by Nancy Johnson

I had an experience that completely filled my “Vygotsky” window of learning, from confirmation of current practices, to discovery of ways to improve my techniques, to encountering challenging new ways of thinking about teaching and learning. Attending the Lilly Conference was that experience.

At the Lilly Conference, I engaged in sessions focusing on student-center learning and effective ways to improve upon my course design, particularly in how I engage students in group-work. I have gained a greater understanding of the importance of the process of a student’s self-discovery of the content I am “teaching”. My challenge is to create activities and projects that engage students in their own process of learning through discovery both independently and in partnership with group members. How do I make group-work actually work? How do I create a classroom environment for students to identify and share what they already know, explore and discover what they want to learn? How do I make the learning meaningful so they transfer the knowledge and skills to their workplace? How do I design my class and course to achieve the desirable outcomes of student learning?

I realized that the support I needed to take on this challenge at the next level was a resource available to me all along. ACC’s Faculty Resources with on-campus Instructional Designers for face-to-face and online courses were alive, willing, and available. I didn’t need to do an online session or view a YouTube video. I could ask questions and get answers. I could have a real conversation with real people with my real problems and explore real options.