TENTH ANNUAL SUMMER INSTITUTE
Barnard College | June 10–13, 2010

Concurrent Sessions and Roundtable Discussions

Concurrent sessions to allow more formal opportunities for returning faculty to share their experiences and insights with the broader “Reacting” community.   Interested faculty are inviting to submit a proposal for a concurrent session or roundtable discussion to the Reacting Advisory Board. 

Proposals should be emailed to djohnson@barnard.edu no later than February 1, 2010.  Applicants will be notified of the status of their proposal(s) by March 31, 2010. Submissions should include the following:

(1) Session Title and Format
(2) Contact Information for the proposers/facilitators
(3) Brief description for institute program (maximum 100 words)
(4) Abstract describing the session activities, major issues/questions to be addressed, and relevance to the suggested themes (maximum 300 words)
(5) Anticipated audiovisual needs

Concurrent Sessions will be roughly 60 to 95 minutes in length and are intended for an audience of 25 to 40 participants.  We welcome submissions in a variety of formats, including hands-on workshops, presentations, and discussion panels.  Collaborative proposals among faculty from multiple institutions are highly encouraged.
If a particular strategy/model/project is being introduced, facilitators should be sure to provide a brief overview and opportunity for discussions of possible adaptations to different institutional and curricular settings. Suggested themes include (but are not limited to):

(1) General Education curricula and learning outcomes
In order to have a broadly accepted list of general education outcomes, we have chosen to use those Essential Learning Outcomes identified by the Association of American Colleges and Universities in the Liberal Education and America’s Promise (LEAP) project. (You can consult or download the 2007 LEAP report at http://www.aacu.org/advocacy/leap/documents/GlobalCentury_final.pdf).
Knowledge of human cultures 
Critical Thinking, inquiry and analysis 
Written and Oral Communication
Scientific Literacy
Information Literacy
Civic knowledge or knowledge of democracy
Ethical reasoning

(2) Assessment of Student Learning Outcomes
Have you developed models for assessment of “Reacting” courses or individual games?  What instruments have you used to assess student learning in terms of the acquisition of content knowledge, skills, and other desirable outcomes?  Are these tools specific to a particular area of disciplinary studies? If so, how might they adapted to other curricular settings?

(3) Strategies for Institutional Implementation and Expansion
What strategies have been most successful for recruiting colleagues and/or implementing a “Reacting” program at your institution?  What factors contributed most to your success (administrative support, curricular space, enthusiastic colleagues)? What were the biggest challenges?

Roundtable Discussions will be organized over lunches on Friday and Saturday and will be limited to 10 participants.  Facilitators should plan on 60 minutes of discussion and are encouraged to use the roundtables as a format to discuss more targeted areas of inquiry, such as:
(1) Adapting “Reacting” to particular courses within the major (disciplines)
(2) Designing First-Year Seminars, Learning communities, and Interdisciplinary Courses
(3) Use of instructional technology
(4) Developing new games and other teaching resources

Note: All session facilitators at the summer institute will be responsible for the appropriate registration fees, travel, and lodging expenses.