1. October 27, 2008
Introduction to Pedagogy Seminar Series – Fall 2008
NDeRC Graduate Fellows:
For some time we’ve been considering what kind of introduction to pedagogy we would like to
offer the NDeRC graduate fellows. In what follows we outline a seminar series that we hope will
accomplish the following:
1. Although training you to be better educators would be a welcome outcome, our primary
aim is to prepare you to lead collaborative efforts among university and K-12 colleagues
to form STEM community and culture focused on learning – research and education. In
short, we want to equip you to replicate and improve on NDeRC whatever your future
professional trajectory might be.
2. To continue to form STEM community and culture in collaboration with our local
university and K-12 colleagues.
Sessions:
Friday 10/31/08 from 3:30-6:00pm
Introduction to Pedagogy: Human Cognitive Development
David A. Sousa’s book How the Brain Learns pp 1-134
Friday 11/21/08 from 3:30-6:00pm
Introduction to Pedagogy: Pedagogical Approaches to STEM Education
David A. Sousa’s book How the Brain Learns pp 135-284
Friday 12/12/08 from 3:30-6:00pm
Introduction to Pedagogy: Pedagogical Cultures – Examples from Area Schools
Friday 02/13/09 from 3:30-6:00pm
Introduction to Pedagogy: Pedagogical Challenges in both Theory and Practice
During each session there will be a half-hour break from about 4:30-5:00pm for refreshments
(beer, wine and soft drinks) and hors d’oeuvres. We envision that the first hour would primarily
be for engaging the participants in new content, and the second hour would primarily be for
discussion. We have reserved a location (the Greenlawn Mansion on the same campus as Trinity
School at Greenlawn) that will accommodate presentations, discussions and relaxed conversation.
We have spaced the sessions out in time to allow for preparatory reading and post-session
reflections.
We’ve conferred with Professors Connie Sprague and Marilyn Nash of IUSB’s Department of
Education about the goals of the seminar and the topic of each session. Connie and Marilyn will
participate in the seminar sessions and facilitate them with presentations when needed. We would
also like to include K-12 teachers in some, if not all, of the sessions. In particular, the lead
teachers with whom you collaborate would be foremost among our K-12 teacher invitees.