Learning and Levity

Perspectives from the Classroom is a quarterly blog featuring innovative, creative, and inspiring perspectives on teaching and learning from our exceptional faculty and staff. Below are stories from teachers who exhibit best practices in Ignatian Pedagogy and the Science of Teaching and Learning; highlighting strategies that they use that have had a positive impact on academics.

Center for Ignatian Pedagogy

"Learning and Levity"

by Dan True, Theology

What a wealth of information can be gleaned from a single Post-It note.

I employ Day 1 prompts for students and back-to-school-night note cards to learn what students care about, what helps them thrive, what they struggle with, fun facts about them, etc. A basic principle emerges: give people the space to talk about the things and people they love, and watch and listen as their whole self shines. The follow-up conversations that ensue throughout the semester reinforce the privilege of getting to know new groups of students. This informs a motto of sorts for the rigor and levity I try to balance - to be about serious things, but not to take oneself too seriously.

Two specific formats of high-speed/low-stakes review I utilize to inject some pace (and shut myself up for a few minutes) are ‘sage and scribe’ and ‘conveyor belt.’ The former enlists one partner (sage one) to stand and riff off the cuff (or perhaps with the help of relevant course material after a minute of cold recall) on recent material whilst the other partner (scribe) summarizes what he hears in his notes. After two minutes they trade roles and the new sage fills in, corrects, or adds on to his partner’s contributions with the new scribe now taking his own notes.

The conveyor belt format, of similar simultaneous volume to ‘sage and scribe’ and another ample opportunity for me to circulate and process overall student recall, involves students cycling through several conversation partners in 2-3 minute increments reviewing and/or generating potential assessment questions related to recent material.

Both formats ask students to formulate meaningful verbal contributions and listen actively in a manner that, ideally, prepares students to carry and apply such information and theological principles beyond the walls of the classroom to far-flung future interlocutors.

Admissions Test for Class of 2029

Learning and Levity

"Learning and Levity"