Pedagogy Peek #1

Over on LinkedIn I have begun spontaneously sharing my passion for teaching through tips and tricks from my pedagogical practice. I have termed these Pedagogy Peeks. I want to bring them over to my new blog as a way to keep them archived and organized. I will continue to share them in both places and will eventually bring the older posts over. The first is a post initially posted on LinkedIn on June 18th 2026.

This #PedagogyPeek may not be as popular as others but it’s important to my teaching practice nonetheless. I often tell students “I won’t ask you do to anything I haven’t done or wouldn’t do.”

To this end, I make it a point to periodically “do” the assignments I assign. And to do them in the time, manner, and style I ask of students.

The benefit to this approach is I get a sense of:

• what did I like or dislike about the assignment

• what made sense and what didnt

• what would have made it better

• can I clearly articulate what I learned

• can I connect what I learned to a learning outcome

• what do I wish was included that isn’t

For example, I have a Book Club assignment in my summer Social Movements Education course. Students have 5 pre-selected options, or, they can propose their own book. Of the 5, I have read 3. Each time I teach it I read another one. To ensure the options are strong, and make sense, that students can get them with ease and for free or low cost.

This year I read a fourth. And this year I decided to put together a presentation as a Book Club of 1. If time, I will present it at our final class/symposium this week. It’s imperative that we get in the field with our students to read and engage the things we expect them to do, beyond grading.

#ProTip: I don’t do every assignment, every class. But each class I choose one assignment to complete with all the corresponding reading, context, and prep I ask students to take on and revise as necessary (in tandem with class evals).

Happy Teaching!