Radcliffe Announces 2016-17 Fellows

Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University has just announced its selection of fifty 2016-17 fellows. I have learned so much from the scholars, scientists, and artists who gather at Radcliffe through producing 15 videos for the Institute in the past several years.

Interdisciplinarity is one of the key features of the Radcliffe experience.  Each fellow is dedicated to their singular project but they meet for weekly lunches, work groups, fellows' talks, and lots of informal interactions.  It has been fascinating to hear about law professors learning from literary critics, biochemists being inspired by composers, and writers gaining insight from scientists.

2014-15 Radcliffe Institute Fellow Ben Miller, a writer who explores urban Iowa, described the twice-weekly fellows' lectures as "a white river raft trip at high speed: knowledge is spraying in your face and you’re reacting to it, and you’re finding out about your own mind.  I found things out here about my own mind at a rather advanced age – discoveries that were very nice to make."

Having a year to focus deeply on their independent project – with the support of the Institute and the inspiration of a diverse range of colleagues – seems to generate turning points for many of the fellows.  Several talked about how useful it was to examine their narrow specialty through a broader lens.  "All of us, whether we were artists or social scientists or humanities people, we're in the truth business," says 2014-15 Lisa Goldberg Fellow, John Tasioulas in our new video. "And it’s important to realize that there are different ways to get at those truths."

Designing a Program for Extended Learning Opportunities

The Students at the Center Hub - a fabulous resource for educators, students, and families to learn about student-centered learning – has just posted our new video, "Designing and Implementing a Student-Centered ELO Program."

The video features the thriving new Extended Learning Opportunities program at Providence-based Highlander Charter School. ELOs are opportunities for students to engage in anytime, anyplace learning such as internships, job shadows, mentor partnerships, and off-site classes.

At Highlander, the ELO experience is scaffolded, with freshmen taking a career class to explore their interests; sophomores doing an on-site ELO (such as the Culinary ELO featured in the video); and juniors doing an off-site ELO (such as the DJ and music production experience we follow). The experiences are grounded in an academic component involving a class and blogging requirements.

"Students are learning a lot in their ELO projects," says Highlander Director of Multiple Pathways Simona Simpson-Thomas. They’re learning beyond just the academics.  They are also learning professionalism. They are learning creativity. They are learning how to think outside the box." The video was funded by Nellie Mae Education Foundation , a major force in student-centered education.

"It taught me how to work with different groups of people I’ve never met," says sophomore Fanta Diakite.  "So when I go into a new job setting, I’m not nervous on working with new people. I’m more comfortable."  Junior Pedro Rodriguez adds: "I learned  that I’m more of a hands-on person. I’d rather learn from like doing it myself rather than somebody just telling me how to do it.  Knowing that will make stuff in my future easier."