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If Learning Involves Risk-Taking, Teaching Involves Trust-Building, Marilla Svinicki

Professional and Organizational Development Network in Higher Education: Archives

If Learning Involves Risk-taking, Teaching Involves Trust-building, by Marilla Svinicki, University of Texas-Austin

The premise of this article is that learning, like all other creative acts, will flourish in an atmosphere in which the learner is willing to take risks, and it is the task of the instructor to create such an atmosphere for learning. If we accept this view of learning as risk-taking, we can begin to confront the factors that discourage students from taking risks and build a class environment where learning becomes less of a risk, or where the risk-taking in learning becomes valued instead of dreaded. …