Workshop

Reacting to the Past pre-conference workshop

Dr. John M. Burney, associate provost for curriculum and faculty development at Drake University and a member of the Reacting to the Past editorial board, will present a pre-conference workshop on this exciting role-playing pedagogy. The workshop will introduce interested faculty and staff to an approach to teaching courses that gets students to wrestle with classic philosophical, religious, or political texts and substantive issues by playing roles in elaborate games.

Reacting to the Past was initially designed by Professor Mark Carnes at Barnard College in New York, has been featured in articles in The Chronicle of Higher Education and Change and received the Theodore Hesburgh award as the outstanding pedagogical initiative for 2004. New games are now being developed by the Reacting Consortium that includes 25 institutions.

Participants in this seminar will learn the essentials of Reacting pedagogy by playing a mini-version of the French Revolution game. After getting a sense of the student experience and discussing the assessment of learning that takes place in the games, we will discuss their use in a variety of courses, including first year and honors seminars. Participants will learn how to use the games for developing critical thinking and persuasive writing and speaking, and explore the possible uses of Reacting on their own campuses.

No content expertise or prior preparation is necessary. Participants will receive a copy of the student text and instructions when they arrive at the workshop. Through our discussions and multiple examples we will provide information on the wider variety of games in history, religion, literature, and science now under development by the Reacting Consortium.

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Reacting to the Past pre-conference workshop Dr. John M. Burney, associate provost for curriculum and faculty development at Drake University and a member of the Reacting to the Past editorial board, will present a pre-conference workshop on this exciting role-playing pedagogy. The workshop will introduce interested faculty and staff to an approach to teaching courses that gets students to wrestle with classic philosophical, religious, or political texts and substantive issues by playing roles in elaborate games. Reacting to the Past was initially designed by Professor Mark Carnes at Barnard College in New York, has been featured in articles in The Chronicle of Higher Education and Change and received the Theodore Hesburgh award as the outstanding pedagogical initiative for 2004. New games are now being developed by the Reacting Consortium that includes 25 institutions. Participants in this seminar will learn the essentials of Reacting pedagogy by playing a mini-version of the French Revolution game. After getting a sense of the student experience and discussing the assessment of learning that takes place in the games, we will discuss their use in a variety of courses, including first year and honors seminars. Participants will learn how to use the games for developing critical thinking and persuasive writing and speaking, and explore the possible uses of Reacting on their own campuses. No content expertise or prior preparation is necessary. Participants will receive a copy of the student text and instructions when they arrive at the workshop. Through our discussions and multiple examples we will provide information on the wider variety of games in history, religion, literature, and science now under development by the Reacting Consortium.