ABOUT
Reimagining How We Teach, Learn, and Lead
“Education does not change the world. Education changes people. People change the world.”
— Paulo Freire
The Innovative Pedagogies SIG (IP SIG) is a community within ALISE devoted to exploring what innovation means in education today.
We believe innovation is not only about technology or trends — it’s about curiosity, collaboration, and compassion in the way we teach, learn, and share knowledge.
Who We Are
We are educators, researchers, and students who share a passion for reimagining how learning takes place within and beyond Library and Information Science (LIS).
Members of the IP SIG bring diverse perspectives from across institutions and disciplines, united by a common goal: to make creative, inclusive, and reflective teaching accessible and actionable.
Our community thrives on sharing practical ideas, research, and lived experiences that others can adapt in their own classrooms and professional spaces.
Our Mission
Forthcoming.
Our Vision
Forthcoming.
What We Do
Forthcoming.
Our Values
Forthcoming.
Our Team
Dr. Anthony W. Dunbar Co-Convener
Anthony W. Dunbar (Tony) is a (full) Professor in the iSchool at Dominican University and leads the school’s Digital Discourse Curriculum. He is the founder and global lead for the Critical Race Theory collective (CRTc), a community of information scholars, professionals, graduate students and activists cultivating (transformative) knowledge and information across borders. His work continues to expand the pedagogy/curriculum, scholarship, praxis, and activism of canonical critical race frameworks through his innovative conceptualization of CRiTical Race information Theory (CRiT), a discipline specific iteration of CRT for Information Studies/Science.
Dr. Shawn(ta) Smith-Cruz Co-Convener
Shawn(ta) Smith-Cruz is the Dean of Barnard Library and Adjunct Assistant Professor at Pratt School of Information where she administers and teaches the core Reference and Instruction course, 652, which collaborates with NYPL’s Jail and Prison Services to distribute reference letters to people who are incarcerated. Shawn also co-leads the ALISE Innovative Pedagogy Special Interest Group, and is a co-founder of the Fridays in May: Queer BIPOC Peer-Networking program, co-sponsored by Pratt SI and METRO. She is an original team lead for the Critical Pedagogy Symposium, managing editor for Sinister Wisdom, a multicultural lesbian literary and art journal, and series co-editor for the Series on Gender and Sexuality in Information Studies of Litwin Books/ Library Juice Press. Shawn’s research interests include Critical Race Theory and its intersections with queer narrative formation, indigenous epistemologies, ancestral connection, and black lesbians’ herstories and spaces.
Dr. Paria Aria Co-Convener
Bio coming soon.
Get Involved
Membership in the Innovative Pedagogies SIG is open to all active ALISE members. Participation is voluntary — whether you contribute, collaborate, or simply listen and learn, your voice matters here.
Join via your ALISE Member Profile or select “Innovative Pedagogies SIG” when you register.
Innovative Pedagogies Sig 