In recognition of President Rosenberg's call to advance the "life of the mind" at FIU, the Workshop Series supports ongoing reflection and exchange about faculty efforts to implement contemplative practices into their teaching and scholarship.
Current Workshop
An Introduction to Contemplative Practices in the Classroom
In Contemplative Practices in Higher Education, authors Barbezat and Bush point out that the word "contemplate" is rooted in the practice of carving out a space for observation and reflection. How might we design courses that offer our students the time and space to reflect more deeply and foster more personal connections to our course concepts? In this workshop, Nick Vagnoni (Teaching Professor, Department of English) will share takeaways from his CAT Contemplative Practices in Education fellowship as well as his recent professional development leave, which focused on the role of mindfulness in teaching writing. The workshop will feature an overview of contemplative pedagogy. activities and approaches for disciplines ranging from literature to STEM, and insights from recent scholarship on trauma-informed mindfulness practices.
In an effort to accommodate schedules, we are offering two identical sessions on different dates.
Wednesday, January 25, 10:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., via Zoom
Thursday, January 26, 1:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m., via Zoom
Past Workshops
The Practice of Calling In, Not Calling Out in the Classroom
"Call-outs happen when people publicly shame each other online, at the office, in classrooms, or anywhere humans have a beef with one another. But I believe there are better ways of doing social justice work." — Loretta Ross, The New York Times, August 17, 2019
In this faculty workshop, Professor-activist Loretta Ross guides faculty in developing strategies for creating productive classroom discussions, even on the most contentious topics. Calling in requires us to engage in practices of deep listening and empathy and to not lose sight of the humanity of people with whom we might vehemently disagree.
This workshop provides faculty with tools for transforming our “calling out” culture into a “calling in” culture.
ABOUT LORETTA ROSS
Ross is an award-winning, nationally-recognized expert on racial justice, women's rights, and human rights. Her work emphasizes calling in as an effective way to challenge hate and fuel transformation. Ross has been featured in the New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, and TIME magazine, among other publications. Her forthcoming book, Calling in the Calling Out Culture, is scheduled to be released this year.