Lauren Atkins Budde (r), associate director of design management in U-M’s Office of Academic Innovation, talks with Alva O. Ferdinand (l), assistant professor of health policy and management, and Phuong Huynh, an instructional designer, both of Texas A&M University, during U-M’s recent Teach-Out Academy. (Eric Joyce, Office of Academic Innovation)
In 1965, U-M created the first ever teach-in to protest the Vietnam War through a series of debates, presentations, and seminars. The idea spread and, using Michigan’s example, more than 35 universities followed suit within a week. Last year, U-M once again led the way when the Office of Academic Innovation launched the U-M Teach-out Series as a way to address current social issues in a digital age. Teach-outs delivered online encourage dialogue and public engagement on pressing issues, and now other universities across the nation are interested in this learning model.
U-M recently hosted a two-day Teach-Out Academy to offer other universities the chance to explore how they could implement the short, just-in-time learning events on their own campuses. Brown University, Davidson College, Emory University, MIT, Stanford University, Texas A&M University, University of Colorado, University of Illinois, University of Notre Dame and University of Pennsylvania attended to discuss their proposals with the Academic Innovation team and learn about Michigan’s program.
