IN-PERSON: Learning. Life. Work

Abstract

American college students increasingly report challenges with engagement, motivation, and mental health. As the field of higher education renegotiates its value proposition and role in upholding oppressive social systems, students are asking for more from faculty and administrators: more relevance in course content, more authentic and useful assessments, more compassion and educational flexibility in the face of negative life events, and more opportunity to apply classroom lessons to real-world concerns. While universities are eager to expand experiential and cross-disciplinary offerings to meet student demands, most faculty have been trained in singular disciplines and many struggle to innovate within well-meaning but slow-moving institutions. One important site of educational change is the individual classroom – the space where teachers have the greatest capacity to experiment and innovate in collaboration with their students. This paper will explore how multimodal assignments featuring embodiment, creativity and student choice can lead to enhanced student engagement and pleasure in the learning process. Using two college classrooms as case-studies – an honors level environmental justice class and a general education public speaking class – the author will analyze the most popular assignment in each class and suggest a set of curriculum design tools for integrating sensory, creative, autonomous, collaborative and analytic elements into complex learning tasks that college students find meaningful and enjoyable.