Creating a Collaborative Learning Environment
"For me, the benefit of participating in CCLE was simply the chance to meet and talk about teaching and learning. That doesn't happen for me otherwise, and I really appreciated the chance to delve into topics that I before simply wouldn't have considered. We all seem so busy, but once something is on the calendar, like CCLE, then that time is built into our schedules and becomes part of our lives."
"This experience has started to change the process by which I approach new semesters and new topics."
~ Faculty participant, Food Science
CCLE 2008-2009
Dates: Day and time to be determined based on availability of participants
Instructors: To be announced...
Course Description: CCLE is an opportunity for you to collaboratively explore the learning process and its implications for your teaching with a small group of colleagues who meet weekly throughout the academic year.This year there are three options for CCLE:
1) a group for faculty and staff,
2) a group for graduate students and postdocs, and
3) a mixed group for everyone.
CLICK HERE to register for this program or if you have additional questions, please email Chris Carlson-Dakes.
Program Introduction
Creating a Collaborative Learning Environment (CCLE) is one of the core program experiences of the Delta Program in Research, Teaching, and Learning. Participants meet weekly over the academic year with colleagues to learn about learning, reflect on teaching, and explore the campus. We hope that participants find this experience stimulating and challenging and that it opens doors that may not have been apparent in the past.
The emphasis on learning about learning is central to the program – the assumption being that before one can appropriately develop themselves as a teacher, they must first understand the complexities of the diverse experiences and learning processes of their students. The framework we use to learn about learning comes from the concept teaching-as-research. By approaching teaching with an eye towards research, reflection, and inquiry, we can align ourselves with the skills we have developed as researchers, and apply them to our teaching. Doing so in a cross-disciplinary, diverse community environment allows us to expand our understandings of others, and learn about the experiences, options and opportunities of others.
To learn more about CCLE, please consider reading the full introductory chapter of the guidebook:
MS Word / PDF
Syllabus
Collaborative Learning groups meet weekly throughout the academic year. Readings and activities guide discussion and are tied to sequential and overarching themes. This year's topics include:
Group dynamics
Diverse learning styles
Learning-through-Diversity
Collaborative learning projects
Teaching-as-Research
Moving to Action
Download a detailed 2008-09 syllabus here: MS Word
"[I learned
in CCLE] that there is much more diversity than you would ever think in
a group of students. Everyone comes to the classroom with a different
background and the background affects the way they learn.
By using a variety
of teaching methods while being sensitive to culture, you can help to
create an inclusive learning environment."
~ Graduate student participant, Physics
