After teaching a first year seminar using the IF method for a second time, I’m reflecting on the usefulness of student-centered discussion for this population of students. My classes have faced two hurdles which have been very difficult to clear:… Read More »
Category Archives: Education
Response to Blog Prompt #4
I used the IF method last year in one class and found it both productive & rewarding. This semester my response is more mixed. This year, in the freshman class the benefits were less evident. Was it due to a different group composition/dynamics? I… Read More »
Response to Blog Prompt #2
Now that the term is over I think I am ready to reflect on the criteria and process used to set up ”good” student groups… I organized groups in three classes, including one freshman seminar. I formed the groups in my upper… Read More »
Response to Blog Prompt #3
The problem you want us to address in this blog — students have a hard time with abstract conversation — is VERY evident in my first-year seminar class. During the months of October & November I kept asking my students to brainstorm… Read More »
My First Discussion Classes
Alkida Hasaj is a Lector in the Tourism Department at the University of Shkodra ‘Luigj Gurakuqi’ in Albania. She was also a participant in the 50-Hour Training Course in the IF Discussion Process that IF Fellows Mark Notturno and Ieva Notturno conducted… Read More »
Audio and Visual Alternatives to Textual Discussion Starters
In previous posts I’ve emphasized that successful exploratory public discussions tend to have more to do with the facilitator than with the Reports that are used to get them going. The Reports might matter; but the way the discussion is… Read More »
The Culmination of Their Learning
At the end of the semester, my students have the opportunity to make a presentation to the rest of the first year seminars, as a means of sharing what they have learned in the course. We call this event “Extravaganza”,… Read More »
How to Evaluate an IF Policy Possibility⎯Part 3
Once you have a basic understanding of the policy possibility and the reasoning behind it—-what it says and why it says it—-the next step is to ask yourself whether and to what extent it is likely to address the concerns… Read More »
Higher order thinking, lifelong learning, and IF in a Seminar on Food and Culture
BLOG PROMPT #3: Engaging Abstract Topics (Post by Nov. 28)
The issue of engaging students in abstract topics is a question of interest in any classroom, not just when using the IF Method. The IF method could promote abstract explorations,… Read More »
Learning from Experience
A couple weeks ago, I facilitated a public discussion on Anticipating Genetic Technology with a group of individuals residing in the borough of Queens in New York City, and I wanted to comment on how different the process was from… Read More »
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