Tag Archives: student-centered discussion
Student-Centered Discussion: Providing Structured Space for Critical Thinking
When many faculty hear the term “student-centered discussion,” they imagine students leading a “discussion” that is really just a bull session. In fact, this is typically the sort of discussion that happens when faculty allocate small-group discussion time in their classes. Faculty will provide students with one or more questions to discuss, and students will Read more »
Posted in Education, Perspectives Also tagged Classroom Discussions, developing questions, educational implications, higher education, reasoning skills Leave a comment
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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 the process on faculty. This summary is based upon my many hours of debriefing with Read more »
Posted in Education, Perspectives Also tagged Classroom Discussions, educational implications, pedagogy, student evaluation, student success Leave a comment
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A Sense of Relief
Now that it’s been well over a month since my last post, it’s hard to know how to sum up all the things that have happened. I’ll start at the conclusion: Thursday was the last day of my IF course. All 15 of our first-year seminars are invited to participate in what we call “Extravaganza” Read more »
Posted in Education Also tagged art, creativity, educational implications, pedagogy, student success 1 Comment
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Why Bring IF Into the Classroom?
If you have not been to a university campus since the 1960s or 1970s, you might be surprised to find how similar the classroom environment is to that which you might remember from forty or more years ago. While technology has transformed the average classroom into something that looks sleek and modern, the actual instruction Read more »
Posted in Education, Perspectives Also tagged Classroom Discussions, pedagogy, student success Leave a comment
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Discussions, Round Two
Since my last post, several things have happened. My students finished their first round of discussions, so everyone has tried their hand at facilitating. It went reasonably well, although I’m changing some small things to make the next round better. I also had the benefit of a campus visit by Jeff Prudhomme, and he and Read more »
Posted in Education Also tagged art, Classroom Discussions, first year seminar, pedagogy, student success Leave a comment
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An IF-less session this week….
My students re-grouped this week to work on the school presentation. They rallied into four teams according to their interests: rap song, a skid, a short video, activity to engage the target audience (8th graders!) I asked the class to use an IF-like process during this planning session, and designed a form to guide them. The form asked, (a) what Read more »
Posted in Education Also tagged Classroom Discussions, facilitation, note-taking, pedagogy, student evaluation Leave a comment
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What Next?
After reading Maria’s recent post about what she will do next with her IF class now that they are not in their original groups, I realize that I feel I’m at a bit of a crossroads with my class as well. Tomorrow is our last small group discussion on the question “What is Art?”, and Read more »
Posted in Education Also tagged Classroom Discussions, educational implications, facilitation, pedagogy 3 Comments
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Unexpected Hurdles
This week in my IF-supported course, I struggled with getting my small groups underway. Our class took a day-long trip to Washington, DC last weekend, and we toured the National Gallery of Art, and several other Smithsonian museums. It was a whirlwind tour, but the students had a good experience, and I played museum docent Read more »
Posted in Education Also tagged art, challenges, Classroom Discussions, facilitation, syllabus 2 Comments
JFDP Scholar Uses the IF Discussion Process in the Classroom in Tbilisi, Georgia
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