As faculty, what does changemaking mean to you? How do you define what changemaking education is to a faculty peer who’s never heard the term?

Changemaking is education that empowers students to be active participants in their learning. A changemaking class is one that connects course content to student’s environment/world by asking students to think critically, explore, analyze, evaluate societal issues and plan for change. Students must use their creativity, imagination, empathy and critical thinking for the transformation of their environment/world.

Why do you consider yourself a changemaker faculty? What issues are at the center of your changemaking work?

I want students to be able to imagine a better world and to realize that they have the power to make is so. At the center of my work is the idea that writing and research allows students to learn how to explore ideas and become self-regulated learners. Writing teaches students to engage, care and learn. My issues vary from term to term but they often center on issues of language, immigration, post-colonialism, racism, and feminism. Last semester we focused on language homogeny and the discriminatory practice of “correct” English.

To be a changemaker, it is important to:

Be creative, empathetic and resilient.

What would you tell a faculty peer who would like to consider enhancing their teaching with a changemaking lens?

I would say that they are probably doing some kind of changemaking in their class already. I would encourage them to emphasize and adopt one or all of the four changemaking attributes in their class so to make it more intentional.