Cards and Pedagogy: A Game-based Workshop about Everyday Teaching Decisions - Session II

Join us for the second session in a two-part series focused on active teaching techniques geared to engage learners in all courses. Both workshops will discuss effective teaching practices that faculty across campus can use in their classrooms to engage student learning. Research continues to show that traditional approaches to teaching, such as lecturing as a sole means for teaching is a passive means for student learning compared to active learning practices in the classroom. 

Cards and Pedagogy: A Game-based Workshop about Everyday Teaching Decisions,will be presented by Phil Shaw, who will lead faculty in an interactive workshop exploring the question "What happens when pedagogical theory collides with real-world teaching dilemmas—and a panel of student judges?". Faculty will play a Cards Against Humanity–style game in which they respond to everyday classroom scenarios using a mix of pedagogical strategies, policies, and instincts. Participants must decide whether to play a “good” solution, a “bad” solution, or something strategically in between, depending on how they think a panel of student judges will respond and award points. The 90-minute session uses humor and low-stakes competition to surface serious conversations about teaching values, student expectations, and the hidden logics behind our instructional choices.

The first session, Cards and Pedagogy: Teaching With a Hook, will feature Jeff Burnette leading a hands-on card-sorting exercise that demonstrates how racial and other demographic categories are social constructions rather than objective truths. Through interactive card games, participants will explore how social hierarchy emerges from systemic “rules” rather than inherent physical traits, prompting reflection on how these dynamics shape teaching and learning environments.

Light refreshments will be provided. This session is for RIT faculty, including adjuncts and teaching assistants. Participants should request access services if needed.

Presented by:
Makini Beck
Jeff Burnette
Joel Gallegos Greenwich
Phil Shaw