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Badavas Center

Incubation Session at the Badavas Center

The Badavas Center for Innovation in Teaching and Learning

Where Ideas Thrive

Our Mission

The Badavas Center for Innovation in Teaching and Learning helps position Bentley University for a promising future by catalyzing and investing in innovative ideas from across the institution. The Badavas Center partners with faculty, staff, students, alumni and corporations to support current educational experiments, connect existing teaching and learning assets in new ways, and help launch strategic initiatives.

What's Brewing in Badavas?

Bagels @ Badavas

Bagels @ Badavas provides an informal space for convening to foster collaboration and ideation around a given topic in teaching and learning. 

Innovation Incubation Hours

Innovation Incubation Hours are designated times each week to engage with an innovation thought partner to cultivate and nourish great ideas in teaching and learning. Office Hours! 

Pedagogical Innovation Unleashed

Pedagogical Innovation Unleashed is a 4-part workshop series that aims to empower educators to incubate new teaching approaches and explore the role of play in the learning process for college and adult learners. 

Department Visits

Department Visits offer a pedagogical partner in discipline-specific teaching and learning conversations, programs, and ideation. 

Book Club

The teaching and learning ecosystem--Badavas Center, Academic Technology Center, Learning Design, and Bentley Learning & Teaching Council--offers a book club on texts pertaining to teaching and learning. The upcoming text: Teaching with AI.   

Spark Sessions

These faculty and/or student-led ideation sessions are sponsored by the teaching and learning ecosystem--Badavas Center, Academic Technology Center, Learning Design-- and are intended to engage faculty, spark curiosity, engender willingness to try new things together.

Shoutouts

Dr. Wiley Davi, English and Media Studies Professor

Despite having taught in higher education for more than 25 years, I feel as though this past year has been one of the most dynamic for me because of the collaborations I have had with Liz Paushter in the Badavas Center at Bentley University: Innovation in Teaching & Learning. Liz has this incredible ability to draw out of people their potential to generate new ways of looking at something, to ideate, and to push themselves in ways that are invigorating and inspiring. I've had the pleasure of working with her on a number of projects this past year, and I know each one was more effective and dynamic because of the collaboration with Liz, and it really is a collaboration. You toss ideas around; you pose questions to each other; you map out concepts, and you even find yourself willing to let go of routine ways of thinking. Bentley folks, if you haven't stopped by the Badavas Center, I strongly encourage you to do so; if you regret it, I will buy you lunch 😊

Dr. Betsy Stoner, Natural and Applied Sciences Assistant Professor

I had the opportunity to work with Liz Paushter and the Badavas Center in the Fall of 2023 to develop curricula that will accompany virtual reality videos my NSF team developed to deploy at Bentley (and beyond). I had come to Liz feeling stuck on how to design curricula that would meaningfully engage learners in the VR video experiences—and by the time I left, I felt like I had a clear path forward on how to develop successful curricula, while learning current best teaching practices. In short, I gained confidence and clarity on how to design curricula, all while feeling supported by Liz as a thought partner. I am excited to work with the Badavas Center again, and I am grateful for having such an amazing resource on campus. 

Past Events at Badavas