Lunch will be served at each event in the Center for Teaching, Learning & Research 12 – 1 pm. Please RSVP using the sign up form at least two days in advance of the event. Thank you.
Monday, January 19, 2015 11:00 am – 12:00 pm
Classroom Discussion Part II: Navigating Controversial Topics
When controversial or difficult topics become central parts of classroom conversations they are likely to engage student’s deeply held preconceptions and convictions and may arouse powerful emotional responses. These exchanges may become heated, but a thoughtful, well‐facilitated discussion can have many benefits as students get the opportunity to learn from their peers and explore new ways of understanding the world. Moreover, the encouragement of mutual respect during the course of disagreement can encourage students to feel more confident as they enter into difficult conversations in the future.
Thursday, January 22, 2015 11:00 am – 12:00 pm
Adventures in Team Teaching Across the Disciplines
What are the benefits and challenges of team teaching across the disciplines? Andi Lloyd, Chris McGrory Klyza, Tim Spears, and Steve Trombulak will offer perspectives on their own recent experiences with this form of teaching. Their perspectives will frame a discussion about innovating as teachers and pursuing the full potential of a liberal arts education.
Monday, January 26, 2015 11:00 am – 12:00 pm
Pedagogical Challenges in Online Education
Ian Grimmer, a Senior Lecturer in modern European intellectual history and the director of the Integrated Humanities Program at the University of Vermont, will discuss the dramatic shift to online education in UVM’s summer session and some of its many implications for teaching practices in view of the differences in the online environment.
Thursday, January 29, 2015
Hybrid Learning and the Liberal Arts
Bryan Alexander, writer, futurist and Senior Researcher at the New Media Consortium, will address some of the issues surrounding hybrid learning and its impact on the academy. Before hybrid, we spoke of an opposition between traditional, face-to-face learning and wholly online, or distance education. We will soon consider learning as existing along a continuum of different levels of technological integration; all will be considered learning.
What powers this transformation? First, a set of technological innovations, widely adopted: mobile, social, and rich media computing. Second, the growth of open content and access to scholarly publication. Third, demographic shifts, as digitally familiar cohorts age into college faculty and administration.
See our full schedule here: http://sites.middlebury.edu/ctlrprogramming