Revised Statement of Teaching Philosophy
Abigail Barefoot, Center for Legal Studies
Northwestern University
My teaching philosophy centers on feminist praxis, in which the classroom can be a transformative space for academic growth and a catalyst for engagement beyond the university. To achieve this goal, I connect theory and course concepts to students' personal lives through politics, popular culture, and current events as a way for students to recognize the importance of structural inequality and how it shapes their everyday lives. Through this approach, students develop critical thinking skills by analyzing the taken for granted assumptions of their experiences in relation to power structures, law, and the connection between gender, race, sexuality, and class.
I utilize a variety of teaching tools for students to accomplish the learning objectives of the class. In addition to lecturing, my classes use large and small group discussions and in-class activities that feature open-ended writing responses and problem-solving scenarios. I break down key theories using popular culture materials such as music videos, clips from movies, and internet memes to make information more accessible and applicable to students. For example, in my Surveillance, Policing, and the Law class, I teach the concept of "digitally gated communities," in which technology is used as a form of social policing to build sites of racial and class exclusion. To teach the concept, I first conducted an in-class online poll about whether they or their families used technologies such as the Nextdoor app, Ring doorbells, and home security systems. This opened a discussion about how common these technologies are, who uses them and why, and their own experiences with these technologies. Next, I shared posts from Evanston’s Nextdoor app, in which we analyzed who and what was seen as “suspicious” or “dangerous.” I put the examples in conversation with the assigned reading on digitally gated communities to have students identify the theories and concepts from the text. Through discussion and the activity, students were able to identify examples of digitally gated communities, critique these technologies, and apply them to their everyday lives. By grading students' essay assignments, I saw how the in-class activities allowed students to better understand the readings and connect to other texts and current events.
To help students think beyond the classroom, I also employ experimental learning in which students synthesize and evaluate course concepts and then apply them through creative and hands-on projects. In my Gender, Sexuality, and the Carceral State course, students learn to write for various audiences by proposing, developing, and evaluating a group public scholarship project designed to explain a course concept or topic to non-academics. Within the quarter-long scaffold assignment, students begin by researching a topic of their choosing and writing a proposal explaining their format, audience, project goal, and how the group would share the work. After completing the project, students return to their proposal and evaluate their project through an in-class presentation and a final paper. Prior projects have taken the form of podcasts, a board game, workshops, and a choose-your-own-adventure children's book. From evaluating students' work, I saw students move from comprehension of course concepts and theories to application and evaluation of those theories as the quarter progressed. Student formal and informal evaluations were overall positive, with most students finding the final project appropriately challenging and highlighting that the rubrics and feedback were helpful in developing their projects.
Beyond teaching, I engage in one-on-one undergraduate research mentorship through thesis advising, independent studies, and summer undergraduate research grants. As a mentor, I meet with students one-on-one weekly, helping them develop their independent research projects through unpacking methodological choices and ethics, creating realistic timelines, and brainstorming how to overcome roadblocks in the research process. While teaching students valuable research skills, I also demonstrate how they can be applied beyond the classroom by asking students what their goals are for doing research and providing opportunities to share that research outside of Northwestern. Over the past three years at Northwestern, five of my students have presented at national conferences, gaining firsthand experience in academic networking, graduate school preparation, and scholarly research.
My commitment to teaching as a catalyst for change extends to my service work with the Northwestern Prison Education Program (NPEP), where I co-coordinate the jail program. This program offers six-week non-degree courses to individuals in Cook County Jail, providing exposure to liberal arts education for incarcerated students while offering professional development for graduate students with limited teaching experience. As co-coordinator, I mentor graduate students in syllabus development and teaching in carceral settings while responding to the needs of incarcerated learners by developing programming tailored to their educational interests.
By integrating feminist pedagogy, experiential learning, and mentorship, I empower students to engage with the world critically, applying their knowledge beyond academia to effect meaningful change.