A totally optional discussion group for the spring semester.

I normally make this announcement at the start of December, but this year we seem to have a large number of students who will graduate after this semester.  I wanted those students to be aware of this possibility, in case you do stick around town for the spring.  You would be more than welcome to be part of the group, although you would no longer be enrolled at the U of I. 

The last few years I have invited students to join me in the spring for a weekly discussion group on the topic of how they might get more out of their learning.  Four years ago, I didn't get enough nibbles.  Three years ago I had three takers.  We met each Friday afternoon throughout the spring semester.  It was an interesting experience, unusual for both the students and for me.  Two years ago I had two takers initially, but one soon dropped.  The other person was extremely shy and it was kind of odd to have conversations with him.  We went for a while but didn't meet quite as regularly. Likewise, last year I had one student in the spring and it was more mentoring than discussion group.  I have another student this fall, where again it is more mentoring.  The mentoring thing is okay, but for students with an eye on the job market, I'm probably not the right person to mentor that.  I think the discussion group approach would be more interesting, but it does take a few students to make a group.

This year I'd like to do something similar but on a different topic.  I maintain a reading list on leadership and learning.  We might start with a few pieces from there to help us find a rhythm.  After that, I'd hope that students would offer up their own pieces for us to discuss.

When the group seemed to work well we went for somewhere between 90 minutes and two hours and met in BIF.  That much of what we did I'd like to keep.  Based on that experience the ideal number of students is at least 3 and probably no more than 5.  If we can get that this time around we'll be a go.

If you are interested you can indicate that either by commenting on this post (and maybe that will attract some others to do likewise) or you can send me an email.

Let me say one more thing about scheduling.  I am not teaching next semester so I am pretty happy to meet whenever is convenient for the group (if such a time exists).  But I would prefer daytime to evening.  You should probably treat that as a firm constraint in assessing your own availability for this.