Center for Liberal Arts and Sciences Pedagogy Publishes First Issue of its Student-Centered Teaching and Learning Journal 

The  Institute for Writing and Thinking’s Center for Liberal Arts and Sciences Pedagogy (IWT CLASP) recently published the first issue of its IWT CLASP Journal: Studies in Student-Centered Teaching and Learning around the Globe. The Spring 2024 issue of this new annual publication features the work of the 2023 cohort of CLASP Fellows, reflecting on student-centered, writing-based teaching and learning at sites around the world. Most of the classroom research and scholarship detailed in the journal was conducted on campuses outside the US and was part of the Fellows’ capstone projects. The journal features 14 articles from faculty at 13 different institutions.

Now in its third year, the fellowship is a two-year professional development opportunity for early to mid-career faculty who demonstrate cutting-edge pedagogical leadership. The group of Fellows featured in the volume immersed themselves in training for two years that helped them to apply student-centered, writing-rich teaching methods crucial to liberal arts and sciences education. Fellows implemented the methods learned through these trainings in their classes at a range of institutions, analyzed and wrote about the results, which they are now sharing with their peers. 

The focus of the program and the publication is to help grow a global community of faculty deeply committed to student-centered pedagogical innovation. “The goal of the journal is to broaden the scope of scholarship on student-centered teaching and learning. It aims to promote work which is context-specific while offering practicable conclusions for readers around the globe,” says erica kaufman, Director of IWT CLASP.

Foregrounding context is one of the most important aspects of the journal. In "How Do Teachers and Students Conceptualize Writing?" Mayur Suresh at SOAS University of London interprets his research through the lens of academic essay-writing practices in an undergraduate law degree program that features large classes. The piece provides illuminating discourse between faculty and students concerning writing within the context of departmental and institutional frames at SOAS.

In "Connected and Significant Learning through Meaningful Writing Experiences," Romina de Jong surveys the students at Parami University, a small liberal arts college in Myanmar, obtaining perspectives on online teaching and learning that are not usually researched. The political dangers and technical issues Parami students face, due to the institution’s fully online nature in an authoritarian environment, differentiate this from other theses in the collection.

Lynn Clausen’s "In the Field with Writing and Thinking (Literally)" progresses through two semesters at Black Mountains College in Wales, providing an enlightening longitudinal approach to the subject of writing-based teaching and learning.

Juan Carlos Durán-Uribe’s "Spotting the Central Legal Issue and Reflecting On It" uses deep, controlled research to investigate the Writing in the Zones technique as it is used at Universidad de los Andes in Colombia. Significantly, the paper includes original Spanish language responses from students enrolled in a 16-week, problem-based learning, undergraduate law course.
Read all of the thesis articles by clicking through to the journal.

Access the full journal here.

Post Date: 06-27-2024