Event Title
Inviting the Unexpected: A Theory of Teaching as Improvisation
Location
Hirsch Hall, Room B
Start Date
9-3-2018 4:15 PM
End Date
9-3-2018 5:30 PM
Description
All teachers deal with the unexpected in the classroom, especially externship and clinic teachers. Lesson plans go awry; students offer unanticipated insight; real experience opens up new territory; discussions wade into deeper waters; conversation veers into conflict. We can see the unexpected as a barrier to overcome, so that we can get to our planned content. Or we can follow or even encourage the unexpected, so as to include as a focus of the class.
This concurrent develops a theory of teaching that describes and integrations improvisation into our regular practices as teachers. Drawing on analogies to acting and music, we will explore current theories of teaching as improvisation. We will describe several different ways in which to use improvisational methods as a teacher, from responding to unexpected questions in a carefully structured presentation, to handling hot topics and difficult conversations that emerge unpredictably, to planning for improvisation as a central feature of a classroom session.
We will address how to plan classes that are both rigorous and improvisational. We will also address how to respond in the moment to unexpected events in class. Finally, we will explore how this approach changes the role of the teacher and how it can enhance student ownership of and autonomy in the classroom and in their work experience.
Inviting the Unexpected: A Theory of Teaching as Improvisation
Hirsch Hall, Room B
All teachers deal with the unexpected in the classroom, especially externship and clinic teachers. Lesson plans go awry; students offer unanticipated insight; real experience opens up new territory; discussions wade into deeper waters; conversation veers into conflict. We can see the unexpected as a barrier to overcome, so that we can get to our planned content. Or we can follow or even encourage the unexpected, so as to include as a focus of the class.
This concurrent develops a theory of teaching that describes and integrations improvisation into our regular practices as teachers. Drawing on analogies to acting and music, we will explore current theories of teaching as improvisation. We will describe several different ways in which to use improvisational methods as a teacher, from responding to unexpected questions in a carefully structured presentation, to handling hot topics and difficult conversations that emerge unpredictably, to planning for improvisation as a central feature of a classroom session.
We will address how to plan classes that are both rigorous and improvisational. We will also address how to respond in the moment to unexpected events in class. Finally, we will explore how this approach changes the role of the teacher and how it can enhance student ownership of and autonomy in the classroom and in their work experience.