This seminar was held during and at the philosophers rally

location: Stadsbrouwerij De Pelgrim, Aelbrechtskolk 12, 3024 RE Rotterdam

The seminar is divided into two sessions.

the first session is programmed at 19 May and the second at 20 May.

First session 16.00-18.00 in 'het Koetshuis'

-preliminary subject-

This workshop is used to discuss the role of the university in society.

Aetzel Griffioen will present on Dutch education reforms.

Guest speaker will present on the funding at the university.

A plenary discussion will take place on the role of the university as an institute.

Second session 16.00-18.00 in 'het Koetshuis'

This second workshop will be focused around 'best practises' in education.

Participants will split up into smaller groups and exchange their best personal experiences with education. By interviewing each other and then looking for similarities and interesting aspects, the experiences can be used to sketch a concrete vision of how education could and should be. The groups will then present their outcomes and these will all be discussed plenary. 

outcomes:

Group with Aetzel, Hisashi, Lionne and Izaak

The experiences that were told had some interesting elements in common. Key factors were -good atmosphere for learning -not underestimating but pushing oneself or someone else to a higher level - intrisic motivation; being concerned with more than grades or curriculum. The good atmosphere consists of personal contact with the person youre learning from or with others that are highly motivated, a basis of trust and responsibility, being given an assigment that matters. Not being underestimated entails that the experiences dealt with a serious and demanding assignment.  And the intrinsic motivation means that in our best experiences it was not about grades but there existed a drive to do something well for its own sake. Concluding this we discussed that one can make two stages of good learning: starting with being motivated, guided by an inspirator and secondly collective self-organisation possible because the responsibility and trust are granted.

Group with Chiara, David, Nick and Heleen.

(incomplete sumary) Best experiences had certain elements in common. Reading original material, - teachers that explain where they come from, student seminars and feedback on your writing.

Group with Sanne, Nathanja and Guy (what was his name?) from Nijmegen

(incomplete summary) Best experiences had certain elements in common. -A direct one-on-one student teacher relationship, maybe even friendship. -An combination or intertwinement of the personal and the theoretical - Creating the right learning environment, this involves slowing things down.

interesting links concerning the subject matter:

Here's a short paper in which Biesta et al argue for a public debate instead of a managerial debate about the public role of the university. As is written at the end of the paper there will be a public symposium called ‘The University and Its Public: towards a different agenda for the public role of the European university’. This will be held in December 2010, in Leuven, Belgium.

Nina Power on the free university

Mark Fisher and Mike Watson on free education, capitalism and alternatives

Sir Ken Robinson on shifting from an (metephorically) industrial to an agricultural educational system