Shenandoah University | Center for Transformative Teaching and Learning

During Fall semester, Dr. Laurel Rodgers (Biology) will lead a series of workshops for new faculty based on A Pedagogy of Kindness (2024) by Catherine J. Denial. Current faculty are also encouraged to attend.

The book is described as:

Part manifesto, part teaching memoir, part how-to guide, A Pedagogy of Kindness urges higher education to get aggressive about instituting kindness, which Denial distinguishes from niceness. Having suffered beneath the weight of just “getting along,” instructors need to shift every part of what they do to prioritizing care and compassion—for students as well as for themselves. ~ OU Press

Faculty who register for all four workshops will receive a copy of the book. We invite faculty to join their new colleagues in transforming aspects of their teaching in hands on workshops focussing on each of four chapters:

Kindness Towards the Self (September 10)

Kindness and the Syllabus (October 1)

Kindness and Assessment (October 15)

Kindness in the Classroom (November 12)