ORCID

https://orcid.org/0009-0008-8444-5571

Keywords

pedagogies, community, collective, iterative design, critical making

Abstract

Pedagogical reforms have fallen short, limited to strategies and symptomatic approaches instead of systemic restructuring. Addressing learning environments as reciprocal communities, this dissertation is a critical making project where I developed a model integrating relationship-based practices. I applied Indigenous pedagogies guided by my research question: How does combining Indigenous methods, intersectional feminisms, and digital humanities transform course development and deployment as a communal process of collective learning? Using design justice principles and digital learning affordances, this work seeks to increase learning engagement and outcomes and participant experiences by explicitly embedding community-building along with content. Building with the liberation pedagogies of bell hooks along with the relational methodologies of feminist and Indigenous scholars, I applied critical making as research creation through procedural and iterative development of an open-access community course. A process-based methodology is well-suited to this investigation as I designed tasks, activities, and multimodal content with collective inquiry for digital humanities course components. Through reflexive design, I embedded mutual co-learning, applying Indigenous and intersectional frameworks acknowledging students and instructors are engaged in a symbiotic system, generating an educational experience that expands freedom for all. I facilitated an open access unaffiliated version of the College Board’s AP African American Studies course during the 2023-2024 academic year, with hundreds of registered participants studying Black history, arts, and culture. I accompanied learners by facilitating asynchronous modules and hybrid live discussions, as well as supplying robust resources for support and further study. By incorporating these architectures, redistributing power, and collaboratively supporting community, I demonstrate that the execution of innovative pedagogies can drive a significant increase in overall learning gains and academic experiences, as demonstrated by participants’ responses through surveys. I detail how these theories and models are transformative for instruction and pedagogical practice. The results of my work are instrumental to the necessary reimagining and (re)configuring of courses.

Completion Date

2025

Semester

Spring

Committee Chair

French, Scot

Degree

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)

College

College of Arts and Humanities

Department

Texts and Technology

Identifier

DP0029269

Document Type

Dissertation/Thesis

Campus Location

Orlando (Main) Campus

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