From:
b.bannister@neu.edu [mailto:
b.bannister@neu.edu]
Second International Conference on Practice-Oriented Education
Northeastern University
April 10 - 12, 2003
Boston, Massachusetts
Northeastern University, through the auspices of the Provost's Office
and the Center for the Study of Practice-Oriented Education, would like
to invite you to attend the Second International Conference on
Practice-Oriented Education to be held here in Boston at our campus on
April 10 - 12, 2003. This conference is expected to be one of the most
exciting events this year in advancing our knowledge of learning and
work gleaned through its constituent fields of inquiry.
The kick-off conference on practice-oriented education (POE) held two
years ago was significant in crossing college and departmental
boundaries with over 50 universities and non-academic organizations
represented. We began the debate about what POE stands for and
recognized its emergent literature. We have come to recognize that
practice-oriented education represents a fascinating collection of
multiple fields of interest, many of which are based on disciplines
that do not ordinarily 'cross over' into each other's territory.
We are positioning the conference as an attempt to 'build an inclusive
model of integrating learning and work.' We will be assembling leaders
of some of these established fields who have a long history of research
and struggle with central questions of learning and work. Panels are
being organized around such areas as action leaning, cooperative
education, critical pedagogies, experiential learning, service
learning, workforce and human resource development and others. Keynote
speakers (Chris Argyris, Stephen Brookfield, Kenneth Gergen, and
Etienne Wenger) with accomplished backgrounds in action science, adult
learning, social constructionism and communities of practice will
infuse the dialogue.
Through such a dialogue with these intellectual leaders, we hope to
build common conceptual ground. One way we will accomplish this will
be by asking each panelist and speaker to consider similar questions,
such as:
What makes work distinctive as a learning environment?
How is learning distilled from work?
What is the role of theory and reflection in converting knowledge into
practice?
How does the classroom add to practice and vice-versa?
How can the classroom and other learning environments be linked?
We also will hold a culminating event on our last day in which our new
Knowles Chair, Joe Raelin, will engage our speakers and audience in an
extended dialogue to extract some common learning from the prior
discussions. The conference welcomes employers, faculty members,
educational administrators, managers, and others to join the
conversation. If you and your organization are considering embarking
on some aspect of practice-oriented education, if you are already
committed to practice-oriented education, or if you simply wish to
understand and discuss concepts and practices inherent in this
innovative form of education, don't miss this opportunity. The
conference has already begun to draw national attention, especially
because of the reputation of our speakers who committed early on to
present. Please consider joining the dialogue.
Information, including the conference brochure, is available on-line by
going to the webpage of the new Center for the Study of
Practice-Oriented Education at:
www.poe.neu.edu. Merely follow the
link to the Conference, "Building An Inclusive Model for Integrating
Learning and Work." You can also conveniently register on-line by
clicking on the registration link.
We hope to see you here in April.
Sincerely,
Brendan Bannister
POE Conference Director
Human Resources Group
College of Business Administration
Joe Raelin
Asa Knowles Chair of Practice-Oriented Education