Lunchtime Reading Group

The lunchtime reading groups are intended to create community around specific topics among faculty and instructors as well as graduate students. The CCTL offers two reading groups per year, sometimes holding separate meetings for faculty/instructors and graduate students, depending on the book. Participants receive a copy of the book and may bring their observations and questions to the reading group meetings. Participation is capped at 25 in order to facilitate a more engaging discussion. Lunch will be provided for all participants. If you have questions or suggestions for the reading group, please write to teaching@uchicago.edu.  

2024-2025 Reading Groups for Faculty & Instructors

    Wednesdays, Oct. 9 & 23 and Nov. 6 | 1:30PM - 2:50PM | Wieboldt 310 D/E

    Registration for the Autumn 2024 Reading Group is now closed.

    Whether you’re new to teaching or more experienced, whether you’re in STEM, Social Sciences or Humanities, this book encourages the use of research-supported, low-prep changes to your teaching that can have a significant impact on student learning and belonging. James Lang’s Small Teaching presents research on learning practices; factors that contribute to student learning, and student motivation and classroom environments. Some of this research debunks pervasive myths around teaching and learning, and makes a convincing case for the teaching and learning practices advocated in this volume. Join colleagues from across the university to share your own small teaching practices and perhaps take back a few new ideas to your classroom, too.  

    Co-facilitated by Karin Maxey, CCTL Assistant Director of Pedagogy and Russell Johnson, Assistant Director of the Undergraduate Religious Studies Program and CCTL Associate Pedagogy Fellow

    Reading Schedule:

    • Meeting 1 (Oct. 9): Introduction & Part I - Knowledge (Chapters 1-3)
    • Meeting 2 (Oct. 23): Part II - Understanding (Chapters 4-6)
    • Meeting 3 (Nov. 6): Part III - Inspiration (Chapters 7-9) & Conclusion

    Wednesdays, Jan. 22, Feb. 12, and Mar. 5 | 12:30PM - 1:50PM | Wieboldt 310 D/E

    Registration for the Winter Quarter Reading Group will open in late Autumn Quarter.

    As instructors, we know that students bring their backgrounds into the classroom, and that their prior experiences, attitudes, social and cultural backgrounds, and other identity factors shape their time on campus and beyond. In The Hidden Curriculum, sociologist Rachel Gable presents her longitudinal study of 70 first-generation college students at two elite institutions (Harvard and Georgetown) and the personal, social, academic, and cultural challenges they face. She compares these experiences to those of continuing generation students (i.e., students whose parents did attend college), encouraging us to think critically about the assumptions we might make about first-generation and continuing generation students alike. Gable offers advice for administrators and teachers about working with this part of the student population. Join colleagues across disciplines to gain insight into what first-generation students bring to and experience on an elite campus.