Why we do it: The CCLC Mission

The mission of the Collaboratory for Creative Learning and Communication (CCLC) is to facilitate the effective use of communication technologies at Furman and initiate learning experiences through collaboration. In the context of the liberal arts tradition, these goals represent a critical evolution of ideals that have shaped, and continue to shape, education at institutions such as Furman. The increasing dominance of information technologies and the distancing they bring into our lives seem contrary to the emphasis on face-to-face presence that characterizes traditional, residential liberal arts education. The corporate world's collaborative, team-oriented approach to problems threatens to undermine the autonomy of the disciplines and the authority of the professor in the classroom. Time-honored teaching practices, such as lecturing and testing for retention of content, are now being challenged by process-oriented approaches that allow students to direct their own explorations and projects, with faculty advising from the sidelines. How are the ideals of traditional liberal education related to all these changes?

The CCLC is part of Furman's response to this question. Traditionally, the liberal arts have sought to develop students' awareness of and ability to create meaningful connections among the disparate fields of knowledge, as well as their ability to form cogent moral and intellectual responses to complex questions and issues. Within the history of epistemology and the philosophy of education, social constructivism, beginning with John Dewey early in the last century, has emphasized the same abilities, stressing that all knowledge is collaboratively constructed within a social context. The CCLC draws on the intellectual tradition of constructivism by emphasizing the process of collaboration in all our work. By working closely with peer consultants, students develop sensitivity to the social dimensions of knowledge, learning, and thought; they learn that thinking is an inherently collaborative process, whether they're hashing things out with a consultant or debating the merits of an idea from different points of view within their own minds. While much of the University's academic culture focuses on evaluation and outcomes, the CCLC is able to focus on the process of learning for its own sake. For example, when a CCLC consultant works with a student on a paper, the emphasis is less on the paper itself than on helping the student to grow as a writer. Rather than dispensing specific advice or correcting grammar, the CCLC consultant will ask questions that the student can learn to ask herself, or will help the student recognize the pattern of her errors and show her how to correct them herself. Our goal is to help students develop as thinkers, writers, and communicators.

As scholars, faculty routinely depend on each other for discussion, feedback, critique, brainstorming, and inspiration throughout the research process, from the initial glimmer of an idea through the final tweaking of a manuscript. Undergraduate students can benefit from the same kinds of collaborative support, whether it's help thinking through an assigment or feedback on the effectiveness of a project. Among the many ways in which we fulfill our mission, the CCLC is first and foremost a place where students can find a collegial, collaborative community of their own.

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