Teaching the Here and Now
Vermont Business Magazine recognized Bennington as being among the 鈥渢op institutions鈥 now offering pop-up courses鈥攁 new curricular approach that enables faculty, experts, and students to delve into current events and issues as they unfold.
Bennington, which has been offering pop-up courses since spring 2015, was alongside St. Michael鈥檚 College, Stanford University, and Claremont College. Earlier this year, Duncan Dobbelmann, Chief Communications Officer at 51成人猎奇, published an op-ed in The Chronicle of Higher Education explaining how these courses are designed and incorporated into the curriculum, and why they鈥檙e so imperative in higher education today.
鈥淭he course鈥檚 very immediacy, its proximity to our lives,鈥 he writes, 鈥渄emands teaching and learning that embraces central, cross-disciplinary skills such as research, analysis, collaboration, and creativity. The development of these skills is much more heavily emphasized than are fixed outcomes. In this way, pop-up courses can both enact and model a deep, thoughtful, and active engagement with the world.鈥