Active
Learning Across Borders:
Lessons From an Interactive Workshop
in Brazil
Kent J. Kille, Matthew Krain, and
Jeffrey S. Lantis
Department of Political Science and International Relations Program,
The College of Wooster
Abstract
This paper reports on the results of a workshop on active teaching and
learning sponsored by the Instituto de Relações
Internacionais at the University of Brasilia. This two-day,
intensive workshop was designed by the authors to introduce teaching
and learning strategies and promote critical dialogue for professors
and advanced students from institutions across Brazil. Sessions
addressed the philosophy behind active teaching and learning, resources
available for developing and carrying out exercises, a wide range of
applications, and the importance of debriefing and assessment.
This paper reviews the outcomes of the workshop and discusses the
particular challenges and benefits of an international program on
active teaching. In summary, the workshop was highly successful,
and the authors are building upon this model to develop further
workshops for training graduate students and professors in the United
States and abroad.
For more information on active learning workshops, see: http://www.wooster.edu/ir/Active-TeachingIR
For Kent Kille's home page, see: http://www.wooster.edu/polisci/kkille