2019 Open Classroom Weeks
Sit in on a colleague's course, athletic practice, or library workshop. Learn a new approach to teaching. Find connections across disciplines and expertise. Start a conversation with colleagues that share your passion for teaching and commitment to student learning.
Starting Monday, September 23rd and running through Friday, October 4th, Brown faculty, coaches, and librarians will open their classrooms, athletic practices and workshops to colleagues interested in exploring teaching strategies and techniques across the university.
If you have any questions regarding Open Classroom Weeks, please email: [email protected]
Developing Habits of Writers & Scholars
Course: Introduction to Creative Nonfiction: Writing the World (ENGL0930)
Who is the instructor? Beth Taylor
What will I experience? The intimacy of online discussion assignments where students learn to apply a greater awareness about the ethical complexities of writing about themselves, loved ones, and others for a public audience.
What is the open date and time? Once registration is complete, we will send you information to access the Canvas course site along with an optional date and time for the instructor-led Zoom chat.
Registration for this course is closed.
Note for participants: This course ran during the 2019 Winter session. You are encouraged to focus on "The Problem and Ethics of ‘Truth’" module, but welcome to explore to entire course. Participants will receive access information once the registration period closes.
Course: Citations Management with Zotero workshop
Who is the instructor? Ashley Champagne
What will I experience? Want to help your students learn to manage citations effectively and efficiently? Learn how librarians use interactive workshops to help students learn to incorporate citation management practices into their scholarly habits. This workshop focuses on organizing, managing, and using citation collections in Zotero. More workshop information here.
What is the open date and time? Wednesday, September 25, 4:00 – 5:00 PM.
Registration for this course is closed.
Note for participants: Participants will receive an email in advance with information on how to download, install, and use Zotero software in advance of the workshop.
Course: The Teaching and Practice of Writing: Writing Fellows Program (ENGL 1190M)
Who is the instructor? Austin Jackson and Charles Carroll
What will I experience? Best practices in Writing Fellows pedagogy.
What is the open date and time? Thursday, September 26, 1:00 – 2:20 PM.
Registration for this course is closed.
Note for participants: You are encouraged to participate. Participants will receive the class reading for the September 26 session in advance.
Engaging Students in Smaller Classrooms
Course: Reimagining Capitalism (POLS 1200)
Who are the instructors? Richard Locke and Ben Armstrong
What will I experience? Case discussion of Patagonia’s corporate sustainability strategy
What is the open date and time? Tuesday, September 24, 8:30 – 10:00 AM.
Registration for this course is closed.
Course: Intermediate German (GRMN 0300)
Who is the instructor? Jane Sokolosky
What will I experience? How students express themselves at the intermediate level in German; how they share information, discuss and learn about art and history, all in German.
What is the open date and time? Wednesday, September 25, 10:00 - 10:50 AM.
Registration for this course is closed.
Course: Paris: Sacred and Profane, Imagined and Real (HIST 1272E)
Who is the instructor? Charles Carroll
What will I experience? A dynamic/interactive lecture on the ways in which gender shaped the experience of inhabitants of Paris (particularly female immigrants to the city) in the thirteenth century.
What is the open date and time? Wednesday, September 25th, 2:00 – 2:50 PM.
Registration for this course is closed.
Course: Elementary to Intermediate Chinese for Advanced Beginners (CHIN 0350)
Who is the instructor? Lulei Su
What will I experience? I will use the "Bookshelf Method" to alternate task-based instruction, jigsaw puzzle activity, and small-group discussions in a 50-min class.
What is the open date and time? Thursday, October 3, 12:00 – 12:50 PM.
Registration for this course is closed.
Note for participants: Even If you have little or no knowledge of Mandarin Chinese, you will be able to observe how the structure of the class has been designed to facilitate student interaction and deep learning.
Engaging Students in Large Classrooms
Course: Mind, Brain and Behavior: An Interdisciplinary Approach (CLPS 0010)
Who is the instructor? Elena Festa
What will I experience? Presentation of course material and eliciting responses from students using TopHat response system
What is the open date and time? Wednesday, September 25, 11:00 – 11:50 AM.
Registration for this course is closed.
Course: Humans, Nature, and the Environment: Addressing Environmental Change in the 21st Century (ENVS 0110)
Who is the instructor? Dawn King
What will I experience? A 70-student engaged lecture course focused on encouraging student questions through case studies and media.
What is the open date and time? Friday, September 27, 10:00 – 10:50 AM.
Registration for this course is closed.
Course: Neural Systems (NEUR 1030)
Who is the instructor? Monica Linden
What will I experience? Engaging Lecture
What is the open date and time? Tuesday, October 1, 10:30 – 11:50 AM.
Registration for this course is closed.
Problem Solving and Data Analysis
Course: Biostatistics and Applied Data Analysis I
Who is the instructor? Annie Gjelsvik
What will I experience? We will be working on how to operationalize a concept using data. As a part of the course students are working on individual projects where they use real public health data to answer a public health question. This interactive lecture provides examples and discussion on how to implement this process in their data.
What is the open date and time? Thursday, September 26, 1:00 – 2:20 PM.
Registration for this course is closed.
Course: Analytical Mechanics (PHYS 0070)
Who is the instructor? Jim Valles
What will I experience? A lecture with a demonstration and instructions to students and then students working on a problem with feedback and discussion
What is the open date and time? Monday, September 30, 9:00 – 9:50 AM.
Registration for this course is closed.
Note for participants: While the problem to be discussed is very mathematical, observers do not need specialized mathematical knowledge. The instructional focus is on coaching students through intentional interactions with the instructor and TAs.
Course: The Theory and Teaching of Problem Solving (UNIV 1110)
Who is the instructor? Christina Smith
What will I experience? In this interactive class session, we will discuss traditional learning theories and how they relate to teaching and problem solving. Students and observers will reflect on their teaching and learning philosophy through small and large group discussions.
What is the open date and time? Tuesday, October 1, 9:00 – 10:20 AM.
Registration for this course is closed.
Course: Varsity Water Polo Practice
Who is the coach? Felix Mercado
What will I experience? Instructions and possible film work with an athletic team preparing for competition.
What is the open date and time? Wednesday, September 25, 4:00 – 6:00 PM.
Registration for this course is closed.
Course: Genetics (BIOL 0470)
Who is the instructor? Mark Johnson
What will I experience? A Genetics problem-solving clinic with facilitated group problem solving.
What is the open date and time? Thursday, October 3, 2:00 – 4:00 PM.
Note for participants: It not required to stay for the entire clinic.
Registration for this course is closed.
Open Classroom Weeks Lunch
Please join us for a lunch to celebrate the end of Open Classroom Weeks. Together with students, we will consider the kinds of teaching practices critical to student learning in the Open Curriculum.
When: 10/03/2019 - 12:00PM - 12:50PM
Where: The Sheridan Center, Science Library, room 720
Register now