Institute for Writing and Thinking Presents
Fail Better: Writing, Thinking, and Risk-Taking in the American Classroom
This conference will focus on a different definition of failure, one that examines the positive connotations of the word. Success merely tells us something is working—it doesn’t necessarily move us forward, nor teach us how to sustain challenging intellectual work. We learn from our mistakes, from trial and error, therefore failure can be seen as productive, a chance to figure out why something doesn’t work and then make it work. Failure is an opportunity to bring in ‘wonder,’ productive speculative thinking, and it opens up avenues to what we don’t yet know. This conference will return to Ann Berthoff’s important notion that “we need to teach ourselves and our students…to recognize the value of not knowing what your thesis statement is and thus discovering the uses of chaos.” In other words, how can our work with students emphasize not the right or wrong answer but the learning process?
The Institute’s writing-based teaching practices can help administrators and teachers experience the kinds of teaching that highlight the process of learning. IWT practices help students understand how to pursue an idea and work through whatever roadblocks he or she might encounter—to take intellectual risks—
in the process of reaching a “right” answer.
8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
BARD COLLEGE
Fee: $250 (includes morning coffee, lunch, and anthology of texts)
PLEASE CLICK HERE TO REGISTER
For more information, call 845-758-7484, e-mail [email protected],
or visit https://www.bard.edu/iwt/.
Location: Olin Humanities and Olin Language Center