Episode 27: Authentic Learning and the Wisconsin Idea
Guest: Professor Mike Wagner
In this episode, Molly Harris talks with Mike Wagner, William T. Evjue Distinguished Chair for the Wisconsin Idea in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication. Mike shares how he uses assignments and group projects to engage students in issues relevant to their lives, while building students’ practical skills. Listen for inspiration and tips for how you can make learning even more authentic for students.
Listen & Subscribe
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Unpack This Episode
Grab a drink, gather your colleagues, and discuss.
- What does authentic learning mean to you?
- What pressing, real-life topics in your field might interest students?
- What opportunities and challenges have you experienced when incorporating authentic learning into your course?
- What small steps could you take to introduce authentic learning into your classroom?
- How might you engage students in peer learning and scaffold a larger group authentic learning project?
Further Reading
In this episode we mentioned, were inspired by, or wondered about the following resources and topics.
- The Wisconsin Idea is a guiding principle for the University of Wisconsin-Madison “that education should influence people’s lives beyond the boundaries of the classroom.”
- Learn more about “situated learning” in the book Situated Learning: Legitimate Peripheral Participation, by Jean Lave.
- The Alliant Energy James R. Underkofler Excellence in Teaching Award recognizes extraordinary undergraduate teachers at the Universities of Wisconsin.
Acknowledgements
The L&S Exchange Podcast is brought to you by L&S Teaching, Learning, & Academic Planning and produced by the Instructional Design Collaborative. This podcast is recorded on ancestral Ho-Chunk land, a place their nation has called Teejop (day-JOPE) since time immemorial.
Production Credits
- Producer: David Macasaet
- Associate Producer: Molly Harris
- Audio Engineer: David Macasaet
- Audio Editor: David Macasaet
- Website Support: Laura Schmidli & Molly Harris
- Development Producer: Jonathan Klein
- Planning Group: Jonathan Klein, David Macasaet, Molly Harris, Laura Schmidli, Antonella Caloro, Maria Widmer
- Communications: Maria Widmer
- Executive Sponsorship: Shirin Malekpour