Decentering the “expert knower” in the classroom

I have used “Today’s Meet” for years as a high school teacher, and was sad to hear that the site is no longer in operation, for it has been an alternative outlet for my students to share their voice in the classroom. In searching for alternative spaces for sharing knowledge, asking questions, and just communicating in general, I came upon Backchannel Chat. It is not the same as Today’s Meet (RIP), but it will suffice.

Here’s an article that provides a nice introduction to the site. My reason for including this as part of the curricular resources is that how we communicate as scientists and science educators should be queered as well. As a natural introvert, I prefer writing over talking when sharing my thoughts. As a teacher, I preferred listening to my students wrestle with ideas and complex phenomena and facilitating/challenging/interrogating their thinking over talking and doing the “formal teaching.”

Part of queering knowledge involves disrupting traditional notions of knowledge transmission from teacher (the expert) to student (the “empty vessel”).