Non-utopian teaching and learning
A personal reflection on some of my writing over the past year
I can’t lie, I love to (over)analyze things. I think of most issues as multidimensional and complex, even when they are of little consequence. Trying to catch an early train or flight, I’ll consider the relative benefits of setting my alarm for 5:00am, 5:05am, or 5:10am. If asked whether I liked a certain book, I usually say something like, “I liked the first two chapters, felt neutral about the third, and didn’t like the final chapter much.” When I’ve sought feedback on material for the book I’m working on, folks I trust invariably say, “Wow! You really consider every side of an issue, but I’m not sure that readers need all of this detail.”
I’ll be honest that this innate style of thinking is definitely a blessing and curse. It is certainly useful for some of the things I do regularly like research or designing courses, where attention to detail usually pays off. One downside of an interest in complexity is that I find it hard to commit to a specific position on a lot of issues, and I am very reluctant to give prescriptive advice (even when someone wants it!). In my work that involves providing advice to others about teaching and learning, I have a distinct allergy to providing the kind of “quick tips” that are often the currency of teaching development. All teaching and learning strategies have benefits and drawbacks, and my advice ends up being to explore these further before making any major decisions.
I realized recently that a lot of my thinking about teaching and learning has revolved around the concept of “limitations.” Just to name a few from this newsletter, I’ve written about the limitations of active learning, the limitations of faculty development that skips straight practical strategies without establishing a clear rationale for them, the limitations of the recommendation to “make expectations explicit” to students, and the limitations of Universal Design for Learning. When I originally chose the name for this newsletter - Beyond the Scope - I hoped to explore issues that go beyond the scope of what introductory faculty development programming could offer, but I think I have found that what usually falls beyond the scope are, in fact, the limitations of various approaches.
I’ve been thinking about a name that I could give to this perspective, and I have settled on a non-utopian approach to teaching and learning. This is an approach that takes limitations seriously as part of our understanding and application of different teaching methods. What then, is the “utopian” teaching and learning against which my concept is defined? I would in a joking way use this term to refer to some of the more aspirational rhetoric you see about pedagogy at the higher ed level. I’m just paraphrasing a few statements from college and university websites here to show what I’m talking about. I won’t quote directly as to avoid singling out individual institutions, but you can often find these kinds of statements on Teaching and Learning Center websites or on strategic plans and similar documents.
“XYZ initiative supports faculty in implementing transformative teaching practices to engage every student in experiential learning”
“Our implementation of UDL will ensure that all of our learning experiences are accessible to all students”
“Our new PBL initiative will see Project-Based Learning opportunities implemented across the curriculum so that our students can prepare for the rapidly changing demands of the modern workplace”
There is certainly a place for optimism and inspiration in our rhetoric about teaching and learning, and a strategic plan seems like a good place for it. But over the years I have been working with instructors, I have noticed how very motivated and attentive teachers become frustrated when the promise of various teaching initiatives does not materialize as quickly or as easily as they are expecting. Student demographics and needs can sometimes change quickly. Unforeseen events such as COVID can have long-lasting impacts on students and teachers alike. Another major non-utopian element of teaching and learning that I have recently begun to focus on is conflicts that emerge between some inclusive and evidence-based teaching practices and instructor capacities or even access needs. My hope for the next few posts on this newsletter are to explore some of these tricky situations:
How does an instructor who has executive functioning difficulties or unpredictable work capacity relate to the generally inclusive practice of providing class materials like slides or notes ahead of class? How would such an instructor relate to a student’s need for these materials as part of an official disability accommodations process?
How do instructors that experience sensory sensitivities and overload approach teaching methods that tend to involve lots of in-class conversation in small groups (flipped classroom, some types of “active lecture,” some types of project-based learning), which can get loud and require a lot of active management?
Others - feel free to recommend some
The reason I want to explore these situations is because, as with the larger category of access friction, they offer opportunities to consider the full humanity of both students and instructors, and understand what role compromise plays in inclusive teaching. I am looking forward to all of your thoughts on them as well!
Additional events and resources
Perhaps relatedly, I am hosting a discussion today (the day this post is being posted, June 12, 2025) at 1pm Eastern called “An honest conversation about ADA updates in teaching and learning.” I think the new requirements around digital accessibility provide a great example of how instructor capacities and inclusion sometimes cause some friction. There will be time for questions, experience sharing, and getting advice on challenges you’re facing. If you work at a private institution that won’t need to comply with the new ADA rules, I think this conversation would still be valuable if you are working to enhance digital accessibility at your institution. This is formally part of my “Beyond the Scope Circle” subscription, but feel free to message me if you would like to join just for today. I’d be happy to have you! I also have the first open office hours scheduled for Thursday June 19th from 12pm to 2pm.
If you are interested, I have added my slides and handout/script from my presentation at The Grading Conference to my website. My talk was titled: “Tolerance for Error: A theory of how (some) alternative grading methods can support neurodivergent students.”
As always, I am open to your feedback and comments. Please feel free to comment if you are logged into substack or contact me privately.