September 2006  |  Volume 2, Issue 1

From the Desk of Robyn Gittleman
Director of the Experimental College

This past year proved to be another exciting and successful year for everyone involved with the Experimental College. We once again had excellent enrollment numbers and great instructors, and the graduating class on the senior survey rated their Experimental College experience “very highly,” with well over 60 percent of the class having taken ExCollege courses.

Along with our regular courses, Explorations and Perspectives proved to be very popular. You can read about a few of them in this issue of our on-line newsletter.
More from Robyn Gittleman...
 

Courses: A Foundation of the Ex College
Since 1964, the Ex College has offered courses to Tufts undergraduates, first drawing upon Tufts faculty and then on experts in the larger community. This past academic year, the Ex College offered 84 courses, 44 of which where taught by adjunct faculty hired from the greater Boston area.

Students take these classes in the Experimental College for a variety of reasons. Final course evaluations indicated that students appreciate the “uniqueness” of the subjects that are offered, the relevance and applicability of what was studied, and the special teaching techniques. The evaluations also singled out the willingness of our instructors to work with students – interactively in the classroom and individually outside of class.
More on ExCollege Courses...

The Best Way to Learn Is to Teach
by Sarah Joslyn, A '06

For so many people, the best way to learn is to teach, which is why I'm always so surprised at the lack of teaching opportunities most universities offer to undergraduates. The most teaching the average college student will do is a short class presentation or a tutoring job on the side.

Tufts, however, seems to be wise to the whole "teaching is learning" idea. Our university offers two excellent opportunities to teach our peers on campus - Explorations and Perspectives courses. I had the incredible opportunity to teach an Explorations course in the ExCollege last semester, and there are few experiences that have taught me so much.
Hear more from Sarah Joslyn about Teaching...
 

MSara Sobieraj, Assistant Professor of Sociology, and Rebecca Katz, A'07, talk during Opening Up The Classroom.

All Wired Up: The Virtues and Vices of a Connected Life
This year the Experimental College held its 16th annual Opening Up the Classroom event in November, as opposed to our usual time, in early March. We hosted forty faculty and forty students in the Carmichael Function Room, all of whom came together for an evening on this year's theme, All Wired Up: Virtues and Vices of a Connected Life.

Having been sent links to relevant readings in advance of the event to set a common base, the participants held informed discussions -- faculty and students together at each table -- about how college life and higher education have been affected by the growing presence of interlinked electronics devices, online social networks, and a lifestyle that demands attention 24/7/365.

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