Hi all,
Jeff asked us to provide some thoughts on how we got students into groups for our IF courses. So, here are some of my observations.
I have worked a lot with student groups and have put a lot… Read More »
Monthly Archives: January 2010
Setting up student groups
First two weeks
Hi all,
I’m now two weeks into my IF sponsored course, which is a senior capstone seminar called “Facilitating Public Conversations about the Environment.” There are 21 students, about half of whom have had me for a previous class. They… Read More »
Learning and the IF Discussion Process
Earlier last year, I came across a striking passage in a book on how computer “games” should be re-shaping education.
One needn’t be familiar with the specifics of the game mentioned in the passage’s first sentence to follow the author’s… Read More »
Posted in Education, Perspectives Tagged civic engagement, Classroom Discussions, democracy, learning by doing, pedagogy Comments closed
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Public Discussion: We’ve All Done It Before
Some people think there’s something magical or mystical about IF-style citizen discussions. Others think they’re just plain mysterious. They are none of these things. In fact, they’re a lot like the kind of thing most of us do on our… Read More »
Posted in Perspectives Tagged citizen discussions, communication skills, conversations, personal development, Public Discussions Comments closed
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Why We Do Not Try to Forge a Consensus Among Our Panelists?
Much of what goes on by way of facilitated group discussions in this country and around the world is aimed at forging a consensus of opinion amongst the members of the group. The group may explore a number of possibilities… Read More »
Posted in Perspectives Tagged civic engagement, consensus, governance, Project Discussions Comments closed
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The Ethical Dimensions of Deliberation
The Interactivity Foundation’s discussion process places much emphasis on producing contrasting possibilities as starting points and aids to citizen discussion.
There are many practical reasons for supposing that consideration of a range of alternatives may improve governance skills and outcomes. … Read More »
Jobs and the Future of a College Education?
What is the future of a college education in the USA? The recent economic downturn seems to have sharpened the already well-known trend toward seeing a college education largely in terms of enhancing one’s economic security. And as our uncertain… Read More »
Posted in Education Tagged communication skills, creativity, discussion process, educational implications, higher education, reasoning skills Comments closed
What Impact Does the IF Approach Have on Faculty?
The Perspectives articles exploring IF in the classroom have, thus far, largely articulated the benefits of our student-centered approach on student learning, interaction, retention, and skill development (leadership, communication, etc.). It is important that we also consider the impact of… Read More »
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