GSPD Reading Community

Introduction

Open to graduate students in their third year or beyond and postdocs, the Graduate Student and Postdoc (GSPD) Reading Community is an opportunity to join Center for Teaching and Learning staff for sustained cross-disciplinary conversation on critical topics in teaching and learning. This year’s theme is Power Dynamics in the Classroom. Participants will complete 1–2 readings on the topic for each meeting, and we will also provide executive summaries of the articles and chapters. We will meet in person on campus, and participants should commit to attending all five sessions. Participants will receive a copy of bell hooks’ Teaching to Transgress, and the Center for Teaching and Learning provides refreshments and snacks for each meeting. See below for the dates and topics for each of our meetings this semester.

Registration has closed but there might still be a chance to participate, if you are interested in joining the group, please email Dr. Elina Salminen (elinasalminen@wustl.edu) or Emily Thompson (emily.thompson@wustl.edu).

 

Spring 2024

Meeting One: Difficult Topics in the Classroom – February 21

• Sensoy, Özlem, and Robin DiAngelo. “Respect Differences? Challenging the Common Guidelines in Social Justice Education.” Democracy and Education 22, no. 2 (2014): Article 1. 
• Haynie, Aeron, and Stephanie Spong. “Navigating Classroom Challenges.” In Teaching Matters: A Guide for Graduate Students, 93–105. Morgantown: West Virginia University Press, 2022.  

Meeting Two: Setting Boundaries in the Classroom – March 6  

• Greene, Jody. “The L Word.” Inside Higher Ed, December 15, 2022.  

Meeting Three: Class in the Classroom – March 27

• hooks, bell. “Confronting Class in the Classroom.” In Teaching to Transgress: Education as the Practice of Freedom, 177–90. New York: Routledge, 1994. 

Meeting Four: Gender in the Classroom – April 10  

• Melecio-Zambrano, Luis. “Teaching Evaluations Reflect—and May Perpetuate—Academia’s Gender Biases.” Science, January 20, 2023.  
• Klanderman, Sarah, and Reshma Menon. “Teaching Practices Advocating Against Gender Bias and Combating Imposter Syndrome.” In Teaching Gradually: Practical Pedagogy for Graduate Students, by Graduate Students, edited by Derina S. Samuel, Kacie L. Armstrong, Lauren A. Genova, and John Wyatt Greenlee. New York: Routledge, 2021.  

Meeting Five: Black Scholars in the Classroom – April 24

• hooks, bell. “Feminist Thinking: Black Scholars.” In Teaching to Transgress: Education as the Practice of Freedom, 119–28. New York: Routledge, 1994. 

 

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Books Used in Prior Semesters

Spring 23: Inclusive Teaching: Strategies for Promoting Equity in the College Classroom by Kelly Hogan and Viji Sathy
Fall 2022: Relationship-Rich Education: How Human Connections Drive Success in College by Peter Felten and Leo M. Lambert
Spring 2022: Connected Teaching: Relationship, Power, and Mattering in Higher Education by Harriot Schwartz
Fall 2021: Small Teaching: Every Day Lessons from the Science of Learning (Second Edition) by James Lang
August 2021: What Inclusive Instructors Do: Principles and Practices for Excellence in College Teaching by Addy et al.
Spring 2021: Distracted: Why Students Can’t Focus and What You Can Do About It by James Lang
Fall 2020: Intentional Tech: Principles to Guide the Use of Educational Technology in College Teaching by Derek Bruff
Spring 2020:How Humans Learn: The Science and Stories behind Effective College Teaching by Josh Eyler
Fall 2019: Small Teaching: Everyday Lessons from the Science of Learning by James Lang
Spring 2019: Make it Stick: The Science of Successful Learning by Peter Brown, Henry Roediger, and Mark McDaniel

For questions about the GSPD Reading Community, please contact the CTL at ctl@wustl.edu.