How to Embrace Feminist Pedagogy in Your Courses

This post was originally published on AECT Interactions but is no longer available there. However, an archived version can be accessed via the Wayback Machine using this link. As the original author, I wanted to make sure this content remains accessible to ensure continued access to its insights and discussions. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to reach out.

Feminist pedagogies belong in academia, whether incorporated into onsite or online curricula. If this term is new to you, or if you’d like to find out how you might bring feminist pedagogies into your teaching, I welcome you to read on.

I’ll start here: I consider myself an intersectional feminist. As thoroughly discussed by Rosemary Tong, in her book Feminist Thought, feminist theories aim to describe women’s experiences through analyzing patriarchy, sexuality, or other ideologies. Yet it often overlooks the role of race and class. Therefore, feminist theory remains White and its potential to broaden and deepen its analysis by addressing non-privileged women remains unrealized (Crenshaw, 1989). Intersectional feminism views identities as consisting of multiple social dimensions including gender, race, sexuality, and class. As a woman of color—an Afro-Latinx woman—intersectional feminism fully embraces my experiences.

Photo by Red Dot on Unsplash

As I learned more about the feminist movement and how some colleagues have embraced feminism in their teaching practice, I quickly realized that because of my intersectional feminist tendencies I had adopted a feminist pedagogy. According to Shrewsbury (1987), feminist pedagogy is a philosophy of teaching/learning processes that guides our choice of classroom practices in which a community of learners is empowered to act responsibly towards one another and the subject matter. Feminist pedagogy also encourages us to apply what we learn to social action.

Intersectional feminism views identities as consisting of multiple social dimensions, including gender, race, sexuality, and class. As a woman of color, an Afro-Latinx woman, intersectional feminism fully embraces my experiences.— Enilda Romero-Hall

FEMINIST PEDAGOGIES IN TEACHING

Here are some ways in which I have embraced intersectional feminist pedagogies in my teaching:

Construction of Knowledge: In my classroom, I view learners as equal contributors to knowledge construction. I encourage my students to reflect on prior experiences and share them during our discussions. The aim is to decentralize knowledge.

Put it into practice: The learners in my courses are empowered and the ‘learner-instructor’ relationship is transformed (e.g. creating an open access book authored by graduate students in a course). I also aim to decolonize knowledge by acknowledging the existence of multiple epistemological frameworks from scholars around the world. Examples of decolonization of knowledge include having a variety of guest speakers, sharing reading lists of non-White authors, and/or amplifying colleagues with global perspectives.
Course Design: When designing a course, I am open to being flexible, recalibrating, and redesigning based on learner inputs. There is a balance in the instructor and learner input to help inform curriculum and classroom practices.

Put it into practice: On the first day of classes, I always state that “the syllabus is not written in stone.” Therefore, it is not uncommon to have changes in the course schedule to provide learners with additional time to work on a project or explore a topic. Also, I aim to identify authentic evidence of learning. Rather than engaging learners in regurgitation of content, I use generative strategies and authentic assessments, enabling learners to show genuine and valid evidence of learning (e.g., a short writing assignment).
Power and Authority: One of the key tenets of feminist theory is to be critical of power: Who has power? Why are they in a position of power? It is important to challenge normalized notions of dominant culture because they often serve to oppress the “others.” The idea is not to give the “façade of equality,” but instead to recognize how power structures are represented in the course and take action to correct it.

Put it into practice: In my HyFlex courses, I have observed this power imbalance, noticing that my synchronous online students may not be able to interject during discussions in the same way onsite students do. Therefore, I make a point to facilitate the discussion in a manner that opens moments in which online students can interject and make a contribution to the discussion.
Dealing with Differences: In this element, the ‘intersectional’ element of feminist theory is critical. Dealing with differences encourages dialogue that helps learners come to realize their own privilege and stereotypes they may have (i.e., race, class, gender, and others). Learners also get to know their classmates and the many different views each person holds.

Put it into practice: For an onsite course, this may be an open conversation between the learners and the instructor at the beginning of the course. In an online course, it’s important to highlight this in course ‘netiquette.’ This is one of the netiquette points I like to include on the main page of my course: “Be sensitive to the fact that online participants represent a wide variety of different political and religious beliefs, as well as cultural and linguistic backgrounds. Disagreeing is fine and even encouraged, but remember that you should aim for rational discourse.”
Community Building: Embracing community-building following a feminist pedagogy framework means valuing solidarity and shared power. The idea emphasizes to the learners how collective action can help empower a group of individuals just like it can empower groups to address inequalities and discrimination faced as individuals in society.

Put it into practice: Community building can be implemented by building equitable learning communities for students who are studying in person or online (Bali, 2021).

I recently joined the curation team of the Feminist Pedagogy for Teaching Online guide (co-curators include: Clare Daniel, Jacquelyne Thoni Howard, Niya Bond, and Liv Newman). The initial founders created it as a resource to assist faculty with the mass transition to remote learning due to the COVID-19 pandemic, as feminist pedagogies are equally important in online teaching and learning. The guide includes a range of readings, podcasts, and teaching tools that embrace the tenets of feminist pedagogy.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Here are additional resources and readings that can also benefit you as you consider feminist pedagogies in your own teaching practice:

FEMEDTECH: https://femedtech.net
A Guide to Feminist Pedagogies: https://my.vanderbilt.edu/femped/
Feminist Pedagogies in Training for Gender Equality: UN Women Training Center Working Paper Series
Campbell, K. (2015). The feminist instructional designer: An autoethnography. In B. Hokanson, G. Clinton, & M. Tracey (Eds.) The design of learning experience. Educational communications and technology: Issues and innovations. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16504-2_16
Gender and Education Association Feminist Pedagogy Guide: http://www.genderandeducation.com/issues/feminist-pedagogy/
Teaching in Higher Education Special Issue on Feminist Pedagogy: https://www.tandfonline.com/toc/cthe20/23/5?nav=tocList
Women’s Studies Quarterly Special Issue on Feminist Pedagogy: https://www-jstor-org.esearch.ut.edu/stable/i40000208

OLC Innovate 2025 Keynote

Read Abstract and Speaker Bio

These are references that I used to inform my OLC Innovate 2025 keynote presentation:

Networked Learning Editorial Collective (NLEC). Networked Learning: Inviting Redefinition. Postdigital Science and Education 3, 312–325 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42438-020-00167-8
Wenger, E. (1998). Communities of practice: Learning, meaning, and identity. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Luo, T., Freeman, C., & Stefaniak, J. (2020). “Like, comment, and share” —Professional development through social media in higher education: A systematic review. Education Technology Research and Development, 68, 1659-1683. http://doi.org/10.1007/s11423-020-09790-5
Veletsianos, G and Kimmons, K. 2012. Networked participatory scholarship: Emergent techno-cultural pressures toward open and digital scholarship in online networks. Computers & Education, 28: 766–774. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2011.10.001
Romero-Hall, E. (2017). Posting, Sharing, Networking, and Connecting: Use of Social Media Content by Graduate Students. TechTrends, 61 (6), pp. 580-588.
Romero-Hall, E., Gomez-Vasquez, L., Forstman, L., Ripine, C. & Dias da Silva, C. (2023). The Complexities of Using Digital Social Networks in Teaching and Learning. The Open/Technology in Education, Society, and Scholarship Association Journal, 3(1), 1–18. https://doi.org/10.18357/otessaj.2023.3.1.48
Lupton, D. (2014). ‘Feeling better connected’: Academics’ use of social media. Retrieved from https://www.canberra.edu.au/aboutuc/faculties/arts-design/attachments2/pdf/n-andmrc/Feeling-Better-Connected-report-final.pdf
Rodriguez, J. (2011). Social media use in higher education: Key areas to consider for educators. Journal of Online Learning and Teaching, 7(4), 539-550.
Marwick, A. E., & boyd, danah. (2010). I tweet honestly, I tweet passionately: Twitter users, context collapse, and the imagined audience. New Media & Society, 13(1), 114-133. https://doi.org/10.1177/1461444810365313 (Original work published 2011)
Are Students Experiencing Harassment on your College or University’s Digital Learning Platforms?
Leeder, C. (2019). How college students evaluate and share “fake news” stories. Library and Information Science Research, 41(3). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lisr.2019.100967
Bastick, Z. (2021). Would you notice if fake news changed your behavior? An experiment on the unconscious effects of disinformation. Computers in Human Behavior, 116. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2020.106633
Hodson, J., Gosse, C., Veletsianos, G., & Houlden, S. (2018). I get by with a little help from my friends: The ecological model and support for women scholars experiencing online harassment. First Monday, 23(8). https://doi.org/10.5210/fm.v23i8.9136
Castellanos-Reyes, D., Romero-Hall, E., Vasconcelos, L., & Garcia, B. (2022). Mobile learning for emergency situations: Four design cases from Latin America. In Dennen et al. (Eds), Global Perspectives on Educational Innovations for Emergency Situations. Springer, Cham.
Asino, T. I., Gurjar, N., & Boer, P. (2021). Bridging the Informal and Formal Learning Spaces with WhatsApp. The Journal of Applied Instructional Design: September 2021, 10(3). https://doi.org/10.51869/103/tangpb
“What’sApp” with the Social Message? Networked Learning and Social Media Interactions in Curriculum Design: Exploring Student Perceptions: https://www.mona.uwi.edu/soe/publications/cje/article/520
Bohemia, E., & Ghassan, A. (2012). Globally Networked Collaborative Learning in Industrial Design. American Journal of Distance Education, 26(2), 110–125. https://doi.org/10.1080/08923647.2012.663678
Shilova, M. (2017). Datafication concept: Definitions and examples. Retrieved from https://apiumhub.com/tech-blog-barcelona/datafication-examples/
Szcyrek S., Stewart B., & Miklas E. (2024). Educators’ understandings of digital classroom tools and datafication: perceptions from higher education faculty. Research in Learning Technology, 32. https://doi.org/10.25304/rlt.v32.3040
Krutka, D. G., Manca, S., Galvin, S. M., Greenhow, C., Koehler, M. J., & Askari, E. (2019). Teaching “Against” Social Media: Confronting Problems of Profit in the Curriculum. Teachers College Record, 121(14), 1-42. https://doi.org/10.1177/016146811912101410
How have social media algorithms changed the way we interact? https://bbc.com/news/articles/cp8e4p4z97eo
UTK Collaborative Online International Learning: https://cge.utk.edu/coil/
The Global OER Graduate Network: https://go-gn.net/
CWU Library: Misinformation & Fake News Case Studies: https://libguides.lib.cwu.edu/c.php?g=625394&p=4391900#s-lg-box-30321291
Learning about Algorithm – Definition, Types, Characteristics, Applications, and more: https://www.analytixlabs.co.in/blog/what-is-an-algorithm/
Traxler, J. (2018). Learning with mobiles: The Global South. Research in Comparative and International Education, 13(1), 152-175. https://doi.org/10.1177/1745499918761509
Drexler, W. (2010). The networked student model for construction of personal learning environments: Balancing teacher control and student autonomy. Australasian Journal of Educational Technology, 26(3). https://doi.org/10.14742/ajet.1081

Huge thanks to the Online Learning Consortium (OLC) for the invitation!

Published Special Issue – On Gathering: Exploring Collective and Embodied Modes of Scholarly Communication and Publishing

Katina Rogers is the editors of the special issue titled : “On Gathering: Exploring Collective and Embodied Modes of Scholarly Communication and Publishing” published in the Journal of Electronic Publishing.

This issue is an exploration of the ephemeral—the stray thoughts, the side conversations, the discarded scraps and false starts that inform a published work of scholarship, usually invisibly. In putting together this collection of work, I wanted to make these traces the focal point, since so much of our actual thinking takes place in spaces of indeterminacy and interpersonal connection. – Katina Rogers

You can read Katina’s full editorial here:

Rogers, K. L., (2025) “Editor’s Gloss: The Process of Shared Knowledge Creation”, The Journal of Electronic Publishing 28(1). doi: https://doi.org/10.3998/jep.6835

As part of this wonderful special issue, my colleagues and I published a long overdue autoethnography title: “A Feminist Scholars Collective Supporting the Growth and Dissemination of a Digital Guide: A Collaborative Autoethnography“

This paper explores our experiences as scholars in higher education who collaborate as part of an informal collective supporting the Feminist Pedagogy for Teaching Online digital guide^[1]. We, the authors, have diverse professional and educational backgrounds; our areas of research interest also vary significantly. However, we have a passion for humanizing online learning experiences and practically applying feminist pedagogical tenets to these interactions. The purpose of this paper is to explore, through a process of self-reflection, our experiences as scholars in higher education as part of an informal collective supporting the Feminist Pedagogy for Teaching Online digital guide. To share our experiences as editors of this digital guide, we included our individual stories using a collaborative autoethnography approach. In our stories, we specifically discussed our interest in joining this collective of feminist scholars, the evolving nature of our efforts in support of the digital guide, the success experienced, the challenges that we encountered, and the internal and external support we received throughout this journey. Ideally, through this critical reflection, we can aid other collectives who already engage, or are considering engaging, in similar scholarly communication endeavors. – Romero-Hall et al., 2025

You can read out journal article here (it is available open access):

Romero-Hall, E., Daniel, C., Howard, J. T., Bond, N. & Newman, L., (2025) “A Feminist Scholars Collective Supporting the Growth and Dissemination of a Digital Guide: A Collaborative Autoethnography”, The Journal of Electronic Publishing 28(1). doi: https://doi.org/10.3998/jep.5878

I also want to say thank you to our wonderful special issue editor, Katina Rogers who hosted a virtual roundtable to highlight all the authors and journal articles published in the special issue. Here is the recording of the virtual roundtable:

2024 Year in Review

This is a 2024 year in review post but focused on publications. These are my 2024 publications:

Gomez-Vasquez, L., Ozi Dias Da Silva, C., Fortsmane, L. & Romero-Hall, E. (2024). Leveraging Connections in Social Media Hashtag Communities: Uses, Gratifications, and Strategies. Journal of Interactive Learning Research, 35(2), 195-221. Waynesville, NC: Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education (AACE). Retrieved July 31, 2024 from https://www.learntechlib.org/primary/p/223892/

Yang, H. & Romero-Hall, E. (2024). A Pilot Study Exploring Interaction and Student Satisfaction in Asynchronous Courses in Higher Education. TechTrends. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11528-024-00986-7

Gomez-Vasquez L., Forstmane L., Dias Da Silva C. O., & Romero-Hall E. (2024). Personal branding strategies in online hashtag communities: the case of #AcademicTwitter. Research in Learning Technology, 32. doi.org/10.25304/rlt.v32.3098

Romero-Hall, E., Gomez-Vasquez, L., Forstman, L., Ripine, C. & da Silva, C.D. (2024). “Visibility, transparency, feedback and recognition”: Higher Education Scholars’ Using Digital Social Networks. Journal of Interactive Media in Education, 2024(1): 7, pp. 1–15. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5334/jime.842

Allen, T., Villaflor-Wilson, R., Muljana, P.S. & Romero-Hall, E. (2024). AI-generated content: Guidelines, higher order thinking skills, and copyrights. Educational Technology Journal, 4(1), 1 – 5. https://journal.unesa.ac.id/index.php/etj/article/view/27840

Carpenter, J., Rosenberg, J., Kessler, A., Romero-Hall, E. & Fischer, C. (2024). The importance of context in teacher educators’ professional digital competence. Teachers and Teaching: Theory and Practice. https://doi.org/10.1080/13540602.2024.2320155

Romero-Hall, E. (2024). Suzie Beckett and Adam McSweeny: Developing a Role-Playing Simulation. In In P. Ertmer, K. Glazewski, A. Koehler & J. Stefaniak (Eds.), Instructional Design Casebook (6th ed.). Routledge.

My professional experiences are so much more than a list of publications but it is important to acknowledge this work because it took time, effort, energy, mentoring, and collaboration.

Congratulations Dr. Hongyan Yang! #GoVols #GBO

Huge congrats to Dr. Hongyan Yang, completing a Doctor of Philosophy degree in Education with a concentration in Learning Design and Technology at The University of Tennessee Knoxville, who yesterday defended her dissertation titled “Interactions in Asynchronous Courses: Students Perspectives and Instructors Design Strategies”! #GoVols

Committee members: Dr. Rachel Wong (Chair), Dr. Enilda Romero-Hall, Dr. Jennifer Morrow, Dr. Miriam Larson

Abstract:

Asynchronous learning is becoming increasingly prevalent, making it essential to ensure its effectiveness for the academic success and satisfaction of distance learners. Designing interactive engagement in asynchronous courses is a challenge for many asynchronous instructors. This study aims to investigate students’ perspectives and experiences regarding interactions within asynchronous courses and explore effective instructional design strategies to integrate meaningful interactions to foster students’ learning.

This dissertation research addresses three primary questions: (1) What is the relationship between students’ general satisfaction and diverse types of interactions, including learner-learner, learner-content, learner-instructor, and learner-interface interactions? (2) How do students rank the importance of these interactions? (3) What strategies do instructors use to facilitate these interactions?

Data were collected from 378 students using an online survey, and from 14 experienced asynchronous course instructors through qualitative interviews conducted via Zoom. For the survey quantitative data, correlations and multiple regression analysis were performed using SPSS, while interview qualitative data was analyzed using NVivo with descriptive coding.

The results of this study reveal that learner-content interaction is the strongest predictor of student satisfaction in asynchronous courses, highlighting the importance of high-quality, multimedia-rich, and well-organized course materials. While learner-instructor interaction also significantly influences satisfaction, the study emphasizes the need for timely communication, clear guidance, and a strong instructor presence. Additionally, the findings underscore the role of user-friendly technological platforms and the integration of peer interaction to foster a supportive learning community. Furthermore, the interviews with experienced instructors indicate that strategies such as the use of instructional videos, guided learning paths, and collaborative platforms, etc. are vital for improving learner engagement and success.

The findings suggest that enhancing student satisfaction and learning outcomes in asynchronous learning environments requires a balanced approach that prioritizes content quality, effective instructor support, and accessible technology. These insights contribute to the ongoing development of best practices in asynchronous course design, providing actionable recommendations that educators and instructional designers can implement to optimize the effectiveness of their courses.

Book Release Date!

In March, after our in-person meeting in New Orleans, my co-editors and I submitted our book manuscript to Athabasca University Press. Our edited volume “Feminist Pedagogy for Teaching Online” (Issues in Distance Education Series) is set to be released January 4th, 2025 (or at least that is the date that Amazon will release the book).

You are welcome to pre-order it via Amazon. You also can wait until it is released because it will be available open access! As the date gets closers and we find out more information, I will be sharing more about the book. So excited!

I should add that Athabasca University Press has stated that it is possible that the book could be release Fall 2024. More than anything just know that the book is coming either later this year or early 2025 we will have the pleasure of sharing with you!

AERA SIG Instructional Technology Newsletter

“Hi everyone,

First and foremost, it has been a pleasure serving as the AERA SIG Instructional Technology Program Chair. Huge thanks to everyone who submitted proposals to our SIG. It was very exciting to see the range of topics covered in the proposals submitted. I was also deeply impressed with the quality of the proposal submitted, which made for a difficult peer review process for our reviewers. Speaking of reviewers! I am profoundly grateful for our 94 reviewers who took on the very meaningful tasks of providing feedback and recommending proposals for our SIG Instructional Technology program. Huge thanks to all that have volunteered as Session Chairs, you are a critical component for a smooth conference session! Gratitude!

I can humbly say that we have an amazing AERA 2024 program for the SIG! Each session was carefully designed to ideally create a cohesive line up of presentations. I look forward to meeting you in Philadelphia and to your presentations! I am excited for all of us to engage in academic discourse, professional development, and informal social conversations. See you soon! Go Vols!
Enilda Romero-Hall, Ph.D., Associate Professor, University of Tennessee Knoxville

These quote is a section of the AERA Special Interest Group Instructional Technology Spring 2024 Newsletter recently shared with our members. Below is a copy of the complete AERA Special Interest Group Instructional Technology Spring 2024 Newsletter compiled, formatted, & organized by the 2023-2024 board members of the SIG Instructional Technology:

24-spring-aera-sig-it-newsletter Download

Learning Designers in Context: Examining Practices Across the Global South [Book in Progress]

I guess it is time for me to write a blogs post about my forthcoming book 😊

It has been a while since I first announced that I was working on my next book and sadly due to various reasons I had to rescheduled my submission of the book to the publisher twice! But over the last two months I have moved full steam ahead with this book project.

I love how it is taking shape and that I get to work on it. Today, I was working on chapter 12 (in a coffee shop) and I was just smiling thinking that someone else would get to read this work.

This is not a book in which I tell someone else’s stories or tell you how to be a learning designer. The book is about learning designers telling their stories. It is about conversations, experiences, and journeys.

UTK STEM Education Seminar

This past week, I was invited to speak as part of the STEM education seminar sponsored by the Theory and Practice in Teacher Preparation (TPTE) Department STEM team. I am part of the STEM Education team in the department and this semester a group of colleagues are organizing this seminar with presentations for faculty and graduate students every two weeks. I have really enjoyed all of the presentations this semester. Our STEM Education team is doing really amazing work and I love learning about it.

For my presentation, I was a bit nervous because I was not sure how my work would relate to STEM education. I know educational technology is consider part of STEM education. However, I think of my work as more than just educational technology. I actually see Learning, Design, and Technology as the umbrella term under which educational technology, instructional design, instructional technology, learning engineering, and others similar terms come together. Perhaps one of my main concerns is that under the term STEM, learning design is primarily associated with the “technology” term which I really see as just one aspects of the far more complex ecosystems of the learning, design, and technology field.

The presentation focused on how it is okay to have many areas of research interest. We are often encouraged to stay very narrowly focused on a topic. But, what if you are curious about other topics and want to explore them? So, basically, I used myself as an example of an eclectic research agenda. My research has evolved so much and in part it due to my curiosity to explore other topics. This has also been true in my life, curiosity to try new things or study programs outside my focus has helped me evolve and grow. Here is the link to the slides, in case you are curious.

Upcoming Free and Open Speaking Engagements

September

This event is for Spanish speakers, who more than likely live in Latin America but anyone is welcome. If you are interested in an instructional design program or a program focused on learning and development for a corporate environment, join us! We will be talking about this topic on September 28! The organizers of this event are the Learning for Improvement group the is organized by instructional designers in Peru. I am thankful that I was invited to be part of this Cafe Virtual. Here is the link to register for the event: https://forms.gle/5sexFAfqaBM6J6jE7

Flyer for the “Cafe Virtual” organized by the Learn for Improvement group

October

On October 19, I will be doing a presentation for my alma mater, the Graduate Student Organization of the Instructional Design and Technology program at Old Dominion University. More details coming soon.

November

On Nov. 3, I will be presenting as part of the University of Tennessee Knoxville (UTK) Theory and Practice in Teacher Preparation (TPTE) STEM seminar and discussing “inclusive and equitable learning design practices”

On Nov. 17, I will presenting for the members of the Hampton Roads International Society for Performance Improvement (ISPI) Chapter. Topic: “Social, Learner Centered, Culturally-Relevant Digital Workforce Development.” You are welcome to register for this virtual event. It is a free and open event: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/social-learner-centered-culturally-relevant-digital-workforce-development-tickets-415319711437

For my Spanish speaking connections! On Wednesday, November 23 I am honored to be joining an amazing group of speakers as part of the Semana de la Innovación (Innovation Week) of the Centro de Innovación y Excelencia Docente de la Universidad Autónoma de Chile. Tema: “Inclusión e igualdad en la enseñanza en línea”. Mas detalles pronto.

December

Last but not least, for the European crowd, the ProDiGI project at the Technische Universität Braunschweig @tuBraunschweig is hosting a free & open conference in early December. I’ll be sharing more details about my presentation later on. But, in case you want to learn more about the conference or would like to join the conference here is the link: https://bit.ly/3BKcHIs

Grateful for the opportunity to participate in this events in an online format. Also, grateful that colleagues thought about me and asked me to join them in these events.