One of the central themes that I’ve repeatedly come back to in this blog is the question of how we as instructors can design courses that offer students the flexibility to explore and forge their own pathways to success while also creating a system in which we can fairly and accurately assess their mastery of course concepts and materials. For the most part, I’ve kept this conversation focused on academic courses, like the STEM courses that I am most familiar with thanks to my past experiences as a student and my current experience as a professor of physics and astronomy.

Recently, I had an illuminating conversation with my colleague S. Ama Wray, UCI Professor of Dance and creator of Embodiology, where we discussed what this balance looks like in dance courses where artistic creativity and expression are part of student grades. We also talked about fostering an appreciation for different student skill sets and the intersection of science and dance.

Check out our full thoughts in our recent episode of my podcast Conversations with the Vice Provost.