Studio Teaching: Examples

Studio teaching is an approach to teaching that affects not just one class period, but an entire semester. To see how it works in practice requires looking at an instructor's course goals and the way the instructor seeks to reach those goals by having students work in groups as they take charge of their own learning.

Mineralogy: a sophomore level course at the University of North Dakota

The mineralogy course at the University of North Dakota meets two times a week for 3 hours each time. Students hear few lectures, and instead spend almost all their time working in groups. Besides scheduled class time, students work on their own -- often evening or weekends -- to complete projects. The instructor's goals are for students to learn the basics of mineralogy, and also for them to develop habits of the mind that will help them become better learners. The basic nature and philosophy of the course is briefly presented in the instructor's first day comments (link below).
     · What the instructor says to students on the first day of class
     · Basic course information
     · Outline of class topics
     · Complete description of class activities