For my classes this semester, I assigned a “Choose Your Own Adventure” project. I’ve been using this assignment in my social work classes for a few semesters, after giving it a try & finding that students really liked it. Here’s how it’s going: A thread (1/?)

Early in the semester after introducing content, I ask students to consider their own learning objectives for the course (in this case, a required course that focuses on institutional oppressions/isms, racial capitalism, banking & finance, & extreme economic inequality)

Students develop a proposal that includes learning objectives related to course content, & then they describe a series of assignments they’ll undertake for meeting those objectives—this includes describing their assignments’ content & format

For example, in the context of the specific course this semester, a student might want to better understand how communities are still affected by institutionalized redlining from the New Deal era

A learning objective like this is really relevant for our own individual justice-oriented, anti-racist work. And it’s also important for organizers & social workers at nonprofits whose daily professional work is embedded in specific place-based & historical contexts

So, to meet a learning objective, a student might propose an assignment to investigate how a neighborhood where they live or work was graded by the Home Owners’ Loan Corporation (HOLC) residential security maps & what this has meant for wealth accumulation (this is their content)

And from this point, a student can take this assignment in a couple of different directions (multiple ways of engaging), depending on how they want to present their work. And there are lots of formats to choose from

A student might create a mapping project using GIS to visualize their work, or a zine or infographic. They might write a research or reflection paper based on what they discover during their investigations

Maybe they’ll give a class presentation, or interview a person who has experienced changes to the neighborhood. A student can write an op-ed, record their spoken word piece, or put together a mix tape

I've found that feedback at the proposal stage is necessary to help understand students’ interests & learning objectives, & to help students stay on track, connect with course content, offer guidance & resources, & make sure they haven’t proposed work that could be too unwieldy

This is where I say things like, “Oh, you’re writing an op-ed, here are 5 resources to get started.” Or, “I’d love to listen to your Spotify playlist. I have no idea how to put that together. Do you need any resources or supports to do this?”

Or maybe I'll say, “An interview, great! Let’s talk about developing your protocol, here are a few resources about in-depth interviews”

(You might be thinking that it takes effort to pull resources & supports for students. It does—and I think it’s really worth it in the end! I keep track of links & papers & guides that I can share to help students get started, or share drafts from some of my own work)

Now back to the feedback stage

Feedback is a place to support first gen & underrepresented students. Because it’s tailored to their work, I offer feedback as best I can that affirms in an individual way they’re doing good work, consistent with their peers, & explains things disguised by implicit curriculum

And, feedback is especially a place to interrupt how students racialized as white & attending a wealthy PWI view marginalized & Black & Brown communities as disadvantaged, damaged while ignoring damaging, inhumane ideologies of whiteness & white supremacy

By giving feedback on proposals, it’s possible to redirect students away from projects that contribute to racist, damaging ideologies & toward interrogating whiteness, white supremacy—such as how HOLC ratings enabled a white, wealthy neighborhood to hoard economic resources

And generally, to offer supportive ideas & suggestions as students go about their work for the semester

I’ve always been worried that this “Choose Your Own Adventure” assignment feels too unwieldly: so much of higher ed is structured, institutionalized learning that rarely asks students to take ownership of their interests & ideas. Or, approaches learning collaboratively

So, esp for students who prefer structure, I think it can feel a little confusing or uncomfortable at first when students experience, “Wait, you’re not just going to tell me what I get out of this course? I have to plan & decide what I want to get out of this course?”

But, I appreciate that the process includes confusion or discomfort, especially since clinical social workers ask clients ALL THE TIME to set very specific goals & then hold them accountable to accomplishing them, even when those goals are harmful or highly unreasonable

(By the way, social workers, let’s support more goals like dismantle child welfare & defund the police)

Social workers at nonprofit organizations that seek philanthropic funding must design goals & objectives for their programs, or adhere to goals established by their funders

This semester (I’m blaming the pandemic & online learning), I didn’t adequately express to students how confusion or discomfort—or at the very least any feelings of uncertainty—in developing the proposal replicated real-world processes. I usually try to make that explicit

So, what did students turn in for their assignments? AMAZING WORK! Here are a few highlights

One student wanted to learn about poverty. They proposed comparative work btw the US & another country by exploring their family’s own intergenerational history. They interviewed a family member about their experiences—and had an intimate, memorable conversation with a loved one

One student wanted to understand how financialization influenced decisions in the city where they lived. They wrote a research paper that began to identify how this process influenced city-level decisions, such as with new development projects & police brutality settlements

One student wanted to teach others about the connections btw racial capitalism, banking & finance, & current macroeconomic trends. They created a mix tape that contained songs, spoken word, & news interviews (including a 1992 interview where Tupac talks DJT) & wrote a reflection

One student wanted to learn about banks’ roles in racialized wealth extraction & to offer healing from this trauma. They read about of slavery, Jim Crow, & the racial wealth gap, & recorded sleep meditations for Black & Brown women, especially those working in organizing spaces

One student wanted to learn about banks’ histories on Native tribal reservations & to understand financial institutions’ present-day influences. They critically examined locations of prominent buildings on their tribe’s reservation & drew artwork reflecting their learnings

Several students wanted to understand more deeply concepts of racial capitalism & banking & finance, choosing to reflect on their new learnings from the semester & considering how they would apply these learnings to being in the world

Several students wanted to learn how to persuade the public & engage policymakers on their new learnings, choosing to design infographics & Instagram storybooks, & to write op-eds. They designed beautiful graphics that conveyed complex concepts & wrote compelling op-ds!

The limited space #onhere doesn’t give justice to their great work—it was such a pleasure to learn with them!

And, especially this year when people were struggling: 2020 has been too much. Students (& all of us) have been asked to carry on, keep pushing forward. Racial capitalism, white supremacy have forced Black & Brown women to carry the bulk of this year’s trauma

The “Choose Your Own Adventure” project tried to help students account for the realities of everyday life & to think about what they wanted to do, realistically could do. And, how they might find joy & restoration in coursework that is often anything but

So, that's the update on the "Choose Your Own Adventure" assignment