Moshood Olanrewaju, Ph.D., MPA

Overview

It is imprinted in my subconscious that life will be meaningful through education and by educating others, which naturally aligns with my earthly purpose. Therefore, as a question-posing educator with the strongest belief that with the right environment, everyone can acquire knowledge. My adopted teaching practice at Adler is not about one student but about the hopes, expectations, and aspirations to nurture an entire ecosystem through pedagogical and andragogical practices that transcend the more than humankind world. My objective as a teacher is to deepen students’ understanding using a multidisciplinary approach and in the context of an emancipatory framework. My role is to equip students with the necessary analytical tools to be intellectually competent enough to use them justifiably—through psychological nature of attaining knowledge – intuitive/intentionally listening, observing, and practicing with wisdom keepers from varying traditional societies: the historical makeup of culture, customs, and societal heritage. Away from the banking concept of education, I often explore these indigenous epistemologies to explain phenomena objectively by asking students to use reasoning and encouraging them to develop innovative ideas while thinking through a critical problematization lens. To create an open and generative environment.

At Adler, I work with students in the process of incorporating 1) Critical Community Psychology theories, practices, values and principles to provide framework for promoting social justice orientation and ecological understanding of effecting changes in the communities 2) Social Determinant of Mental Health (SDoMH) infused with Human Rights Education to investigate multitude of non-medical factors disrupting mental health, 3) Social Psychology with emphasis on attitude formation, persuasion, self-concept, and social cognition locked in with issues of politics, morality and social change. Using posthumanist social theories to question the fundamental concerns of oppression, exploitation, class, and privilege. These are some of the issues that brought our students to study psychology at Adler University.

I view my role as a dialogue facilitator in and outside classrooms as dialogue is a powerful tool for engaging in processes of authentic critical praxis. I use dialogue to help students see that rather than win a debate or have the last say, we will leave space for new ideas and perspectives, thus creating an inclusive environment where everyone feels empowered to speak. I conduct my classes, so students find them intellectually stimulating, engaging, inspiring, and rewarding. The willingness to adopt innovative technological methods, field experimentation, and occasional invitation of subject matter experts into the classrooms makes it easy for my students to learn from one another, others, and me. At the same time, I also keep an open mind to learn from students. I think it is very important to adapt to the specific needs of the variety of learners a teacher is responsible for by creating safe spaces and time to support everyone.

Besides teaching, systemic praxis through practical, evidence-based participatory action research and the ability to share generated knowledge methodologically with students grudges my teaching philosophy—understanding ourselves and others as co-creators of universal knowledge is undoubtedly an essential step toward a transformative learning experience. I engage in processes of delinking, reflexivity, and reconceptualizing approaches to liberatory emancipatory education. In which humanity, through democracy, transformation, reformation, liberation, and social justice, flourish. All reflecting in my teaching and learning simultaneously from the perspective of a lifelong learner draw from problematization literature and critical praxis.