Joy-Centered Pedagogy in Higher Education

“If you are looking to revitalize the love of teaching that got you started, look no further than this important, passionate, and accessible volume. You will find yourself nodding on every page; then watch as your agreement turns to joy (literally) as you realize that this book is actually a practical guide to better and more meaningful teaching.” José Antonio Bowen, Senior Fellow, American Association of Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) and author of Teaching Change: How to Develop Independent Thinkers Using Relationships, Resilience, and Reflection among other volumes “We desperately need joy in higher education. We’re deluged with books and articles on student deficits and disconnection, learning loss, and the like—but there’s precious little to help us remember that teaching and learning can (should!) be joyful endeavors. This inspiring yet practical volume arrives at exactly the right time. The authors here—drawn from the wide spectrum of institutions and disciplines across higher education—lay out numerous paths for us to not only (re)discover joy, but to weave it throughout our practice. This isn’t some empty feel-good fluff, nor does it wave away the very real crises we and our students face. Camfield and the book’s contributors remind us joy is an act of resistance. In doing so, they show us how to help ourselves and our students tap into our agency and make learning spaces genuinely transformative and, yes, joyful. If you’re looking to reconnect with what brought you to teaching and learning, or to find new, fulfilling paths through the difficult landscape we’re navigating, this book is an essential read.” Kevin Gannon, author of Radical Hope: A Teaching Manifesto “Our national response to post-pandemic unfinished learning in higher education is to double down on technical fixes to no avail. Eileen Kogl Camfield shows us another way to help reframe teaching and learning in the academy. She and her colleagues invite us to center joy in the midst of deep learning to disrupt a culture of fear and compliance, leaving room to build student agency and resilience. Joy-Centered Learning in Higher Education helps us translate science of learning principles toempowering practices.” Zaretta Hammond, author of Culturally Responsive Teaching and the Brain: Promoting Authentic Engagement and Rigor for Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Students “What a wonderful book! By centering joy while simultaneously recognizing the complexities of higher education today, the authors critically re-frame teaching and learning as opportunities for connection, meaning, agency, and action. The book offers the inspiration and practical guidance that I – and we – need right now.” Peter Felten, co-author of Relationship-Rich Education: How Human Connections Drive Success in College among other volumes “Teaching is deeply human work. This book is an antidote to all the forces in education that would have us forget that. The authors are attentive to the many challenges teachers and students face in education, advance a clear-eyed thesis about joy-centered pedagogy, and offer the practical tools necessary to support us in this work. So many sentences here feel like a revelation: that joy is a pedagogical ‘renewable resource;’ that ‘teaching is, to a significant extent, an act of memory;’ that ‘we can refuse the narrative that we must suffer to do something good for our students;’ and that joy is sometimes ‘still and silent.’ This is necessary reading for teachers at all levels of education.” Jesse Stommel, author of Undoing the Grade: Why We Grade, and How to Stop among other titles and co-founder and Executive Director of Hybrid Pedagogy, the journal of critical digital pedagogy “This important volume will inspire a next generation of educators to bring more joy, awe and beauty into their pedagogy. For good reason: these positive emotions lead to more rigorous thought, more curiosity, and greater collaborative tendencies — vital skills to meet the challenges of our times.” Dacher Keltner, founding director of the Greater Good Science Center and a distinguished professor of psychology at the University of California, Berkeley, USA; author of Awe: The New Science of Everyday Wonder and How It Can Transform Your Life among other volumes “In an era where student-centeredness is paramount in higher education, Dr. Eileen Camfield has brilliantly centered teaching and learning around the concept of JOY. Joy is both transferable and infectious, making its incorporation into education a natural choice. The innovative Joy-Centered Pedagogy introduces this vital yet transformative element, redefining educational practices to be more heartfelt, student-centered, and intentional. This enJOYable read will invigorate higher education professionals and educators, reigniting their joy in teaching and learning while renewing their passion and purpose in the classroom.” Amber C. Ward, Institutional Effectiveness/Center for Teaching & Learning, Delaware State University, USA “In Joy-Centered Pedagogy in Higher Education: Uplifting Teaching and Learning for All the reader will find a collection of chapters that will convince novice and expert teachers alike of the importance of joy in postsecondary education. By incorporating the science of learning, emphasizing embodied learning, and centering joy as an experience rather than just an outcome, this text provides rich examples of how joy can disrupt the harmful, yet all too common experience of shame and fear in the learning environment. Camfield's Joy-Centered Pedagogy is a welcome addition to the conversation on communal and connected teaching in higher education as we continue to navigate shifts in student and instructor interaction and wellbeing in the pandemic era.” Sydney Curtis, Deep South Center for Environmental Justice, USA “This edited volume, which elevates both teaching and learning through the lens of joy, accomplishes many tasks for educators at all levels—sharing stories of students and educators, offering practical pedagogical strategies, inviting reflection on practice, and most importantly reconnecting us to the passion of learning through teaching. Addressing the current landscape of education, each chapter takes a human-centered approach anchoring us to our shared experiences in education, while also identifying various pedagogical frameworks, developing practices for immediate implementation, and encouraging reflection on action. Deeply tethering our own stories to the authors’, this text invites us to explore, challenge, reflect upon, and catalyze our own joy in education. This book is a rare find and an essential read. The foundational approach of centering joy in teaching and learning offers a path forward for institutions of higher education to not only (re)activate a zest for teaching and learning, but to refocus and remember our shared purpose.” Patrick M. Green, Center for Engaged Learning, Teaching, and Scholarship (CELTS), Loyola University Chicago, USA