Category: Partners

Schools in the Liberal Arts Consortium for Online Learning

Vassar’s Ben Ho on games for teaching Economics

LACOL

In this clip, Ben Ho, Associate Professor of Economics at Vassar College, shares his thoughts on economic motivations, learning theory and the use of games to teach economics as part of a liberal arts curriculum.  Prof. Ho is a behavioral economist who uses economic tools like game theory and experiments to understand social systems such as apologies, identity signaling, and climate concerns.  This talk was part of a series of conversations on innovative use of digital and online approaches for teaching and learning at the 2014 consortium-wide workshop held at Pomona College.

https://youtu.be/giyBHZKy8po

Prof. Ben Ho discusses games for teaching economics

Ho sees students responding very positively to the use of games for class, and this is reflected in their learning.   He says:

I have always considered classroom games an essential part of my pedagogy. It gives students a way to fully engage in strategic thinking. Games like MobLab greatly simplify the task of implementing games in class, its highly polished presentation impresses students, and has been the most positively commented upon change to my teaching, with lots of unsolicited positive feedback both after class and in course evaluations.

 

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Haverford’s recent Teaching with Technology Forum featured eight faculty presentations

LACOL

 

Tetsuya Sato, Director of Japanese Language Program, discusses student projects.
Tetsuya Sato, Director of Japanese Language Program, discusses student projects in 3rd year Japanese. 
Top photo: John Dougherty, Associate Professor of Computer Science shows how his students use Voicethread to present their work

LACOL was proud to co-sponsor Haverford’s Teaching with Technology Forum for Fall 2015 which was organized by Instructional & Information Technology Services (IITS).  Eight Haverford College faculty members shared their approaches and experiments in using digital teaching and learning tools that help to increase student engagement with course material, their classmates, and faculty.  Hiroyo Saito, Director of IITS’s Instructional Technology Services and her team work closely with faculty in planning this semi-annual event.

Digital tools discussed by faculty included

  • Zaption
  • VoiceThread
  • Glossary in Moodle
  • Google Sites

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Dr. Randy Bass speaks at Carleton about a future design for learning

LACOL

In the fall of 2015, Carleton College’s Learning and Teaching Center and Information Technology Services hosted Randy Bass, Georgetown’s Vice Provost for Education, and a leading thinker on innovation in higher education.  In this clip from his campus talk, Dr. Bass invites faculty to look proactively and efficiently at the evolving Liberal Arts landscape.

https://vimeo.com/140367009

According to Bass:

One of the most important things for any institution, especially ones that know that their survival isn’t threatened by the changes in the ecosystem, is to try to be a model of reinvention, to try to reimagine what it is that we most deeply value that is now existing in the world. The most important design question to ask is what kind of experimentation does an institution need to do so that institution can live fully in its time.

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Carleton’s President Poskanzer speaks about LACOL’s founding goals and vision

LACOL

In June 2014, LACOL held its first consortium-wide workshop. Teams of faculty, librarians and academic technologists from all eight LACOL colleges gathered together on the Pomona College campus to share ideas and explore collaborative experiments in online and hybrid approaches to teaching and learning for the liberal arts. In this clip, President Steven G. Poskanzer of Carleton College welcomes the group, and shares his thoughts on LACOL’s promise.

https://youtu.be/qs2poMOG6A4

President Steve Poskanzer of Carleton College welcomes workshop participants

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Bryn Mawr College

LACOL


bmc_bannerThe mission of Bryn Mawr College is to provide a rigorous education and to encourage the pursuit of knowledge as preparation for life and work. Bryn Mawr teaches and values critical, creative and independent habits of thought and expression in an undergraduate liberal arts curriculum for women and in coeducational graduate programs in arts and sciences and social work and social research. Bryn Mawr seeks to sustain a community diverse in nature and democratic in practice, for we believe that only through considering many perspectives do we gain a deeper understanding of each other and the world.

Since its founding in 1885, the College has maintained its character as a small residential community which fosters close working relationships between faculty and students. The faculty of teacher/scholars emphasizes learning through conversation and collaboration, primary reading, original research and experimentation. Our cooperative relationship with Haverford College enlarges the academic opportunities for students and their social community. Our active ties to Swarthmore College and the University of Pennsylvania, and the proximity of the city of Philadelphia further extend the opportunities available at Bryn Mawr.

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Washington and Lee University

LACOL

Washington and Lee UniversityFounded in 1749, Washington and Lee University is named for two men who played pivotal roles in the University’s history: George Washington, whose generous endowment of $20,000 in 1796 helped the fledgling school (then known as Liberty Hall Academy) survive, and Robert E. Lee, who provided innovative educational leadership during his transformational tenure as president of Washington College from 1865 to 1870.

The University is located in the historic city of Lexington, Virginia (population 7,000), a warm, welcoming and historic college town located in the Great Valley of Virginia between the Blue Ridge and the Allegheny Mountains. W&L’s 35 principal buildings include the picturesque Washington College group forming the Colonnade facing Lee Chapel, where Robert E. Lee is buried. The Colonnade and Lee Chapel are National Historic Landmarks.

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Guest scholars join the discussion circle at Williams College: Using Skype in the classroom to connect data to creators

LACOL
One Topics in Neuroscience discussion connected students at Williams College with both the first and senior authors of the assigned research paper at the University of Bern and McGill University.
One Topics in Neuroscience discussion connected students at Williams College with both the first and senior authors of the assigned research paper at the University of Bern and McGill University.

When undergraduate biology students read scientific papers, they see a tightly woven story connecting a set of data. However, not evident—and just as important for young scientists to recognize—are the ideas behind the experimental design and the challenges, failures, and triumphs of the scientists running and writing about the experiments. At Williams College, Associate Professor of Biology Matt Carter and his students learn about this hidden world of biology research by engaging authors of the papers they read in classroom discussions using Skype videoconferencing.

After reading the research paper on their own, Topics in Neuroscience senior seminar students spent the first 45 minutes of the three hour long class time discussing the paper and generating a list of potential questions to ask the authors. Then, the authors joined the discussion by Skype using laptops and a room microphone. According to Carter:

Matthew Carter, Assistant Professor of Biology at Williams.
Matthew Carter, Assoc. Professor of Biology at Williams.

This part of the discussion was not scripted or organized and became a free flowing conversation about science, experimental work, and personal engagement with the process. Students were able to ask spontaneous questions such as, “Which experiment in the paper was the most satisfying?” This question triggered a fascinating and lengthy answer about how difficult it was to carry out a key experiment and how tremendous they payoff was when it was achieved. Such insights are not contained published paper and would only emerge in this type of discussion session.

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About Carleton College

LACOL

Carleton_CollegeFounded in 1866, Carleton College is a small, private liberal arts college in the historic river town of Northfield, Minnesota. Best known for its academic excellence and warm, welcoming campus community, Carleton offers 37 majors and 15 concentrations in the arts, humanities, natural sciences, and social sciences.

Carleton College is committed to providing a true liberal arts education, a curriculum that challenges our students to learn broadly and think deeply. Instead of training for one narrow career path, Carleton students develop the knowledge and skills to succeed in any walk of life.
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About Haverford College

LACOL

10.22.13_haverford_153_0754Haverford is one of America’s leading liberal arts colleges, a close-knit intellectual community that combines the Quaker values of dignity, tolerance and respect with a rigorous academic program.

The Campus
Our serene campus, located just outside Philadelphia, is a beautiful and stimulating environment:

  • 200 acres of award-winning architecture and landscaping
  • more than 50 academic, athletic and residential buildings
  • a nationally recognized arboretum with 400 species of trees and shrubs, a 3.5-acre duck pond, gardens and wooded areas.
  • Recent campus additions include The Marian E. Koshland Integrated Natural Sciences Center and The Douglas B. Gardner ’83 Integrated Athletic Center and two new student residences: Kim Hall and Tritton Hall.

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About Amherst College

LACOL

Amherst_CollegeSince its founding in 1821, Amherst College has become one of the premier liberal arts colleges in the nation, enrolling some 1,800 talented, energetic and diverse young men and women. This section of the site provides a general introduction to the college.

Amherst College is located in Amherst, Massachusetts, a town of 35,000 people in the western part of the state. The college’s 1,000-acre campus is adjacent to downtown Amherst.

Amherst College educates men and women of exceptional potential from all backgrounds so that they may seek, value, and advance knowledge, engage the world around them, and lead principled lives of consequence.

Amherst brings together the most promising students, whatever their financial need, in order to promote diversity of experience and ideas within a purposefully small residential community. Working with faculty, staff, and administrators dedicated to intellectual freedom and the highest standards of instruction in the liberal arts, Amherst undergraduates assume substantial responsibility for undertaking inquiry and for shaping their education within and beyond the curriculum.

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About Swarthmore College

LACOL

swarthmore_logoSince its founding in 1864, Swarthmore College has given students the knowledge, insight, skills, and experience to become leaders for the common good. Offering a liberal arts and engineering curriculum, the College is private, yet open to all regardless of financial need. It is also decidedly global in outlook, drawing students from around the world and all 50 states. The diversity of perspectives represented by Swarthmore students, faculty, and staff – including different viewpoints, identities, and histories – contributes to the community’s strong sense of open dialogue and engagement with ideas and issues.
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About Vassar College

LACOL

0019_12_04_TT_0756
Chapel. Photo credit: Vassar College. All rights reserved.
Founded in 1861, Vassar College is a highly selective, residential, coeducational liberal arts college. Consistently ranked among the top liberal arts colleges in the country, Vassar is renowned for pioneering achievements in education, for its long history of curricular innovation, and for the beauty of its campus.

Location
In the scenic Hudson Valley, 75 miles north of New York City, in Poughkeepsie (area population, about 100,000). Vassar is in a residential area three miles from the city center.

Campus
1,000 picturesque acres ranging from the manicured lawns and formal gardens of the main campus to the meadows and woodlands of the Vassar Farm. Over 100 academic and residential buildings ranging in style from collegiate gothic to modernist, including two National Historic Landmarks.
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About Williams College

LACOL

Williams COllegeEstablished in 1793 with funds bequeathed by Colonel Ephraim Williams, the college is private, residential, and liberal arts, with graduate programs in the history of art and in development economics. The undergraduate enrollment is approximately 2,000 students.

The student-faculty ratio is 7:1.

Williams admits U.S. students without regard to their ability to pay. The college meets 100 percent of every admitted student’s demonstrated financial need for four years. More than half of all Williams students receive financial aid from the college.

There are three academic divisions (languages and the arts, social sciences, and science and mathematics) that encompass 25 departments, 36 majors, and several concentrations and special programs. The academic year consists of two four-course semesters plus a one-course January term.

Fraternities were phased out beginning in 1962. Coeducation was adopted in 1970.

The school color is purple. The mascot is the Purple Cow. Sports teams are called “Ephs.” Read More