Learning & Society
You are invited to be part of a sustained discussion project about Learning & Society
Dear friends,
We are interrupting our weekly toolkit activity schedule to share with you an exciting opportunity to engage in sustained discussion with educators about the future of learning in our society. Participants will be awarded a $500 honorarium. The deadline to apply is November 30th, 2023. If someone you know might be interested, please share this opportunity with them.
IF Sustained Discussion Program
The Interactivity Foundation believes that a healthy democracy depends on citizens who have a passion for lifelong learning. We have been conducting discussions with invited groups of people to explore what each of us can do to become a lifelong learner and also to encourage and nurture lifelong learning in others.
The Learning & Society Project is one of four sustained discussion projects that the Interactivity Foundation will be supporting in 2024. Each project explores an area of concern that has societal importance.
In the past, these projects convened discussion panels over the course of a year and resulted in community created discussion guidebooks. However, we paused these projects during the pandemic and are excited to relaunch this program with a focus on experimentation and innovation. We are experimenting with different discussion processes and we are inviting discussion participants to reimagine with us the final outcomes or work product of these sustained discussion projects.
Learning & Society Project Description and Current Status
IF President, Jack Byrd, Jr., is organizing the third round of sustained discussions on the topic of Learning & Society. This project is focused on exploring and expanding how we nurture learning.
To date, he has facilitated two discussion series:
Learning and Society – Looking Back. This discussion involved those who were at the end of their careers or in post-careers. We wanted to identify what was critical to their learning journeys over the course of a long career.
Learning and Society – Looking Forward. This discussion involved those currently in college or early in their careers. We wanted to identify where they saw their lifelong learning taking them.
The next stage of this project is to focus on the insights of educators. We are interested in convening a group of faculty who could explore together what it takes to prepare students for a lifelong learning journey. Included in this discussion is an exploration of how faculty help students discover their talents and how they might help to nurture the development of that talent.
Logistical Details
This will be an asynchronous discussion, using a private LinkedIn discussion group.
The discussions will be conducted over six weeks from January 22, 2024 – March 1, 2024.
An honorarium of $500 will be provided for those who fully participate.
We strongly encourage participants to use casual, everyday speech. We are not looking for an academic debate. There will be no need to cite sources or refer to scholarly texts. We are hoping for participants to share their lived experiences, reflections, and hopes as an educator.
Participation involves the following activities, which may seem like a major time commitment but most past participants found that they can contribute in small chunks of time.
Responding to a discussion prompt each Monday that focuses on the faculty role in fostering lifelong learning
Commenting on the responses of others each Tuesday
Reacting to a discussion prompt each Wednesday on the faculty role in helping students discover and nurture their talent
Commenting on the responses of others each Thursday/Friday
Sharing with us a learning/talent discovery story at the conclusion of the discussion
What will you gain from the discussion?
You will be sharing with a small community of educators. This is an opportunity to hear and learn from the experiences of others.
You will be dedicating time for guided personal reflection— an invaluable investment in your own learning and development.
You will be invited to share your thoughts on the next steps for this project. You will have a voice in shaping the potential outcome of this project and the IF Sustained Discussion Program.
If you are an educator and interested in being part of this discussion series, please complete the following form by Thursday, November 30th at 5 pm EST. The form should take no longer than five minutes to complete. Selected participants will be notified by Friday, December 14th.
If you are not a formal educator but would be interested in joining a future round of discussions on the topic of Learning & Society, please complete the following submission form. We will reach out when we start to form the next discussion group for the discussion series.
Upcoming Events
The Interactivity Foundation is organizing a 3-part interactive, small group conversation series, exploring Who are We The People — and who is being pushed out? Join us for the second session this Friday, November 3 at 2pm (EDT). Invite your students! Register here.
Looking forward to collaborating,
Shannon Wheatley Hartman and the Collaborative Discussion Team