Disruptive Pedagogy: Guerrilla Tactics in Large Classes

Abstract

Guerrilla instructional strategy is when one instructor (the guerrilla) enters into their colleague’s class that is in session unannounced, sits for a while to gain insight on what topic is being taught, takes over and facilitates students’ learning for about ten minutes and then leaves the classroom. The strategy is disruptive as an unconventional approach to enhance student engagement and learning. The temporary takeover of roles is designed to be a surprise to students. In addition, the host is not privy to what the guerrilla’s plan is. In this paper, we share themes that emerged from the thematic analysis of our teaching reflections and our students’ experiences with guerrilla pedagogy. It was evident that students appreciated having two experts who have different instructional strategies collaborate in ways that captured their interests. The experience was positive and fostered a strong sense of respect and trust between colleagues. The “guerrillas” felt vulnerable as they implemented the strategy