Taking Time to Reflect? Consider Kindness in Your Pedagogy

As the year comes to an end, many of us find ourselves using this time to reflect on our teaching. What did we accomplish? What are we proud of? What was challenging? What still needs work? As we celebrate our wins and acknowledge the ways we wish to improve, we may also want to consider kindness and how it intersects with our teaching.

In the book A Pedagogy of Kindness, author Catherine J. Denial argues that the nature of academia often does not leave room to value kindness. She describes kindness as a continuous, disciplined practice of honesty, equity, belief in others, and belief in ourselves. This is in contrast with "niceness", which prioritizes peace keeping or making people happy, often at the expense of genuine connection and dialogue. Denial states that "kindness is real, it's honest and it demands integrity" (Denial, 2024, pg. 2) – it makes space for interactions that truly benefit us and our students, even if they take us out of our comfort zone.

There are four areas that Denial chooses to focus on in A Pedagogy of Kindness; kindness in the syllabus, kindness and assessment, kindness in the classroom and kindness toward the self.

Kindness in the Syllabus

The syllabus is a student's first introduction to our courses. While including clear guidelines and policies in the syllabus is important, sometimes our syllabi can read as overly contractual, punitive, or anticipating academic dishonesty before a course even begins. A kind syllabus sets high standards while inviting students to be part of the learning process. Here are a few ways to implement this:

• When reviewing your syllabus, consider your tone and voice. Does the syllabus sound like you? Does it build excitement and value around the course content?
• Avoid making assumptions about what students know. Providing context for the purpose of things like office hours can be especially helpful to students early in their academic journey.
• When you review the syllabus with students, try to go beyond simply walking through each section. Consider active ways for students to engage, such as a syllabus quiz or a scavenger hunt.

Kindness and Assessment

Sometimes, we may give students assessments in ways that limit their ability to express (and our ability to see) what they have learned in our courses. Implementing kind assessment practices requires us to be more transparent with our expectations, opens the door for more variety in the type of work students produce, and gives consideration to accessibility for all. A few strategies include:

• Utilizing multiple means for students to show what they know through assessments
• Letting students in on the "hidden curriculum" - or fill them in when uncertainty is part of the learning experience
• Considering how assignment structures benefit some learners, but may create barriers for others

Check out the TLC’s other Teaching Tips on assessment: 

• Want students to do better on exams? Try adding metacognition!

• How to be a more inclusive grader

• Shake up Your Exam Routine! Student-Centered Exam Enhancements

Kindness in the Classroom

As instructors, there are many actions that we can take to make our classes engaging spaces to learn. When we design from a lens of kindness, we may ask ourselves if all students have an "avenue" to engage. To create more opportunities for all students in your classes:

• Use warm up activities early and often to help students connect with you and each other as they prepare to dive into course content
• Consider what "good" participation looks like in your class and if there are meaningful ways to participate in other formats such as discussion boards or individual reflective activities
• If discussion/ groupwork is a part of your course, setting community guidelines or group contracts as a class can be a great way to build shared accountability for collaboration

Kindness Toward the Self

While Denial begins the book with kindness toward the self, the TLC saved it for last because it's easy to forget, but may be the most important point to remember. When considering kindness in all aspects of our work, we must also make time to show kindness to ourselves. Acts of self kindness include:

• Scheduling time for eating and rest
• Taking time off from work and email
• Building catch-up days into courses
• Guarding what and how much we take on
• Participating in pedagogical development

When we invest in self-kindness strategies like the ones listed above, it allows us to approach our work with more excitement, but also ensures that we make space for other joys outside of our profession that help restore and energize us.

Want to hear more from Denial? Listen to the Teaching in Higher Ed podcast episode 467 A Pedagogy of Kindness, with Kate Denial.