Spring 2026. The Spark of Learning: Energizing the College Classroom with the Science of Emotion

Spring 2026. The Spark of Learning: Energizing the College Classroom with the Science of Emotion

Description

Graduate Reading Group

  • Date: Fridays, February 20, March 20, and April 10, 2026 
  • Time: 12:00-1:00 pm 
  • Location: Hill Hall 117 
  • Facilitators: Brian Wesley Harrington, Sarah Ligon, and Amitesh Singh

This semester, the Graduate Reading Group will tackle the book The Spark of Learning: Energizing the College Classroom with the Science of Emotion, by Sarah Rose Cavanagh. Registered graduate students will receive a paperback copy of the book. Join us to learn more about college teaching and connect with fellow graduate TAs, instructors, and aspiring educators.

Historically, we have constructed our classrooms with the assumption that learning is a dry, staid affair best conducted in quiet tones and ruled by an unemotional consideration of the facts. The field of education, however, is beginning to awaken to the potential power of emotions to fuel learning, informed by contributions from psychology and neuroscience. In friendly, readable prose, Sarah Rose Cavanagh argues that if you as an educator want to capture your students' attention, harness their working memory, bolster their long-term retention, and enhance their motivation, you should consider the emotional impact of your teaching style and course design. To make this argument, she brings to bear a wide range of evidence from the study of education, psychology, and neuroscience, and she provides practical examples of successful classroom activities from a variety of disciplines in secondary and higher education.

ISBN

978-1-943665-33-4

Publication Date

2-20-2026

Relational Format

book

Spring 2026. The Spark of Learning: Energizing the College Classroom with the Science of Emotion

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