The Student Environmental Resource Center presents a workshop on How to Start a DeCal at UC Berkeley. DeCals are for-credit academic courses proposed and facilitated by students. Every DeCal has a faculty sponsor.

1. So you want to
start a Decal?

3. http://slc.berkeley.edu/startup-workshops

4. ● A firm understanding of the
philosophy of the DeCal program
● A step-by-step on the logistics of
starting a DeCal
○ We’ll use concrete examples as
we step through
● Curricula
● Discussion with Decal Staff
● Group brainstorming

7. “Narration (with the teacher as narrator)
leads the students to memorize
mechanically the narrated content.
Worse yet, it turns them into
"containers," into "receptacles" to be
"filled" by the teacher. The more
completely she fills the receptacles, the
better a teacher she is. The more
meekly the receptacles permit
themselves to be filled, the better
students they are.”
Pedagogy of the Oppressed, Chapter 2
Paolo Freire

9. While starting your DeCal, you should not
worry about being a mini-professor. Your
strength is not necessarily in expertise, but
the ability to understand your peers and
explore the various angles to approach the
topic of discussion.
As a facilitator, your job is to facilitate,
NOT to teach. You do not need to have all
the answers; your goal is to help create an
environment that is conducive to the
intensive study of something that you find
really interesting.
-2006 Decal Handbook