TLA 2015 Je me souviens Montreal Brainstorming Session
Scottsdale, AZ 

General topic headings:

“Je me souviens”

“On Remembering”

“Remember When”

“Lest We Forget”

1.     Old/New Modes of Learning/Teaching

a.     Shifts in education platforms/spaces: E-learning – online learning

                                               i.     Non majors studio courses – remembering impact of theatre on non-majors

                                             ii.     Shifting nonmajors courses online/MOOCs to reach larger numbers/higher impact

2.     New Structures for theatre makers not just theatre educators

3.     Unlearning

a.     Relearning – remember expectation

b.     Changes in quality of students

c.     Compassion

d.     Loss of public support for arts and higher education

4.     Advocacy

a.     Revisit Artistic Literacy panel (part two in 2015)

b.     Past and future of theatre programs

c.     History of theatre programs/departments (Fliotsos book) – Origins from clubs, Communication or English Depts.

                                               i.     Dept history as faculty resource

                                             ii.     NAST accreditation as faculty resource (importance of NAST?)

d.     How to save a Theatre Department – case studies, innovative approaches

e.     Advocacy to policy makers

                                               i.     Shift conversation from skill set learning to liberal arts learning

1.     STEAM not STEM - Asimov

2.     “Life-wide learning”

3.     Rapid changes in 21^st century in technology, in education

                                             ii.     Theatre history as a process of learning - Present problems in historical context

                                            iii.     Origins of landgrant institutions (more humane citizens)

                                            iv.     Remember Grandma: how to write so that administrators can understand what we do – how to reach a general audience

                                              v.     Connecting theatre to other disciplines

1.     Alan Alda/improv/science

2.     Googles 10 most useful majors (Theatre is #7)

3.     Theatrical models used in learning/highlighted in learning approaches, but departments/programs are threatened

a.     RTTP

                                            vi.     John Mighton – mathematics PhD and playwright

                                           vii.      

5.     “Lest we forget”

a.     Economic decline

b.     Administration decrees

c.     NAST accreditation

d.     Design – examining old technology – the old becomes new again

                                               i.     Maybe Design, Theatre history MD session?

6.     Je me souviens – how debt has changed the educational system

7.     Remembering past panels:

a.     Revisit “To BFA or not to BFA” panel

b.     The Dreaded Capstone

                                               i.     Student ownership of knowledge/education what they have gathered

1.     E-Portfolios or manifestoes

                                             ii.     Remembering what teaching does goes beyond giving or curating information

8.     Double-majoring – why is it acceptable to pursue the other major? (This was also a topic last year)

9.     Remember what it was to be a theatre major?

10.  How learning issues (ADHD, Autism, etc.) have reshaped the classroom

11.  “Dealing with families” – how to tell families

a.     The shame of being a theatre major; history of this shame

12.  Changing nature of our students

a.     Debt, families, medication, drugs, etc.

13.  Student as consumer, education’s corporate model (impact of education as customer service)

14.  FB – social media’s impact on education

15.  Changes in curriculum (departmental/general education)

16.  Promotion and Tenure – Remember when?

a.     What does a generalist look like?

b.     How is it marketed to deans?

c.     What are the expectations, mentorship for P&T?

17.  Open forums – open shares

a.     How do we assert ourselves?

b.     Need panels to have an open discussion about specific issues

c.     Offer a common article

d.     Strategies for dealing with x

18.  K-16 model rather than K-12/college disconnect

a.     AAC&U model

b.     Crossover topic with AATE (Advocacy/Gail Schaefer)