Category Archives: Education
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 »
It’s the Facilitator
When you think back on key moments in your life, what would you say has influenced your development more—special books, or special persons? When you think back on high school or college, which do you remember more—a particular class or a particular book you read? Which do you turn to most frequently when you need Read more »
Wrap up and final reflections
Hi folks, Sorry I’m once again so late posting my blog. We’re only just finishing the term – final grades are due today. I’m happy (and a little surprised, frankly) to report that I am an IF convert! My loftiest goals were not met – students didn’t all decide to become allies on issues of Read more »
On Monday, I’ll begin teaching a 5-week summer course called “Facilitating Citizen Discussion,” a stand-alone course aimed at equipping students with the facilitation skills I acquired during the 2006 Summer Institute. Although I previously taught a blended course — a graduate course called “Facilitating Corporate Social Responsibility,” and I’ve conducted one Citizen Discussion project, this Read more »
Federal mandate to enhance civic discourse?
The Democracy Imperative’s most recent newsletter has an interesting write-up detailing a recent forum exploring how federal policies and programs might be expanded to enhance the civic skills of American citizens.
Practical Tip: Which easel works best for facilitating discussions?
I bought my first IF easel about a year or so ago, and the plastic “bolt” that secures the extended leg broke recently. That easel cost $100, and it only lasted a year– very disappointing. I found another easel at Staples (online) that looked really durable. The legs retract into a solid base and the Read more »
At-Risk Students = Most At-Risk to Exploitation by the 21st C. Academy?
The most recent edition of Frontline offers an exceedingly disturbing look at the for-profit college world. The people who are driving this world brazenly talk on the record about what a wonderful world this is. Their greed and callousness is stunning: ”Well, what can’t be bought and sold?; why is an education any different?” This is Read more »
What might a certificate in facilitation look like?
I am compelled by Jack’s observations about how far his students’ facilitation skills have come in just a semester– observations which echo my own in the years I used the IF process in the classroom as well as those of many of you as told in blog postings and debriefing calls. Jack wonders what students’ Read more »
JFDP Scholar Uses the IF Discussion Process in the Classroom in Tbilisi, Georgia
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