The discomfort of thought: Towards a pedagogical model of discomfort

Pedagogies of Discomfort (PoD) emphasise teaching and learning that take place outside of ‘comfort zones’. Discomfort is not ‘pedagogised’ for the sake of discomfort; instead, it is a means to prompt transformative experiences. Embracing discomfort is a means to address fixed assumptions and move beyond ‘surface-level exploration’ (Faulkner and Latham, 2013; Nolan and Guo, 2019; Robinson, 2021; Sumara, 2002). While PoD have been extensively explored in scholarly literature, the diversity and breadth of this work are obstacles for educators and scholars seeking practical strategies and an overview of the ‘discomfort’ literature. To address these obstacles, this article curates the ‘discomfort’ literature to develop a model of practice for practitioners to adapt to their contexts. This model is a novel contribution that extends beyond what existing literature offers. Moreover, this model’s faithful curation of the ‘discomfort’ literature attempts to demarcate a specific body of knowledge on PoD.