The CoLab is pleased to announce the programming slate for Fall 2025. The calendar represents a particular approach adopted this semester in conjunction with participation and programming in the Designing Forward Davis Grant. The grant investigates the intersection of instructional design and pedagogical practice, in particular the kind of emergent and unpredictable pedagogy we often practice at Plymouth State as part of cluster learning.
Over the summer, our cohort of 26 participants spent two months exploring and participating in the core modules of the CoLab’s Design Forward curriculum, spending time in (virtual) conversation with colleagues on topics related to teaching in different formats and modalities, the role of care and equity in higher education, and the challenges and promises of technology and tools. Designing for emergence, flexibility, and uncertainty was a thread that appeared again and again in participant conversations and portfolio pieces.
At University Days, we gathered in person and the CoLab decided to “practice what we preach” and attempt to build a faculty development program for this fall that is also emergent, flexible, and a bit unpredictable. To that end, each participant was asked to draft a syllabus for a “mini-course” for themselves, in which they identified specific goals, resources, and activities. We then used those syllabi to inspire a collection of programs to complement the emerging needs of our participants, and we’re now ready to open this up more broadly to the campus community.
I hope that our colleagues will explore the range of topics being explored — from generative AI to teaching in non-traditional settings to (of course) designing for emergence (how meta) — and find an event or two that aligns with their own goals.
We still have a few other program ideas percolating, so continue to check back over the next few weeks!
