Author Archives: Jeff Prudhomme
We Are the Books our Students Read Most Closely
How might educators teach students to engage as active participants and facilitators in student-centered discussions? How might contemporary higher education classrooms become places for the discovery and social construction of alternative ways of thinking and acting in regard to complex topics? Part of the answer rests with the lessons students will draw from the behavior Read more »
Creating New Lenses, Asking Different Questions
In 2004 the inventor Saul Griffith, then young grad student at MIT, won the prestigious Lemelson-MIT prize, based in part on his invention of desktop device to manufacture inexpensive eyeglass lenses on demand. Griffith was motivated by a concern for underserved communities around the world. He was wondering how it might be possible to bypass Read more »
Posted in Perspectives Tagged contrasting possibilities, developing questions, discussion process Leave a comment
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In Praise of Partisanship? Exploring Divergences
Praising partisanship might seem like a strange thing to do—at least for a non-partisan organization like the Interactivity Foundation. In the discussions we facilitate, whether in our “Discussion Projects” or our ensuing “Public Discussions,” we don’t seek to stoke the fires of partisanship. We don’t agitate for our discussion participants to adopt one partisan point Read more »
Posted in Perspectives Tagged contrasting possibilities, democracy, discussion process, partisanship, Project Discussions Leave a comment
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The Long Arc of Conversation
In our lives most of us have had the pleasure of relationships that seem to involve a long and constantly growing conversation. Maybe it’s with a good friend. Maybe it’s with a family member or a mentor. It’s not that you’re talking with each other all the time, though even when you’re not actually talking Read more »
The Long Arc of Conversation
In our lives most of us have had the pleasure of relationships that seem to involve a long and constantly growing conversation. Maybe it’s with a good friend. Maybe it’s with a family member or a mentor. It’s not that you’re talking with each other all the time, though even when you’re not actually talking Read more »
Communication, Discussion, or Facilitation Skills in Your Courses?
For those of you teaching an IF sponsored course this spring, your fourth blog post should tell us about some of the facilitation, discussion, or communication skills that you’ve focused on with your students. You might find it helpful to review Section Five and Eight of the Guidebook for Student Centered Discussions. You also might Read more »
Where Will a Project Go? A Novel Approach to Following the Questions
If you’re thinking about taking part in one of our Sanctuary Discussion Projects, you might wonder about the directions the discussions might take. You might wonder whether the discussion Facilitator, or the Interactivity Foundation, has in mind some particular direction in which to lead the discussions. You might wonder whether the discussions will start with Read more »
Posted in Perspectives Tagged creativity, developing questions, discussion process, Project Discussions 1 Comment
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What Roles Do “Specialists” Play in IF Project Discussions?
Discussion Projects are one of our core activities in the Interactivity Foundation. In these projects we use two parallel discussion groups or panels. These panels run independently of each other for most of the project. One panel is made up of citizens who are simply interested in exploring the subject matter through collaborative discussions. The Read more »
Integrating Course Content?
For those of you teaching an IF sponsored course this spring, your third blog post should share some of your thinking about and experiences with integrating your course content into a student-centered discussion class. You might find it helpful to review Sections Two and Three of the Guidebook for Student Centered Discussions. Tell us about some Read more »
If An Idea Does Not Sound Absurd, Then There’s No Hope For It
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