The Social Justice Syllabus Design Tool
Supriya Rangaswamy, Mukesh Ramdam
Department of Computer Science
Faculty Supervisor: Shahrukh Humayoun
This project introduces an innovative research initiative that bridges educational theory and technology to address the challenges of creating socially just and inclusive course materials. At its core, the project developed a web-based application designed to automate the evaluation of course syllabi for alignment with social justice principles, guided by the Social Justice Pedagogy Syllabus Evaluation Tool (SJPSET) framework. Leveraging cutting-edge data mining, machine learning (ML), and natural language processing (NLP) techniques, the tool analyzes syllabi content to assess whether it embodies inclusivity and social equity as outlined by SJPSET. The application utilize large language models to evaluate responses to key social justice questions, uncovering patterns that indicate the syllabus’s alignment with—or divergence from—social justice pedagogy. Additionally, a visual analytics component enables users to interactively explore sentiment, emotion trends, and content patterns, providing instructors with actionable insights into their course materials. This visualization empowers faculty members to engage in reflective practices, guiding them in making adjustments that enhance the equity and social consciousness of their syllabi. Ultimately, this tool aims to foster a more inclusive academic environment by equipping educators with the means to evaluate and refine their syllabi based on social justice criteria, thereby promoting greater equity and representation in educational content.