Teaching Fellows Program Launches in Colorado

The Teaching Fellows Program, Shimer’s new graduate program for K-8 teachers, successfully launched in Loveland, CO on Saturday, August 25th. Fifteen teachers, representing public and charter schools in the Front Range area have enrolled in “Light to Life: A Scientific Story of the Cosmos” facilitated by Dr. Jim Donovan who also serves as Director of the Hutchins Graduate Institute.

Dr. Jim Donovan, Director of Shimer’s graduate school, says he “wishes all my students were even half as motivated at this Front Range group. Donovan explains that the Teaching Fellows Program gives Shimer a national reach since it’s easier to send one professor to the Denver area than to bring 15 students to Chicago. With 15 students enrolled, the class has been divided into two sections. “A major part of Shimer’s approach is small, interactive, discussion-based classes. Fifteen is just too large, so classes will be eight and seven each, further ensuring the quality of the classroom experience.” Is it the right approach for teachers in the Front Range? Apparently so, one teacher who said that she always feared science found the sample science class to be the best science class she ever took. Another summed it up in one word: “Awesome.”