This course examines key concepts and principles of critical theory, critical pedagogy, and social justice education. Different pedagogical models will be studied in order to examine and evaluate socialized ideas of what teachers are and how teaching should be conducted. (As Needed) [Graded (Standard Letter)]

Blair, E., & Medina, Y. (2016). The Social Foundations Reader: Critical Essays on Teaching, Learning, and Leading in the 21st Century. Peter Lang. 

Medina, Y., & Blair, E. (2025). Social Foundations of Education Reader: Critical Essays on Teaching, Learning, and Leading (Volume II). Peter Lange.

By the end of this course, you will be able to:

1. Analyze major traditions, concepts, and scholars in critical pedagogy and related critical theories.
2. Critically evaluate how educational institutions reproduce and challenge systems of power, privilege, and oppression.
3. Examine the intersections of race, class, gender, sexuality, language, disability, and coloniality in educational contexts.
4. Apply critical pedagogical frameworks to analyze contemporary educational policies, practices, curricula, and institutions.
5. Demonstrate critical self-reflection regarding positionality, identity, ethics, and professional responsibility in educational work.
6. Design educational practices, learning environments, or interventions informed by principles of critical pedagogy, equity, and social transformation.
7. Critique the possibilities, limitations, tensions, and future directions of critical pedagogical approaches across diverse educational settings.

Grade Weights

Assignment Outline

Zoom Sessions (15%)

There will be three Zoom sessions this semester. The dates and times are posted in Canvas > Zoom. If you cannot attend the live session, there will be a reflection assignment for you to complete after viewing the recording. The recording will be posted in the Media Gallery within 24 hours of the session.

Assignments (25%)

There are several different assignments throughout the course, including discussions, collaborative responses in small groups, and Anotto assignments embedded within lectures or videos. Please view the assignment descriptions for each and the attached rubrics to better understand how you are being assessed. 

Critical Analysis (25%)

Throughout the course, we will be reading a variety of texts that examine Critical Pedagogy. In order to expand your understandings of these central concepts and theories, you need to critically examine what you have learned from these course materials. One way of doing this is to view a related theory or pedagogy using a critical framework. You will choose one of the theories/pedagogies listed in the assignment, research it, and analyze it alongside the key critical pedagogy concepts we learned in Weeks 1 and 2. 

Critical Book Review/Scholarly Analysis (35%)

For the final assignment, you will conduct a critical review of a book selected from the instructor-provided list. Unlike a traditional book report, this assignment requires you to critically analyze the author's arguments, situate the text within broader conversations in Critical Pedagogy, and evaluate its contributions to educational theory and practice.

Drawing upon course readings, discussions, and additional scholarly sources, you will assess how the book advances, challenges, extends, or complicates key ideas explored throughout the semester.

Grade Scheme

The following grading standards will be used in this class:

Instructor's Response Time & Feedback

Online classes provide unique challenges for interaction. For messages sent to me, I will respond in the specified amount of time. Feedback is an important part of learning please look for feedback on your assignments that I provided in the specified amount of time, to find feedback look at this tutorial 

How do I view assignment comments from my Instructor? (Links to an external site.)

How do I view annotation feedback comments from my instructor? (Links to an external site.)

It is my goal to:

• Respond to student messages within 1 business days
• Provide grades and feedback within 1 - 2 days from the due date

All assignment have due dates. These are intended to help you progress through the course and complete it on time. However, there is no penalty for missing a due date so long as the module is still open. Your instructor may require a halt in your work and a one-on-one meeting if your progress is slow, incomplete or otherwise of poor quality. If the need arises and you need a due date extension, please contact me in advance. Exception: discussions cannot be made up late.

There is no extra credit offered.

Attendance: this is an asynchronous class. However, viewing and completing video quizzes (including Zoom recordings) are required.

Program and Course Fees

Artificial Intelligence and Plagiarism

Note on artificial intelligence (A.I.):

• Proceed cautiously with the use of artificial intelligence. Please first see SUU Academic Integrity Policy 6.33Links to an external site.. Passing off any writing that is not your own may be considered a violation of this policy.
• For any written assignment work in Google Drive. That way the drafts will be easily identifiable that the original words were yours which will reduce suspicion or concern about the use of artificial intelligence. You want the evolution of your paper to be clear so that it is obvious that the content and thinking are clearly yours. If a paper emerges out of nowhere in final draft form it will be flagged as potential plagiarism or A.I. generated. Your thinking and writing evolution should be clear from beginning to end. Your voice matters.
• Artificial Intelligence (e.g., ChatGPT, Grammarly) can be a real help. But it should never supplant your own thinking or words. Use it like a consultant or advisor. Pretend you're discussing your concerns or questions with me or the Writing Center. We would give you insight and advice that you then consider and put into your own words in a way that reflects your understanding, thinking and expression. Do not defer to A.I. generated information or text assuming that it is good or better than your own. No one in this program wants to read what the robots wrote. 
• Do not copy/paste anything from A.I. into your document(s). Just like you wouldn't copy/paste notes from the Writing Center or from your instructor into your doc, neither should you do that from any A.I. generated text.
• We regularly screen documents for A.I. generated material. If it appears that your document has been plagiarized from A.I. sources, you may be referred to the Dean of Students for violation of SUU Academic Integrity Policy 6.33.
• When in doubt, ask your instructor.

• The advent of artificial intelligence has significantly "disrupted" education. It is a benefit and a detriment. Learning is a process. The brain accesses new information, processes it, synthesizes it and applies it. The inappropriate use of A.I. can intervene in this process and prevent learning. Here are some general do's and don'ts (not exhaustive):

  • Do use A.I. (e.g., Litmaps, Connected Papers, Google Gemini) to help you find related resources and articles on a particular topic.
  • Don't use A.I. to summarize the readings. Your brain needs the time to process, grapple and comprehend the material in order to learn. There is no short cut.
  • Do use A.I.to give you feedback on the content of a paper and suggest areas for improvement in relation to assignment instructions. Please note, it is not important to "sound more professional" or "sound more academic." Avoid the imposter syndrome and just write like the educated adult you are.
  • Don't use A.I. to edit your paper, and don't copy/paste anything from A.I. into your papers. This includes Grammarly. You are a graduate student in grad school, you are fully capable of editing your own paper. Additionally, Google Docs and Word already do spell/grammar check.

  The point of this class is for you to learn and apply new material. Learning is the process. Learning is not simply submitting all the assignments. There is already researchLinks to an external site. showing that the over-reliance on A.I. is having negative effects.

  Last, if it appears that A.I was inappropriately used in any of your work, you run the risk of a zero on the assignment and perhaps more as articulated by SUU Academic Misconduct policy 6.33Links to an external site..

SUU Campus Resources and Services

SUU has several resources and services available to support you during your time here at SUU, please review this list of SUU Campus Resources and Services (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. and the Student Code of Conduct. For more information on Canvas and other technologies, and their statements on Accessibility and Privacy statements please review our Vendor Resources page.

Financial Security Statement

Finances are an integral part of maintaining your wellbeing. If you are struggling financially or wish to know more about budgeting, please visit the Financial Wellness Center in room 201C in the Sharwan Smith Center, contact Ashleigh Zimmerman at (435) 865-8436, or text the Financial Wellness line at 435-708-1952.  

Canvas Information

Canvas is where course content, grades, and communication will reside for this course.

• For Passwords or any other computer-related technical support:
  • 435-865-8200
  • support@suu.edu
  • IT Service Desk
• For Canvas help:
  • 435-865-8555
  • canvas@suu.edu
  • Canvas Help Center
  • How to Use Canvas