Think back to when you were an undergraduate. What were some of the best discussions you ever had in a course? What made those discussions so lively, thought-provoking, even world-shifting? 

And could you pinpoint what your professor did that made the experience something you still remember, years – even decades – later? 

Teaching is a practice, and a craft. It’s also an art. And the art of teaching is the subject of a new workshop series debuting this February at the Center for Teaching Innovation. 

A series of facilitated faculty conversations, “The Art of Teaching” aims to shine a spotlight on unique aspects of a variety of teaching formats, from the discussion to the studio, from the field site to the lab  to the seminar. In doing so, the series will consider what makes these unique formats special and effective frameworks for student learning, and how Cornell faculty elevate their teaching practice and craft into art. 

“Good teaching is a complex and dynamic blend of science and art, training and apprenticeship,” said Rob Vanderlan, CTI’s executive director. “We know a great deal about how people learn, and the teaching methods, strategies, and practices that can best facilitate learning. Yet teaching other people, in numbers small and large, is always relational and improvisational. It remains art as much as science.”

The series’ inaugural event, “The Art of Discussion,” will be held at 3 p.m. Wed. Feb. 26, and will bring three faculty panelists in conversation with Vanderlan. 

Panelists will include Jenny Goldstein, assistant professor of global development in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences; Alexander Livingston, associate professor of government in the College of Arts & Sciences; and Hale Ann Tufan, associate professor of plant breeding and genetics in the School of Integrated Plant Sciences (CALS). 

The Art of Teaching Series 

Writ large, “The Art of Teaching” series is meant to be inspiring and generative for faculty by creating a space for them to discuss their craft and passion for specific teaching formats. The idea for the series grew out of conversations between Steven Jackson, vice provost for academic innovation, and Vanderlan, about where opportunities may lie to expand the center’s offerings to faculty. 

Specifically, CTI is looking “to broaden our sense of teaching not just as an evidence-based methodology but as an art and a craft that bears thinking about and talking about and practicing over time. And to broaden our sense of where teaching happens,” Vanderlan said.

Evidence-based teaching practices, “suggest a more scientific and social scientific approach to teaching,” Vanderlan added. “That’s part of teaching, but it’s not the be-all and end-all of teaching. I want this series to be a reflection of the breadth and depths of teaching at Cornell.”

Jackson was particularly interested in calling attention to forms and genres of teaching that haven’t received as much attention in the past, and recentering faculty leadership, creativity and sharing in driving the on-campus teaching discussion.

Placing faculty at the center of the new series “is an opportunity for them to share what they do in a way that’s collegial and convening. It offers an opportunity for faculty to engage with other faculty,” said Jackson, who beyond his current position as vice provost is also a professor of information science in the Cornell Ann S. Bowers College of Computing and Information Science, and science and technology studies (A&S). 

As conversations about the series shifted into program planning, both Jackson and Vanderlan also maintained the importance of a cross-disciplinary approach.

“There are many brilliant and undershared approaches that faculty are using in smaller class environments, that are sometimes, but sometimes not, shared within departments and disciplines but not always shared across them,” Jackson said. 

“That comparative sense is important,” he added. “There are things that we can learn across disciplines – for example, if some fields are starting to take up the studio form of teaching, how could they benefit from how Architecture, Art & Planning is thinking about those things? Or maybe there are ideas about running labs that engineers can learn from chemistry, and vice versa.” 

The Art of Discussion

“The Art of Discussion” will address the craft and challenge of creating and sustaining classroom discussions, including how to navigate unexpected turns and surprises, how to draw out and work with varied perspectives in the room, and how discussion can anchor meaningful engagement and learning for instructors and students alike. 

The event aims to bring into conversation “how really skillful discussion leaders do their work,” Jackson said. “For a format that touches nearly every college and department, we haven’t talked about that collectively and systematically nearly enough.” 

It is also meant to bring out dimensions of faculty excellence and commitment that aren’t always well recognized, either in the wider world or sometimes amongst faculty themselves. “There are some very brilliant discussion leaders among our faculty that we don’t always hear from in terms of talking about that craft and art,” Jackson said. 

“We hear from them as researchers, we hear from them as experts in their fields, but we rarely have an opportunity to hear them talk about their craft and practice of teaching,”  he added. “What do they know about discussion, and what do they still find mysterious? Where do they screw up – even excellent teachers screw up – and how do they learn from those mistakes?”

The improvisational nature of discussion, and the ever-present possibility of mistakes and failure can make faculty leery to go off script. By bringing artful teaching practices into conversation, the event hopes to dissipate some of those nerves and anxieties. 

“[It’s about] getting faculty more comfortable and confident in discussions – which we know to be an excellent pedagogical format – including getting comfortable with mistakes and where things go off the rails from time to time,” Jackson said. 

"Discussions are also central to peer learning and relationship building," he added. “How can faculty help create connections between students that may contribute to conversations that are richer and more meaningful for all?"

Finally, discussions can be central to pushing students one step further than they knew how to go – that magical ‘zone of proximal development’ described by Russian educational psychologist Lev Vygotsky. 

“What is the place where students, aided and guided by teachers and peers, can achieve what they couldn’t achieve on their own?” Jackson asked. “How do we hit that sweet spot where it’s out in front of them and they can chase it and reach it?”

There’s a magic that happens somewhere between facilitation and engagement, in which a discussion comes to life, encourages curiosity, shifts perspectives, and deepens connections for learning and looking at the world. “The Art of Discussion” hopes to create a space for faculty to share their craft, their passion, and a few ‘tricks of the trade’ in their own art and practice of teaching.