Social Annotation for Power Negotiation

Abstract

Social annotation and role-play are two pedagogical approaches that promote active, student-centred learning. In this paper, we report on how the two approaches were combined in a senior-level university course that aimed to reveal the multiple dimensions and complexity of policy development and decision-making for natural resource management. We begin with a review and analysis of social annotation and role-play as teaching strategies. We then describe their combined implementation in the senior-level course—including reflections from the course instructor and a student in the class—while situating our reflections within the context of an existing framework for critical social annotation. We conclude that when implemented together, and with careful preparation and clear expectations of student conduct, the complementary strengths of social annotation and role play offer unique opportunities to subvert hegemonic models of knowledge production and exchange. The addition of students’ role-played annotations enabled us to redefine whose knowledge and experience are worthy of consideration by giving voice to students as authorities alongside authors of texts and by filling in gaps in the perspectives presented in texts.