Design Your Own Course

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Design Your Own Course!

• Conrad Schmidt-Bens
• Democratic Education Maastricht (DEMaas)
• Conference Academic Climate Change
• 15 Nov 2007

2
Agenda

• Round of introduction
• Presentation of DeMaas/DeCal
• Competences
• Brainstorming on possible courses
• Setting up democratic education in Wageningen
• ..and nationwide?

3
The UMpowerment conference (April 2007)

• Short-comings of current higher education
  (according to Wageningen students)
• Too theoretical
• Too much one-way communication
• Ineffective didactics
• Cultural/disciplinary bias (in-flexible)
• Insufficient focus on creativity
• Too narrow

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The UMpowerment conference (April 2007)

• Short-comings of current higher education
• lack of relevance
• lack of transparency
• lack of participation (despite PBL)
• Strategic response empowerment
• vision
• choice
• achievement

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Empowerment in Higher Education
Changing the system or building upon it? ?
Design your own course!
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DESIGN YOUR OWN COURSE!DeCal as source of
inspiration

• Characteristics
• Actors Processes
• Syllabus
• Examples
• History

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Characteristics

• Main idea
• Student-centered around YOUR interests,
  according to how YOU learn best
• Engagement vs content gain (quality vs quantity)
• Students are facilitators and not teachers your
  strength is the ability to understand your peers
• Role within the curriculum
• Comparable to free electives
• Credits on a pass/no pass basis

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Characteristics

• Main idea
• Student-centered around YOUR interests,
  according to how YOU learn best
• Engagement vs content gain (quality vs quantity)
• Students are facilitators and not teachers your
  strength is the ability to understand your peers
• Role within the curriculum
• Comparable to free electives
• Credits on a pass/no pass basis

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Actors Processes
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Syllabus

• Functions as guiding map
• Description of course content and course goals
• Must include clear and precise information on
• Assignments and deadlines
• Grading and attendance requirements
• Expected pre-requisites
• Contact info
• Make it fun
• Guest lectures, excursions, use of media, games,
  role play etc.

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Examples History of DeCal

• Examples
• The Simpsons philosophy (ArtsCulture)
• Stem-cell research (Science)
• Teach in Prison (Community Service)
• History
• Free speech movement ? emergence of DeCal
• Black panther first blow
• The founding teacher (1982)
• ICT revolution doubled the success (1980s/90s)
• Sex second blow (2002) ? 2 add. control
  mechanisms

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Competences Insights

• Competences
• Motivational skills
• how to stimulate participation without grades
• Implementation you gotta DO it
• Organisation skills
• Managing/coordinating
• Networking
• Marketing
• Synthesise your own interests
• with market interests
• Creativity/independence
• Insights into
• construction of academic in your field
• Ins and outs of learning

Relevant for academia
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What courses would you like to design?

• Possible stimulants
• Recent events in the media
• Recent trends in the academic debate
• Use of entertainment media

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Course ideas...

• Transition management
• Power structures
• Independence of media (behind the scene
  structures) impact on/of media
• Health product in food
• Behavioral impact environmental conscience
• A more sportive architecture
• Micro-reduction of science

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Setting up democratic education in Wageningen

• Identify key players and convince them
• Establish broad-based support among the students
• Set up board who lobbies, informs and coordinates
• Make it concrete asap gt pilot courses
• Communicate
• Berkeley and Stanford make it credible
• It seems cost-efficient
• Its a niche no vested interests are threatened
• Reputational effect
• Be sustainable

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A national Democratic Education network?
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Thank you very much!