The Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL) at Pratt Institute invites submissions for a special guest-edited issue of iteratio exploring what it means to teach in a time of profound and rapid change. We welcome innovative case studies, personal essays, reflective writings, and creative representations of practice from faculty across art, design, architecture, information and library science, and the liberal arts and sciences.
The forthcoming edition of iteratio arrives at a pivotal moment in higher education. Technological advances including the emergence of generative AI, constrained budgets, intensifying attacks on academic freedom, increased corporatization of learning, and the specter of federal officials seizing people whom they consider ‘look like they may have entered the U.S. illegally’ provide the wider backdrop in which faculty strive to build equitable and inclusive pedagogies in the studio, the seminar room, and the online classroom. bell hooks’ observation that caring educators open the mind, allowing students “to embrace a world of knowing that is always subject to change and challenge” seems especially apt. This special issue provides an opportunity for those ‘caring educators’ at Pratt who aim to develop pedagogical methods predicated upon decolonizing learning.
Any process of innovation and adaptation to change carries an inherent element of risk and indeed, a strong likelihood of failure. That is part of what makes it worthwhile. In Spring 2024, the CTL dedicated a Community of Practice and Inquiry (CoPI) focused on “The Art of Failure” to highlight the value of learning through trial and error. Unfortunately, imposter syndrome, a tendency towards overthinking, and job insecurity means that many educators are wary of sharing experiences that might be perceived as reflecting negatively upon their competence. This issue of iteratio actively encourages contributors to share pedagogical innovations that may not have worked out as well as expected, or indeed, not worked out at all. Classroom experiments and practices which are still ‘works in progress’ are also warmly encouraged, especially given the speed with which technological developments in fields such as generative AI are progressing.
To ensure an inclusive and broad range of contributions, the forthcoming edition of iteratio will be organized around four thematic pillars, each reflecting a dimension of contemporary flux.
Teaching Amidst Technological Transformation This pillar invites case studies and reflective essays exploring how pedagogical processes have been impacted by technological developments including the rise of generative AI. Given the strong disagreements about the value of Large Language Models among leading figures within the tech industry, it is hoped that contributions will reflect this diverse range of perspectives.
The Pressured Academy How do faculty maintain pedagogical integrity, rigor, and intellectual openness when funding cuts, policy shifts, job insecurity, and political pressures reshape what can be taught, funded, or published? This edition would welcome honest and reflective accounts of how educators have sought to navigate increasing institutional and governmental constraints while continuing to provide student-centered learning.
Free Expression and the Inclusive Classroom The tension between free speech and the creation of genuinely inclusive learning environments is one of the defining challenges of contemporary higher education. This pillar would welcome submissions exploring how faculty facilitate difficult conversations, respond to contested content, and build classroom communities grounded in the CTL’s values of community, reflection, and action.
Wellbeing Pedagogies Drawing on the CTL’s long commitment to faculty and student wellbeing, this pillar aims to gather reflections on how faculty sustain themselves and their students by incorporating care and community as pedagogical tools.
