This fellowship offers a small group of faculty from across disciplines a year-long opportunity to deepen and broaden the practice of applying the arts to a variety of learning outcomes. Dr. Nan Mullenneaux, TWP Senior Program Coordinator for LAMP, will facilitate monthly, two-hour, in-person interactive workshops and one virtual zoom workshop from September 2024 through May 2025. Fellows will explore how activities based on improvisation, theater games, creative writing, art, movement, and music can enhance their courses and curricula. In each session participants will play a variety of arts-based games and then explore how these exercises can be applied to their specific classes. Fellows can also expect to enjoy the energizing and restorative effects of creative play. The year will culminate in a Playful Pedagogy workshop (90 minutes) designed and facilitated by the fellows.
Infusing arts- and play-based pedagogy into courses, across disciplines, can:
- Increase critical thinking and deepen intellectual inquiry
- Enhance retention of course material
- Help faculty and students navigate sensitive topics
- Communicate concepts more clearly
- Aid connection, collaboration, and community building
- Help faculty assess student understanding
- Encourage risk-taking for students and faculty
- Frame feedback in more productive ways
- Promote emotional resilience for students and faculty
- Increase students’ ability to focus
- Enliven and energize classroom dynamics
No arts or performance background needed. All activities are geared for the beginner as well as the experienced “artist.”