Raising critical consciousness and building community in an undergraduate child development course

Abstract

This narrative describes how a professor has modified their undergraduate Child Development course to increase inclusion and raise students’ critical consciousness as they consider the research behind textbook content, gain new perspectives on children’s development, and learn from each other’s experiences. Disrupting traditional course content and models of rote learning and lecture in favor of more interactive approaches help make content more accessible to students. The narrative provides an overview of the teaching practices used to help students feel known and respected within our class community. Course content and experiences are designed to help students recognize and value their own diverse identities and the identities of others through strength-based and intersectional lenses. These strategies are intended to help students engage with and learn about children’s development in deeper and more meaningful ways.