Diggs Roundtable
2011 Diggs Teaching Scholars
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
6:30 - 9:00
Panel begins at 7:00 pm
Honors Residential College at East Ambler Johnston, Great Room
Register for this event at CIDER Events. Light refreshments provided. Space is limited.
When Communication Breaks Down
Anthony Kwame Harrison, Sociology
This roundtable presentation explores the pedagogical virtues of perceived communicative incompetency with an emphasis on speech impediments and other non-normative speaking styles. Specifically, I will juxtapose the perceived communicatively inept teacher to the traditional sage on stage ideal in the interest of showing some of the ways in which speaking difficulties and shared vulnerabilities can foster successful learning environments. My aim is to expand and enrich existing models of effective teachers and good teaching. I will draw on my own experiences with communicative incompetence and approaches to classroom teaching as illustrations. This roundtable will serve as a prelude to my first Diggs Workshop/Panel Discussion entitled Teaching with a Stutter.
Experiences With an Undergraduate Interdisciplinary Design Project for Pervasive Computing
Tom L. Martin, Electrical and Computer Engineering
The focus of this discussion will be my experience with an open-ended interdisciplinary design experience for undergraduates. Since the spring of 2006 I have been part of an interdisciplinary faculty team leading a design course in which students design products that utilize pervasive computing technology. My discussion will examine the institutional issues that must be addressed to have a successful interdisciplinary experience for undergraduates. There are cultural differences between departments to be bridged, both with the students themselves and in the departments. For the students, a necessary early step is team building, developing a mutual commitment to solve a problem while breaking down prejudices about other disciplines. They must develop a shared vocabulary so that they are able to communicate across disciplines, and they must take a shared responsibility for the success of the experience.
Register for this event at CIDER Events.
Register now for the Diggs Forum on August 30, Inventing VT's Liberal Education Future, and the Roundtable on October 4, 2011 Diggs Scholars.