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Writing and Inquiry in the HUM Program, Part I

Writing and Inquiry in the HUM Program, Part I

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Writing and Inquiry in UNC Asheville’s HUM Program, Part I Writing is the circulatory system of a liberal arts education. It extends into all parts of the curriculum, oxygenating and sustaining learning in every discipline. Writing as learning is not identical to learning to write, though. The Buddha once said that his teaching is like a raft: once you reach the opposite shore you do not continue to carry the raft with you (Alagaddupama Sutta). Learning to write is focusing…

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Shifting from Information towards Inquiry

Shifting from Information towards Inquiry

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When we editors coalesced around the idea of inquiry as the fundamental student learning objective, we began to think of ways to prompt it in the Readers, primarily in the introductions. We imagined several components that would deliver information—timelines, snapshot boxes of dates, locations, genres—and others that would provide “entry points” and invite an active engagement with the reading. Once we had identified those components, the next step was to write or rewrite introductions using them. I chose a rewrite….

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Questions About Questions: How Inquiry Changed My First Week of Classes

Questions About Questions: How Inquiry Changed My First Week of Classes

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The first week of classes has flown by in its usual whirlwind – meeting new students, seeing colleagues after some time, and lining up logistics. While my google calendar slowly turns into a block of dark crimson as it becomes encroached by various committee responsibilities amidst class timings and office hours, this crimson tide is offset by the inherent potential of beginning a class once again from the top. This do-over intentionally brings the knowledge of previous experiential iterations forward…

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How Survey Data is Supporting Our Curriculum Design: Five Key Points

How Survey Data is Supporting Our Curriculum Design: Five Key Points

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The editorial team is hard at work this summer in the thick of planning the possible structure and features for the new Readers. This is in preparation for wider faculty discussions about which content will be included within this structure that will be happening this fall. It is an opportune moment to describe how some of the data from the surveys has shaped our editorial conversations and initial decisions. This is an annotated ‘executive summary’ for those who are interested…

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It’s a big open sky: the potential of struggle as a core value in shaping inquiry-based learning

It’s a big open sky: the potential of struggle as a core value in shaping inquiry-based learning

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Whenever I am in Iowa visiting family, one of the most striking features is the big sky full of clouds hovering over fields upon fields of corn and beans. The horizon is so vast, your eyes have to scan panorama-style to take in the whole skyline, instead of being able to take it all in with your head not moving. In those big billowy, leisurely clouds I begin to see shapes that previously were not present but emerge in the…

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