IMPR PhD Pedagogy Lab

As a prerequisite to the QE, the Pedagogy Lab is intended to consolidate a second teachable area (in addition to Critical Studies in Improvisation) and to demonstrate the requisite expertise in that secondary field. This credited course requirement will enable students to build an area of disciplinary competence beyond and complementary to their primary studies, which we consider a critical element of their development as graduates entering a complex teaching and learning culture and job market. The secondary field can comprise either more traditional disciplinary engagements or an emergent area of study that the Advisory Committee in consultation with the student approves as appropriate.

PhD students will dedicate some of their work in the P/F credited Pedagogy Lab to develop distinctive reading lists and syllabus outlines for an undergraduate level course in the area of secondary specialization, to be presented at the program research colloquium––followed by revisions based on discussion with the advisory committee. 

The Pedagogy Lab does not emphasize any specific disciplinary approach, but rather takes into account multiple approaches in order to highlight the broader improvisatory thrust of the program. The outcome of the Pedagogy Lab will be two course syllabi (senior undergraduate and graduate) and reading lists that situate the PhD student’s secondary area of expertise, within the larger context of Critical Studies in Improvisation. Students will present their rationale for the course structure and content, demonstrate their understanding of extant fields, and the complementarity that their proposed course offers to the increasing interdisciplinarity of the field of CSI. The Graduate Program Coordinator, the instructor of the Pedagogy Lab, and Advisory Committee members will all play a role in identifying appropriate disciplinary engagements for each student in the program at this level of study.

The final component of the Pedagogy Lab will involve drafting innovative course outlines in a specific area of study along with course outcomes and study objectives, as well as presentation of the rationale and methodologies used in the course drafts. The Pedagogy Lab will be marked on a Pass/Fail basis and will involve presentation to the cohort and the core faculty leading the Pedagogy Lab. The culmination of the Pedagogy Lab will include a critical review that entails all students and a critique group composed of faculty to provide constructive feedback in an open forum.

The learning objectives for the Pedagogy Lab will comprise 1) completion of course outlines, including a summary of the course objectives, a weekly syllabus, and an evaluation scheme; 2) demonstration of commensurate research and teaching ability in an area of secondary expertise; 3) rationale for all elements of the course design.

Note: Once the Pedagogy Lab is complete, PhD students are considered ready to begin preparations for the QE.