class were involved in, a study of sexual harassment, including written responses about their involvement in project. Responses from students reveal that this project left them feeling empowered, in part because it gave them primary responsibility for what was learned and how, while additional activist component contributed deeply to their overall sense of efficacy and understanding of social problem and our campus. Finally, I conclude with considerations for instructors contemplating adopting this type of problem-based learning project in their class.PEDAGOGICAL APPROACHESLearning can be liberating and completely transformative, but how can we create conditions for this growth in classroom? Many wish to embrace a critical pedagogical approach inspired by notion that classroom can be the most radical space of possibility in academy (hooks 1994, 5; see also Freire 1970; Kenway and Modra 1992; Luke and Gore 1992). This method recognizes that students and instructors learning together and from each other fosters solidarity and collective levels of reflection and has potential to create a space for developing political consciousness (Crawley, Willman, Clark, and Walsh 2009; Stem 1994; Larson 2005; Markowitz 2005; Weiler 1995; Hoffman and Stake1998; Chick and Hassel 2009). Feminist pedagogy is teaching that engages students in political discussion of gender injustice with goal of seeking to understand and challenge oppressive power (Fisher 2001 quoted in Naples 2002: 15-6). Moreover, it seeks to decenter role of professor while elevating experiences and ability of all of participants as co-creators of knowledge (Stake 2006; Maher and Tetrault 2001; Chick and Hassel 2009, Champeau and Shaw 2001).Feminist teachers recognize that students enter classroom with knowledge and a body of experience, influenced largely by each person's standpoint (Collins 1990; Mohanty 1995). Students are typically encouraged to reflect on gender relations in their own lives and communities and recognize how their social location could affect their awareness and subsequent understanding of a social problem. …