CTL Happenings - Message #390 SE

The metaphor of “content delivery” so pervades discussions of learning today that we hardly notice it. We create websites full of resources but empty of the conversation that brings meaning to those resources through context and personal connection—and then we wonder why these mounds of content aren’t empowering the positive change we seek in our lives as learners and professionals. What if we change that metaphor and treat the network as the goal? What are the opportunities that might emerge? What are the barriers we must overcome to create and sustain those networks? Through conceptual frameworks and case studies, this talk aims to encourage you to think again about networks, and to risk openly networked conversations as an essential medium for deeper and more powerful professional development.

Active learning spaces, with their configurable space options and built-in pedagogical tools, enable opportunities for learning, collaboration, and community building when working in concert with active learning pedagogies. This talk considers active learning spaces within the context of the IU Mosaic Initiative and provides examples that illustrate how theory can be parlayed into practice. Specifically, the ways in which active learning pedagogy is theorized in the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning and feminist studies will be highlighted, and examples of what the theory translated into practice can look like will be presented. While the presentation will focus on teaching within the classroom, ideas and illustrations related to teaching and community and student engagement outside the classroom will factor into the overall discussion of active learning pedagogy, with special attention paid to feminist teaching practices and the related aspects of fostering community building, analyzing power dynamics, and shoring up empowerment for students and their communities.