“Imagine, for example, being restricted to a totally horizontal set of paths in which only the front/back and right/left orientations were possible. Without the opportunity to ascend and descend, to enjoy the feelings of aspiring to heaven and then return to earth, our journey may be a dispirited one.” (Bloomer & Moore, 1977)
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BiographyLaura directs the Teaching Innovations Office implementing pan-university faculty development initiatives at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG). Throughout her career, Laura has developed academically enriched programs that promote integrated learning, teaching innovations and faculty collaboration. Her current work partners both a passion for integrated and applied learning to experiences in active pedagogies as UNCG embarks on a new vision of 21st century global and inclusive learning. Her expertise is in inclusive teaching and integrated learning, and she serves on the editorial board of the Journal for Learning Communities Research and Practice and is a Consulting Editor for the journal College Teaching.
Completing her undergraduate work at The Schieffer School of Journalism at Texas Christian University and her masters at the School of Education at Syracuse University, Laura has developed an expertise in applied, integrative and active learning pedagogies particularly in the area of learning communities and inclusive engagement. Laura completed her doctoral work in the area Sociohistorical Studies within Kinesiology at UNCG. Her scholarly and teaching interests focus on action sports (bicycle motocross, skateboarding, stock car racing) centering on the construction and regulation of public and private space for human movement. Additionally, she has a continued interest in physical activity within First Nation/Indigenous communities sparked by a deep affection for The Creator’s Game (Lacrosse) and the Haudenosaunee Confederacy (the Iroquois). The connections between sport/physical activity and education have continued to influence and energize Laura’s work with faculty and students. Laura is a critical reader of sport and sporting spaces for social change. She believes the work of reading sport and physical activity through a critical lens is essential to understanding the role of physical activity in the development of culture and community. Her background in higher education coupled with her interests in action sports continues to have exciting and engaging resonance with her philosophies in interdisciplinary and application-based learning. How are sporting spaces and learning spaces working in tandem for 21st century learning? |
