Workshops ‘UC Liberal Arts’

The teaching in a liberal arts context, especially at international honors colleges like UCU, requires special skills. For example: interactive teaching in small groups, leading discussions, teaching a culturally and academically diverse group of students, teaching the academic context and history of the discipline, interdisciplinary teaching, and teaching in English. Furthermore, teaching at a University College also entails engaging with the student community, both inside and outside the classroom. This requires an understanding of the philosophy and ideals of a liberal arts education and a basic awareness of the intellectual development of students.

One of the first initiatives of the new University Colleges Deans Network is to offer joint opportunities for faculty development. Participating colleges will each advertise their own activities and invite colleagues from other colleges to register.

Many teachers at UCU (whether employed at UU or UCU) have benefited from general training or coaching while working on their BKO portfolio. This training commonly addresses topics that are important for all teaching, such as: presenting skills, principles of testing, writing assignments and exams, course design, grading and giving feedback, use of ICT, and communicating with students. The new activities developed at UCU aim to complement this training by addressing topics specific to teaching in a liberal arts context.

The workshops cover specific skills necessary for teaching in the liberal arts (for BKO) and for developing the liberal arts curriculum (for SKO). As such they do not go into (1) general teaching skills (such as lecturing, assessing, or designing a course) or (2) specific skills not pertaining to liberal arts teaching (such as the use of ICT), since the training of those skills is part of regular training offered at UU, in BKO programs or though COLUU.

Each workshop will:

1. Feature diverse best practices from experienced liberal arts teachers,
2. Be developed in collaboration with COLUU,
3. Introduce participants to relevant and inspiring scholarly work,
4. Entail some work before and after the meeting,
5. Provide hands-on training as well as ideas to implement in the classroom or in course and/or curriculum design,
6. Inform participant’s individual teaching philosophy and approach to teaching.

Detailed information on the workshops can be found in the brochure below as well as in the specific announcements in the TAUU calendar.

Workshops will be open to UCU faculty, including UU faculty teaching at UCU (with priority), faculty at participating colleges, and other UU faculty. Registration is required and limited to 25.

Regarding the meetings of the portfolio community: Those actively working towards writing their BKO or SKO portfolio may use the meetings of the portfolio community to further discuss any matters and to get feedback on their own work. Meetings of the portfolio community are more informal than the workshops, and they provide opportunities for discussion, experimentation, and collaboration.

> Brochure ‘UC Liberal Arts’ workshops

Lutz, C.I. (Christel)