Book: Creating Wicked Students: Designing Courses for a Complex World by Paul Hanstedt 

Description: 

There’s a lot of talk in education these days about “wicked problems”—problems that defy traditional expectations or knowledge, problems that evolve over time: Zika, ISIS, political discourse in the era of social media. To prepare students for such wicked problems, they need to have wicked competencies, the ability to respond easily and on the fly to complex challenges. Unfortunately, a traditional education that focuses on content and skills often fails to achieve this sense of wickedness.  

In Creating Wicked Students, Paul Hanstedt argues that courses can and should be designed to present students with “wicked problems” because the skills of dealing with such knotty problems are what will best prepare them for life after college. 

This book focuses on course design, including a top-to-bottom reconsideration of courses, (i.e., student learning goals, text selection and course structure, day-to-day pedagogies, and assignment and project design). Creating Wicked Students takes readers through each step of the process, providing multiple examples at each stage, while always encouraging instructors to consider concepts and exercises in light of their own courses and students. 

Faculty should come with a particular course they would like to design or redesign with a problem-based model.  

Discussion Leader: Jessica Despain (English Language and Literature) and Jill Schreiber (Social Work) 

Date/Time: Fridays 12:00pm – 1:30pm

Feb 4- before meeting read Chapters 1-3 and first intermission (pp. 1-64) and do activities 

March 4 – before meeting read Chapters 4-6 and second intermission (pp. 65-131) and do activities.  

April 1- read chapter 7 through conclusion (132-147) 

Location: https://siue.zoom.us/j/97951325223

Register: This Book Club has reached capacity and is now closed.