I struggle every semester to find the balance between content, assessment, relevancy, and interest while keeping in mind the brief time of the semester. In this process, I have removed group work. It was a mistake. After the Drs. Hernandez and Johnson’s presentations, I am reminded of how much more is gained in this type of collaboration and interaction. Well beyond grades and points, agency, autonomy, respect, and a collective endeavor matter here most. It is an opportunity to convey what we believe our students are capable, independent of us, if we give them the opportunity. It is also profoundly crucial in this time of disconnect, discontent, Tik-Tok, truncated news, and yes, Zoom to create this platform on inclusion.

So what should this look like? I envision in a class of 35 students, 9 groups (~4 students each) and a very specific prompt from lecture or article. To avoid redundancies, each group would be assigned to different material to discuss. The objective would require group members to bring back a question or comment back to the class. I am excited to apply this in the fall.