Climate Change: Establishing a Community-Centered Classroom
Whether the weather is good or whether the weather is not, focusing on the overall climate of a classroom can allow instructors to build and sustain a productive learning environment. By creating a classroom which explicitly centers community, instructors and TAs can sustain a “climate” of effective classroom relationships even through the inclement weather of a potentially stormy day-- of students not wanting to work together or to engage with the instructor. This workshop focuses on building community among students as peers and students and their instructors. Participants will reflect upon the current and optimal climate of their own classrooms/discussion sections, discuss the community-focused design of activities and syllabi, and workshop techniques for creating a “sustainable” classroom climate that favors collectivity.
Facilitators: Angela Leone (Rhetoric and Public Culture) and Kate Flom Derrick (Searle Center)