Aria Chernik • aria.chernik@duke.edu | Kevin Hoch • kevin.hoch@duke.edu
Duke University • Fall 2023-Spring 2024
OVERVIEW
According to the World Economic Forum, eight out of the top ten skills necessary for career success are not content- or discipline-specific. Rather, these skills fall into categories such as emphasizing problem-solving, empathetic leadership, self-management, and interpersonal collaboration. Upon graduating from college, students are expected to know how to foster inclusivity, inspire empathetic leadership, navigate complexity and uncertainty, be compelling storytellers, and drive change and innovation. Unfortunately, higher education too often resembles an industrial model of learning characterized by discrete academic disciplines, lecture-based passive learning, rigid semester structures, and high-stakes memorization assessments. Although technology has transformed almost every single aspect of our daily lives, it has yet to disrupt education.
Current and future Duke students need responsive, learner-centered environments that align intellectual discovery and rigor, personal inquiry and passion, and creative and purposeful problem-solving with the critical challenges facing our world. That’s where you come in!
Our project-based team will begin our work by developing a broad understanding of future visions for education and then, more specifically, of some of the most promising and cutting-edge trends in transforming education: innovative assessments, credentials, and artificial intelligence.
Students will learn the theory and praxis of open design–an equity-centered research and innovation methodology–that is transferable across all disciplines. As part of this process, students will gain the skills necessary to: conduct extensive interviews to gain a deep understanding of the lived experiences of Duke students, faculty, and administrators as well as the perspectives of change agents in education; research effectively; communicate across media; ideate and test solutions; iterate quickly; and reflect incisively. Students will also create public-facing narratives and reports to share knowledge broadly.
LEARNING GOALS
- Comprehend the inequities and harms caused by traditional educational frameworks
- Critically analyze research across myriad sources from academic journals to social media
- Apply the theory and praxis of equity-centered design and innovation
- Participate meaningfully in design-based learning to create a prototype that addresses a critical problem in learning at Duke
- Help cultivate and sustain a psychologically safe, vibrant, and transparent learning community
- Demonstrate skills and mindsets relevant to collaborative leadership, active inclusivity, resiliency, and adaptability
- Communicate compellingly across media and audience
OPEN LEARNING ENVIRONMENT
We are committed to cultivating and sustaining an open learning culture founded on the following values:
- Transparency and access to information: We will seek to be transparent in our course design, procedures, and assessments. We will strive for transparency in our interpersonal interactions. Whenever it is pedagogically sound to do so, we will design our final deliverables to be public facing, open access, and licensed for reuse and adaptation.
- Active inclusivity: Our learning community is committed to active inclusivity. We are attentive to the reality that power inequities and discrimination manifest in myriad ways–both intentional and unintentional–that are destructive and inhumane, and we are committed to cultivating an inclusive and equitable learning community. We welcome every member of our learning community, and we demonstrate this by showing respect for each member’s identity, culture, and heritage.
- Collaboration and community: We will strive to create an open, empathetic learning environment where we actively encourage each other to accomplish our shared and individual goals. We acknowledge that asking for help can be difficult, and we will seek to be proactive in ensuring that each member of our community feels supported and empowered to do inspiring work.
- Iterative design and adaptability: Reflecting an ethos rooted in design methodologies, our learning environment will value and celebrate the courage, adaptability, and resiliency necessary to try, learn, and try again.
LEARNING COMMUNITY EXPECTATIONS
You should expect that we will work hard to create the open learning environment discussed above. If there are ways in which we can work together to improve your learning experience please talk with us. We genuinely welcome your comments and suggestions!
You should also expect that we will strive to be transparent, collaborative, and equitable throughout assessment and grading processes. Our expectation is that you will work hard to on your assignments and deliverables and contribute to our open learning environment. Please see the Assignments page of this website for information about this semester’s assignments and due dates.
On-time attendance at all meetings is mandatory. Please see the Assignments page of this website for more information about the attendance policy.
We understand that we all have a tremendous amount of information coming at us from myriad digital devices. Our expectation is that learners will make a good-faith effort to being fully present in our learning community and focusing on in-class discussions and work.
Your health and the heath of our community is a top priority. Thus, please do not come to class if you have symptoms related to COVID-19, have had a known exposure to COVID-19, or have tested positive for COVID-19. If any of these situations apply to you, you must follow university guidance related to the COVID-19 pandemic and current health and safety protocols.
DUKE COMMUNITY POLICIES + RESOURCES
Please take time to familiarize yourself with these important policies and resources. Please reach out to us with any questions. We are here to help!
- DukeReach | information about mental health and wellness
- Student Disability Access Office | information about academic accommodations
- Duke Compact
- Duke Community Standard
