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MCC Daily Tribune

TCC: Announcing Our Theme for 2023-24: Communities of Learners

For this academic year, the Teaching and Creativity Center has selected The Courage to Learn: Honoring the Complexity of Learning for Educators and Students by Marcia Eames-Sheavly, Paul Michalec, and Catherine M. Wehlburg (2023) as a grounding text for thinking about what it means--and what it takes--to enage in deep, transformative learning. It certainly is not always easy. Because such learning does not occur in the abstract or in isolation, nor does it move in only one direction (from teacher to student), we're framing our programing around the theme of Communities of Learners, and invite you to join us in discussions about the what, the why, the how, and the who of learning. 

All faculty and staff are welcomed to participate in the following programs:

  • The TCC Conversations series is inspired by the general moves of the book, with a blend of the theoretical and the personal. They've been designed to bring all of us--no matter our ranks or disciplines--into a learner's mindset about "the diverse, unexpected, and deeply personal ways in which people take their experiences and form them into strands of meaning" (xviii). Here is our fall 2023 schedule (more details forthcoming):
    • Monday, Sept. 25: Framing Conceptual Understanding and Reasoning
    • Tuesday, Oct. 24: How Learning Happens
    • Wednesday, Nov. 15: Neurodiversity and Learning
  • Reading groups for The Courage to Learn: Honoring the Complexity of Learning for Educators and Students. The TCC has copies available for those who want to read the book in community and engage in the reflective practice it offers. Please reach out to Ben Schermerhorn (Engineering Science and Physics), who is recruiting participants. Look for a separate Trib announcement from Ben soon, with details. 
  • The Winter Teaching Institute: It's months away (January 2024), but be on the lookout for a Call for Proposals from Erin Strobl (Biology) in the near future.

Amy Burtner
Teaching and Creativity Center
09/14/2023