Anticolonial Curriculum and Pedagogy Project Aspirations
Noting that the Daniels Faculty already has resources in place to advance anti-colonial, Indigenous-centred and anti-racist pedagogical practices through their more traditional course delivery methods. And further recognizing that, design studios, laboratories and fieldwork still largely reflect the traditional pedagogical models and scientific cultures within their disciplines, the project aims to support the development, review and refinement of tools and strategies to make teaching and learning environments more anti-colonial, anti-oppressive, anti-racist, accessible and gender inclusive in a way that centres community-engaged learning and sustainable impact.
Please note: At the time the project was initiated, Jeannie Kim was Associate Dean, Academic. Since January 2025, that role has been held by Brady Peters. The curriculum mapping work that was at the centre of this work was conducted by Sessional Instructor, Rim Fathallah who has been Assistant Professor (Teaching Stream) and Director of the Daniels Writing Centre since July 2024.
Outcomes
Project Activities and Outputs
Through a series of workshops, the project engaged faculty across the John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design to better understand the strategies, resources, and techniques already in use as well as propose new ideas to foster inclusive teaching and learning. Spread over the course of 12 months, these workshops were :
- September 2023 Workshop: Understanding Learning Theories that Inform How We Promote and Advance Inclusive Teaching (description: unpack how we as educators can evolve our learning spaces and pedagogies to value students’ diverse experiences, remove barriers, nurture critical thinking skills and build community.)
- October 2023 Workshop: The Inner Work of Building Inclusive Classrooms (description: a personal conversation about how we internalize systems of oppression, how they are reflected in our teaching practices, and how we can create a new vision for how we want to be as educators.)
- September 2024: Anti-colonial Horizons – Co-Designing Transformative Educational Landscapes at Daniels (description: fostering conversations within Daniels around undoing inherited modes of practice and teaching, as well as expanding both the content, voices, and methodology of pedagogical practices unique to Daniels programs.)
Beyond the formal workshop environment, in order to build faculty capacity and embed inclusive practices across the curriculum, the team facilitated conversations involving students, faculty, staff, community partners, and external colleagues. These efforts supported a collective shift toward more inclusive, responsive, and anti-colonial teaching approaches.
Resources developed include the following:
- Prospective Steps Towards Anti-Colonial Education at Daniels: A guide with suggestions for inclusive syllabus language, course content, and pedagogical strategies
- Diversified Reading Lists: Resources and support to help faculty diversify course materials and assigned readings
- Academic Integrity Process Revision: In collaboration with Daniels Student Services, the team redesigned academic integrity procedures to adopt more constructive and student-supportive practices. A visual flowchart is in development to clearly communicate these changes
Implementation Reflections (and Gaps)
The project initiative has set a basis for intentional conversations about anti-colonial practices to support inclusive and responsive teaching and learning environments. Amongst themselves, faculty members still talk about the informal discussions that the workshops precipitated and the degree to which the conversations that they were able to have with other colleagues in the space provided still resonate today. While the workshops sparked meaningful and lasting conversations among faculty, we recognize that more could have been done to build on that momentum. Establishing ongoing opportunities for collective reflection, learning, and revision of anti-colonial curriculum and pedagogy remains an important next step
Future follow-up with strategies to support regular collective reflection, learning and revision of anticolonial curriculum and pedagogical practice would be helpful to maximize and sustain the impact of the discussions arising out of the three workshops.