In this section, Noah Riskin shares advice for educators facilitating a similar course.
For educators seeking to facilitate a similar course, I recommend holding the mini-seminars, during which the focal topics for the week are introduced and discussed, and the activity sessions, during which students physically experiment with the concepts introduced during the mini-seminars, as separate sessions. It felt rushed to address both components of the course in single sessions.
Ideally, educators would facilitate an hour-long seminar and then a one- or two-hour activity period. This would allow for more in-depth investigations of the concepts.
This semester we covered many topics, which was appropriate because it was a survey class. However, students noted that they would have appreciated delving more deeply into certain concepts. I would also recommend that students complete background readings on the various concepts prior to coming to class.
I highly recommend that educators incorporate visits to labs and research centers in which scientists are studying the body or doing research in a field in which bodily experiences are central. Such visits are important because they help students identify how what they’re learning in class is academically relevant. Learning about a different kind of relationship to their bodies and why it matters remains somewhat vague until students can make concrete connections to applications in engineering or aero/astronautics, for example. Once they make these connections, they understand how their own bodily experiences can actually affect how they contribute to their academic fields. It’s very powerful!
