Expeditions in Learning
~ Faculty participant
Fall 2008
Dates: Day and time to be determined based on availability of participants
Instructors: Tessa Lowinske Desmond (Delta Program)
Course Description: This program provides you with the opportunity to explore how teaching and learning is done in other departments on campus, to visit parts of campus you've not yet discovered, explore new aspects of the UW learning community, and connect your expeditions to your teaching in a bi-weekly instructive small group setting. The Expeditions in Learning program is designed to help bring graduate students, faculty, post-docs, and staff into the discussions, experiences, and diverse learning activities on our campus to broaden our collective understandings about each other.
Small group meetings are held once every two weeks for 90 minutes throughout the semester. During the off weeks between group meetings, participants venture out on campus “expeditions” to explore learning situations and academic life in ways they have rarely or never experienced before.
CLICK HERE to register for this program or for more information contact Tessa Lowinske Desmond at 261-1495, desmond@wisc.edu
Overview and Purpose
Today we are faced with a challenge to prepare students
for a world of work that is more diverse and more rapidly changing than
was the case when most faculty and administrators went through their training.
Students need to be able to work across disciplines, cultures, styles
and environments. If we are to prepare the next generation of students,
we must begin by preparing ourselves. Therefore, our aim with this program
is to expose and utilize the vast array of existing resources in the UW
campus community by weaving them into a professional development program
for current and future faculty to build their own skills and understandings
of diversity and how it relates to their profession.
Using the concept of teaching-as-research, this program builds on the strengths of scientists and engineers as researchers and problem solvers. It follows an expeditionary learning model grounded in adult learning theory in which new questions about teaching and learning are developed, methods of exploring them are created, and individuals and groups are supported in their exploration to discover new answers.
The program is designed to foster a community of peers that will work together in groups of 7-9 in weekly meetings for one semester. Every other week, participants will head out on campus on an “expedition” (or mini field trip) to experience a learning activity or environment that will help to stretch their understanding of diverse approaches to learning and teaching. In the weeks between the expeditions, the small groups will come together to engage in a facilitated discussion of what they experienced the previous week, what they learned, and the implications it may have on their teaching. Occasionally, the discussions will be supplemented by a short reading. (Read examples of some expeditions here.)
In addition to the weekly meetings, participants are invited to monthly Roundtable dinners with all other groups from other Delta teaching and learning programs, courses, and opportunities.
Download the prior year syllabus: MS Word
~ Post-doc participant, Biomolecular Chemistry
Past Offerings
Expeditions in Learning at UW-Madison (Fall '04, Spring '05, Fall '05, Spring '06)
Expeditions in Learning about Diversity (Fall '06)
Explore our campus learning environment in new ways with an emphasis on
diversity through explorations of classes, facilities, and campus events.
Concurrent with these expeditions, the Delta and Diversity Education Programs
will facilitate small group discussions of your discoveries and the possible
implications for teaching and learning.
Expeditions in Learning about Social Justice (Spring '07)
Expeditions in Learning for new faculty (Spring '07)
Expeditions in Learning Outreach (Summer '06)
Expeditions in Learning Physics Department (2006-2007)
Expeditions of the Classroom Experience (Fall '05, Fall '06)
Observe teaching and learning in a variety of classrooms on campus. Expeditions
will include visits to majors and non-majors classes and a lab. Participants
will use their observations to discuss ways to improve their own teaching
practice. Some teaching experience is required to participate. (Syllabi
will be posted soon.)
Download the syllabus (draft) in MS Word format or
Download the syllabus (draft) in PDF.
To register or get more information please email Chris Carlson-Dakes.
