Small Meals and Small Teaching

Our starting point is that a student’s personal history and identities should not predict success in our classes. The data for introductory STEM courses at UVM indicates we are not living this shared goal, and we have work to do. This community of practice will come together to collaboratively work toward this goal within our own classes. We will meet over dinner, and use James Lang’s Small Teaching (2016) book as the launchpad for our work. The blurb for the book on Amazon says: “… James Lang presents a strategy for improving student learning with a series of small but powerful changes that make a big difference―many of which can be put into practice in a single class period.”

Our first meeting will develop community norms, and explore the breadth of what equity-minded teaching can look like. Subsequent meetings in the fall will provide a synopsis of topics from Lang’s book, and collaborative exploration of how we might apply these principles into our individual classrooms. The spring semester will focus on implementation, as we come together to discuss our experiences and support one another.

Copies of the book Small Teaching will be provided. While reading the book is encouraged, it is not expected, and synopses of the various methods proposed within will be provided.

This community is facilitated by
John Sangster, Senior Lecturer, Civil and Environmental Engineering.
Ph.D., Virginia Tech, Civil Engineering
Questions? john.sangster@uvm.edu

HHMI Communities of Practice website