Participatory Pedagogy: A Case Study of Learner Participation in Content Development

Abstract

This article is about an experiment in participatory pedagogy, in which the researcher involved 24 Nigerian University students of French in determining the content of a 6-week Grammar Course in French. The objective of the study was to ensure content relevance in content development in order to guarantee and sustain learners' interest in Grammar learning tasks. The content development exercises comprised 3 phases, namely the collation of raw data of students’ interest inventory, conducting the needs analysis of interesting areas and breaking these areas into teachable modules. The teachable modules that evolved out of the process of co-construction formed the basis for teaching that ensued. The modules are presented in this paper, while a later paper will be evaluated the students' performance at the end of the programme, thereby making a case for the adoption of learner participation in content development.