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Curriculum and Instruction

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

Critical thinking

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Full-Text Articles in Education

Writing Renewal Retreats: The Scholarly Writer, Contemplative Practice, And Scholarly Productivity, Edward Brantmeier, Cathryn Molloy, Jennifer Byrne Jan 2017

Writing Renewal Retreats: The Scholarly Writer, Contemplative Practice, And Scholarly Productivity, Edward Brantmeier, Cathryn Molloy, Jennifer Byrne

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

This article offers an exploratory case study of a program for faculty that blends contemplative practices, scholarly productivity, and renewal of faculty as writers at a retreat in a natural setting. We share faculty learning outcomes, logistics, a retreat agenda, and evaluation data from four writing renewal retreats conducted over two years to present initial insight into a contemplative approach to writing retreats that fosters a connection to self, to scholarship, and to a community of writers—key elements of a successful writing life. Through critical reflection on the role of contemplative practices, scholarly productivity, and faculty well-being, we offer a …


The Use Of Song To Open An Educational Development Workshop: Exploratory Analysis And Reflections, Lawrence Lesser, Song An, Daniel Tillman Jan 2016

The Use Of Song To Open An Educational Development Workshop: Exploratory Analysis And Reflections, Lawrence Lesser, Song An, Daniel Tillman

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

Song has been used by faculty of many disciplines in their classrooms and, to a lesser extent, by educational developers in workshops. This paper shares and discusses a new song (about an instructor’s evolving openness to alternatives to lecture only teaching) and its novel use to open an educational development workshop. Self reported participant data from an exploratory survey suggest that the song was most effective in reducing stress as well as in increasing motivation, morale, engagement, and connection. Practical implications and implementation considerations are discussed regarding the song as well as related creative work.