Teaching Methods
Instruction at Reed College emphasizes learning as a common adventure of students and teachers in which both cooperate closely in classes, group discussions, laboratories, studios, and individual conferences. The faculty seeks to deal with students as individuals with differences in experience, attitudes, and interests that have important bearing on their development. On their part, students are expected to recognize the responsibility placed upon them to participate actively in the intellectual life of the college, to discover their educational objectives, and to strive to attain them.
The methods of instruction vary with the subject matter of the courses, the number in the class, and the judgment and preferred pedagogy of the instructor. Most courses are characterized by teaching based on conferences, studios, or laboratories, in which students and faculty members work closely together. In conferences ideas, facts, methods of analysis, and interpretations are exchanged, challenged, and defended by both students and faculty members, who jointly share responsibility for the learning process. Laboratory-based teaching allows students to become familiar with science as an active process of continuing inquiry. Studio courses provide intensive experience in the study and practice of artistic disciplines.
In the junior and senior year, independent work is given greater importance as the student selects a major focus for study. The culmination of this experience is the senior thesis, in which the student researches a topic with the guidance of a faculty adviser.
Many departments hold weekly seminars in which there are presentations by faculty, students, and visiting scholars. Frequent lectures and symposia further expand the opportunities for intellectual exchange available to Reed students.
Evaluation
Reed College encourages students to measure academic achievement by self-assessment of their grasp of course material and intellectual growth. Students’ work is closely observed and frequently evaluated by faculty instructors. Students receive frequent written and oral comments on their work.
The college does not wish to divide students by labels of achievement. While a conventional letter grade for each course is recorded for every student, the registrar’s office does not distribute grades to students. Students may access an unofficial transcript if they wish to do so. Unsatisfactory grades are reported directly to the student and the student’s adviser. Students are encouraged to discuss the evaluation of their work in individual conferences with their faculty instructors and advisers.
Student progress in all courses is reviewed six times each year: at the fourth and eighth weeks and at the end of each semester. In addition to the course grade, faculty members submit comments giving their assessment of the student’s difficulties when a student’s work is incomplete or below the expected standard. At the end of each semester, the progress of first- and second-year students is reviewed by the Administration Committee of the faculty, and that of upper-division students by the divisions in which they are majoring. Faculty comments are considered along with the grade record in deciding whether an academic action should be taken.
Academic Advising
Each student has a faculty adviser who offers guidance and counseling on program, performance, and career goals. An adviser is assigned initially according to the student’s interests and may be changed at the request of the student through the registrar’s office.
All students should confer with their advisers at least three times during the year: at the beginning of the year to review their planned course of study, at the beginning of the second semester for an overall review of progress, and in the spring at the time of registration for course selection and program planning for the following year. Additionally, every new student should confer with the adviser following the first progress review in the fall. Every student in academic difficulty should confer with their adviser and with the instructor in each course where performance has been unsatisfactory.
All faculty members hold regular office hours to discuss students’ progress and performance in their courses. The dean of students and other members of the student life staff are also available to discuss educational and personal concerns. The registrar’s office manages the assignment of academic advisers for continuing students. Students who wish to explore changing advisers should check with the registrar’s office for assistance.
Instructional Resources
The Office of Academic Support: Academic, Quantitative, and Writing Skills; Peer Tutoring
The Office of Academic Support, housed in the Dorothy Johansen House (DoJo), offers academic coaching on quantitative skills and academic/study skills, as well as peer tutoring for many subjects and skill areas, including writing, biology, chemistry, computer science, economics, languages, mathematics, and physics.
Professional staff members offer coaching in skills such as reading effectively, studying for exams, and time management, as well as quantitative skills for math, science, and social science courses. Peer tutors are fellow undergraduates who have a deep understanding of Reed’s approach to academics. Tutors have been recommended by their professors and are trained not to provide answers, but guidance to augment and develop student learning.
These free resources are available to students at all stages of their Reed career. Students should discuss with their adviser how academic support can help them manage the demands of Reed’s challenging coursework.
To learn more about academic support services and resources available at Reed, visit the Office of Academic Support website at reed.edu/academic_support.
Computing Resources
Reed’s educational technology center and other campus computing facilities are designed to provide students and other members of the college community with a rich and diverse set of tools for learning, research, and communication. Students have unlimited access to physical and virtual computing labs, known as information resource centers (IRCs), 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Instructional technology is used in every academic discipline at Reed, and there are specialized student computing labs in art, biology, chemistry, language studies, linguistics, the performing arts, physics, psychology, and other areas.
Students and faculty members who purchase computer equipment and peripherals through the college receive discounts on hardware and software. Low-interest loans are available from Reed to help students finance computers; in addition, seniors and students on financial aid are eligible to receive a computer on loan for the academic year through the student technology equipment program.
Reed’s wireless network reaches all residence halls, classrooms, labs, offices, and study areas, and many other campus spaces. Students must register their personal computers and handheld devices in order to access networked resources. All computers connected to the campus network must have up-to-date antivirus and antispyware protection software.
Software troubleshooting; hardware repair; consulting about purchases; training in the use of Macintosh, Windows, and Linux computers; and other technology services are available to all students.
For more information about computing at Reed, visit the information technology website at reed.edu/it.
Library and Media Centers
Library
The library is a central part of the intellectual and cultural life at Reed. Its primary mission is to provide collections and services that support the educational goals of the college. Book stacks are open to encourage browsing of the collections. Study desks, carrels, and comfortable seating are distributed throughout the building, which also supports wireless network access. A computer-equipped reading room is a popular place for writing and research. Library staff members endeavor to maintain an atmosphere that is informal and conducive to study.
Reed’s library houses a collection of over 680,000 volumes. It is a depository for U.S. government publications and maintains special collections of rare books, manuscripts, and archival materials. The library manages a collection of nearly 230,000 digital images that support instruction and research in art, classics, humanities, history, and other disciplines.
Reed’s carefully built collection provides strong support for student coursework and for individual research interests. Students can consult a variety of databases and online resources to access journal articles, e-books, data, maps, and images on a wide range of subjects. Reed students have borrowing privileges at most Oregon and Washington academic libraries. Students can place direct online requests for books and other resources in these other library collections and have the titles delivered to Reed.
The library is open over 120 hours each week. Librarians staff the reference desk to aid students in their research and answer reference questions using email, online chat, and text messaging. They offer class-related instruction in the use of library resources and methods for exploring print and digital resources.
Students are encouraged to consult a reference librarian for more information on library resources and services. The library’s website can be found at library.reed.edu.
Media Center
The instructional media center (IMC), on lower level one in the library building, includes a language lab, a video viewing room, a multimedia lab, and a large collection of videos. Streaming audio and video are provided for courses and to individuals in the Reed community via the IMC. Additionally, the IMC provides audiovisual equipment for checkout, including headphones, laptops, audio/video recorders, projectors, DVD/VCR players, and screens.
Performing Arts Resource Center
The Performing Arts Building includes a shared library and computing facility known as the PARC (performing arts resource center). This facility includes sound recordings, music scores, videos, computers, and other information resources that support studies in the performing arts. In addition, a core collection of current performing arts journals and reference materials is available. A performing arts librarian, an instructional technologist, and other staff support the use of collections, technology, and services for dance, music, and theatre.
Cooley Gallery
The Douglas F. Cooley Memorial Art Gallery is Reed College’s professional visual arts exhibition space and is located in the Reed College library. The mission of the Cooley is to present exceptional historical and contemporary art in dialogue with the academic program of the college and for the enrichment of the larger community. Exhibitions are curated by director Stephanie Snyder ‘91, in close collaboration with Reed faculty and occasional guest curators. The Cooley’s programs complement courses in the visual arts and humanities and are accompanied by publications, lectures, and symposia. Reed students intern at the Cooley, receiving rigorous mentorship in curatorial issues, K-12 museum education, and gallery operations. The Cooley also founded and organizes Reed’s Calligraphy Initiative, which offers weekly calligraphy classes for students and the Reed community. Cooley exhibitions in 2011-2018 included The Academy of Saturn, an exploration of networked culture’s affective intimacies by UK artists Thomson & Craighead; Stacy, a video-based performance project by queer feminist artist Wynne Greenwood that subsequently traveled to the New Museum, New York; Qalam, Persian and Arabic Calligraphy from the Early Middle Ages to the Present; Will Return, a performance and object-based installation by noted New York artist and Reed alumna Jamie Isenstein ‘98; Lloyd Reynolds: A Life of Forms in Art, the first comprehensive exhibition of the work of renowned Oregon calligrapher, visual artist, Reed College professor, and humanist Lloyd Reynolds (1902-1978), cocurated with Gay Walker ‘69, Reed College Special Collections Librarian; Bruce Nauman: Basements, an exhibition of Nauman’s early studio films from 1967 to 1969; and Kara Walker: More & Less, an exhibition that included Walker’s most recent film, Fall Frum Grace, Miss Pipi’s Blue Tale (2011), and a body of prints and multiples from the collections of Jordan D. Schnitzer and the Jordan Schnitzer Family Foundation.
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