The Center for Teaching, Learning, and Research invites you to participate in two workshops this spring, one “Design Thinking and the Liberal Arts,” on Monday, March 14, and the other, “Collaboration in the Classroom: Improving the ‘Group Project’ Experience,” on Wednesday, April 20.

These workshops will be taught by Jessica Holmes, Mary Hurlie, and Jon Isham, and they will draw on their experiences in working with students in the programs offered by MiddCORE and the Center for Social Entrepreneurship.

The workshops will begin at 12:20 p.m. and will run until 1:20 p.m. Lunch will be provided.

An overview of each workshop follows:

Design thinking and the liberal arts (Jessica Holmes and Jon Isham), Monday, March 14, MiddCORE (DKE) House

Design thinking is a methodology of identifying, (re)framing, and solving problems. It encompasses an iterative process of empathetic observation, ideation, and prototyping, and relies heavily on collaboration across disciplines. During this workshop, we will explore how design thinking might be used as a pedagogical tool in the classroom.

Collaboration in the classroom: improving the “group project” experience (Jessica Holmes and Mary Hurlie), Wednesday, April 20, CTLR Suite

Group projects, when designed well, can build problem solving, teamwork and communication skills, yet many students (and some faculty) groan at their mere mention. During this workshop, we will explore strategies to maximize the benefits of collaborative learning activities.