Embedded Files
Social Psychology I PSYC 149 Community Psychology I Winter 2025
Betsy Centeno is a PhD student and TA in Social Psychology.
This zine is based on their TA experience in Community Psychology, a course that "challenges traditional psych by critically examining power and oppression." Topics covered in the class include immigration, housing, the university, colonialism, racism, and gender & sexuality.
Cariño, or care, is a central tenet of Centeno's teaching philosophy (Valenzuela, 1999). Teaching with critical care, they explain, "means being intentional about nurturing meaningful relationships with students. Care is necessary when teaching diverse students; it can help create learning spaces that affirm their identities and lived experiences."
Centeno used a variety of TLC strategies in their discussion sections (~50 students between two sections):
acknowledging current events
co-creating community guidelines
re-calibrating the classroom for critical discourses using check-ins; reflective journaling; co-created models for dialogue; and strategic empathy
connecting with campus support
As some examples of check-ins, Centeno used prompts that varied across the quarter:
Effectiveness: the majority of students, Centeno reports, found that the informal check-ins at the beginning of each class helped them feel more comfortable over time in talking about sensitive issues with their peers. Reflective journaling for 5 minutes before class was another effective strategy, helping students think and write deeply on issues that matter to them. On the whole, students "really appreciated that the class focused on topics relevant to the socio-political climate as well as learning about strategies and community events to act on these issues."
Check out Centeno's full zine here!
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