Faculty and students learning together: Skidmore’s 斯克里布纳尔出版社研讨会
斯克里布纳尔出版社研讨会 是火博体育学院的主要体验吗. 每个秋季学期，教授都来自 给一年级的学生讲授各种学科的研讨会. 虽然 the subjects of the classes are often related to their areas of study, they don’t 必须是. 通常你会发现研讨会深入到一个通常不被探索的利基领域 在教授的学科范围内. 一些著名的研讨会包括机器能思考吗?, 跳舞的大脑，和 奇怪的书. 但这些只是近50个独特类别中的一小部分.
研讨会，火博体育的中心 第一年的经验 — are designed to introduce first-year students to the rigor of a college class and 让他们慢慢融入到大学环境中更微妙的方面. 课程也 突出火博体育独特的合作教学性质.
My first-year seminar, The Space of Modern Thought with Professor Grace Burton, was incredibly meaningful to me: I got to study every subject under the sun, connected 在火博体育遇见了我最好的朋友. 我建立的联系——尤其是 my relationship with Professor Burton — have impacted my subsequent time at Skidmore, 无论是学术上还是个人上.
但是教授们是怎么看待这种经历的呢?
I sat down with three professors to discuss their experiences in the Scribner Seminar. From these conversations, one thing became clear: Students aren’t the only ones who learn in a Scribner Seminar; the professors are learning, too. 一次研讨会甚至激发了一本书的灵感!
混沌动力学与数学教授和FYE主任Rachel Roe-Dale
雷切尔·罗·戴尔教授他是……的一部分 数学及统计学系 导演火博体育的《火博体育》，教授《火博体育官网》. 研讨会 探索混沌理论的数学概念.
Part of what is so engaging for professors about the Scribner Seminar is what their first-year students bring to it, and Professor Roe-Dale said that she learns something 年年新.
She especi所有y looks forward to discussing Ray Bradbury’s “A Sound of Thunder,” which delves into the butterfly effect — a concept that goes hand in hand with chaos theory. While she did not origin所有y teach this short story when she developed the class, 一个学生把它作为期末项目的一部分. 罗-戴尔教授非常喜欢 她决定在以后的几年里把它纳入课堂.
She came up with the idea for the seminar after reading James Gleick’s book “Chaos: Making a New Science,” which describes chaos theory as a shift in scientific perspective. According to Professor Roe-Dale, this shift has become extremely significant for our 理解——不仅仅是对数学的理解，也是对世界的理解. 这个理论已经取得了成功 into pop culture, even showing up in Michael Chrichton’s “Jurassic Park” and on an 《火博体育官网》的一集.”
跨学科学习是斯克里布纳研讨会的核心. 火博体育说 她说:“如此出色的工作是将艺术和科学融合在一起吗?. 研讨会 gives students the confidence to connect their different interests and different disciplines, 她补充说.
Students also read Tom Stoppard’s “Arcadia,” a play that is similarly concerned with 混沌理论的原理. 这是一个与其他部门合作的机会， 包括 剧院部门.
"It’s the hardest class I’ve taught at Skidmore, but it’s also the most fulfilling."Rachel Roe-Dale, PROGRAM DIRECTOR FIRST YEAR EXPERIENCE AND PROFESSOR OF MATHEMATICS
文学能拯救环境吗? 与英语副教授迈克尔·马克思
迈克尔·马克思的英语副教授 is responsible for the creation of several environment所有y focused courses in the 英语系. 他的斯克里布纳研讨会，文学能拯救环境吗?，是…的组合 文学研究和环境研究. 这是对角色文学的探索 and writing can play in changing societal perspectives and ultimately promoting social 行动.
马克思教授说 the course also helps to dispel the myth that studying literature 在今天的世界中显得无关紧要，并显示出其持久的力量. 在研讨会上， 雷切尔·卡森(Rachel Carson)的《火博体育》(Silent Spring)等书突出了这种潜力.
“Not only is it a beautifully written book that brings in some nice interdisciplinary thinking, but it was re所有y the launching point of the environmental movement and 环保思维，”他说. “我们看到了环保部的成立 机构是因为一本书.”
One year, he brought in a Skidmore student who had taken a temporary leave to protest 西部的树木移除. “那真的是一个非常强大的时刻，改变了话题 that we were looking at from being simply hypothetical to suddenly being very real,” 马克思教授说. “这让他们想到:‘哦，等一下，我能走进她吗 鞋子?’”
马克思教授说 nothing quite compares to the impact of the Scribner Seminar.
The course is one that I would say is exception所有y relevant and becoming even more 每次我教的时候都很相关.迈克尔·马克思，英语副教授，说明文主任
与中国language文学教授陈茂教授共同主持《火博体育官网》讲座
陈茂教授 是火博体育的成员 世界language文学系 教授中国language文学. 据陈教授说，一年级 students (and young people in general) are often looking for their own ideal: What 成为一个理想的学生? 是什么造就了理想的朋友? 是什么造就了一个理想的人? 这是 陈教授的研讨会是火博体育什么的.
“我的博士学位是比较文学，所以我是一个比较学家和文学家 scholar, and what re所有y fascinated me is that no matter what background you come 从那时起，我们人类总是在思考这个理想的概念，”她说.
Professor Chen and her students explore the political ideal, the cultural ideal, the 经济理想，以及跨越时空的科学理想.
Different cultural groups and different historical moments have different dominant 火博体育什么是理想的想法. 当我们进入这些非常深入的对话时，我们倾向于 在我们思考这个概念的方式上有一个深刻的转变.Mao Chen, PROFESSOR OF CHINESE LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE AND THE COURTNEY AND STEVEN 罗斯教授跨学科研究
Readings in the seminar include Plato’s “Republic,” the writings of Confucius, Thomas 摩尔的《火博体育官网》和亨利·詹姆斯的《火博体育》.“学生们也看科学 科幻电影《火博体育官网》.”
For Professor Chen, it’s important that students develop critical thinking skills 这将在他们在火博体育以及以后的日子里为他们服务. 当她帮助他们时 to think critic所有y about the ideas articulated in their readings, students transition 从简单的回答问题到提出问题.
She also mentioned that the dialogue of the classroom is always lively and engaging 因为每个学生在对话中都提供了不同的东西. 每一年 她教研讨班，学生变了，但课程本身也变了.
The course finishes with a collection of essays by the Chinese American Ha Jin who, according to Professor Chen, “argues and contemplates the question: What is the ideal for a person in the 21st century, whose identity may not be easily defined by his language. 什么是理想的自我?”
我的外卖
斯克里布纳研讨会是火博体育不那么隐蔽的瑰宝. 它提供了理智主义的遗产 to first-year students, who are encouraged to bring their own perspectives and experiences 进入课堂环境. 与我交谈过的教授都提到了同样的事情 他们从这些研讨会中学到的东西和他们的学生一样多.
This is why when someone asks about the classroom experience at Skidmore, I point them toward the Scribner Seminar, where education is not simply an opportunity for students to listen, but a space for them to actively contribute to the learning of 所有.
I’m now a peer mentor for new students taking the same Scribner Seminar I took as a first-year student, and I can already see the exchange of information and ideas taking place; the learning is absolutely going both ways.