Traditionally, Andover students follow a set path of five to six courses per term — a standard curriculum that guides them through core curriculum classes and select arts and elections. But in 2020, the introduction of Workshop 12 by the Tang Institute challenged this norm by condensing a student’s entire course load into a single course spanning the entire academic day.
Around 20 Seniors enroll for this term-contained class, which takes place exclusively in the spring term, enabling them to dedicate their attention to independent work and off-campus learning. Colleen Martin, Instructor in English and a faculty member for Workshop 12, expressed her appreciation for the program and its unique learning approach. Martin highlighted how Workshop 12 does not employ the traditional grading system, relying solely on instructor-student feedback.
“We don’t come to Workshop 12 representing our disciplines. We come more with the mindset of being great mentors and learning partners with our students. While we have expertise in our particular fields, our goal as teachers is not to teach our discipline, but to teach and learn with our students. I normally focus on reading, writing, analytical thinking, argumentation, evidence, use of evidence, but in The Workshop, I get to talk about public health and social justice… We talk about learning and education in a holistic way, and we get to talk about all kinds of interdisciplinary approaches and themes and work with our colleagues from other departments in a really non-traditional way,” said Martin.
Workshop 12 and its progressive approach to a broader education continues to captivate the attention and interests of students and faculty alike. Word about the program circulates through various settings each year and its reputation as an outlet for independent research and interdisciplinary engagement has become well-known throughout the Andover community.
Ashley Park ’24 was among the Seniors who felt the pull of Workshop 12. Park described how she initially heard of this opportunity and how the course aligned with her interactive learning style and passions.
“I learned about Workshop 12 during my Lower Spring when I saw a lot of photos on Instagram and social media. It was then that I learned that there was a thing called ‘The Workshop’ for Seniors. I was very interested in what that was, so about a year later, [when] a lot of my friends, who were seniors, were taking the course or the program… I found myself asking them what it was and what they [did]. From what I heard, I realized that they do a lot of the things that I am interested in doing, which is a lot of interdisciplinary work outside of the classroom. That’s one of the biggest reasons why I was interested in signing up for it. I think by just doing more research on what it was in preparation for the application, I was more motivated to be part of this program,” said Park.
She continued, “My interest comes mainly from humanities but also a lot from human behavior and how we interact with people. I think The Workshop stuck out to me because we do a lot of things off-campus, a lot of things through projects, and not just things that we have to follow through a certain curriculum. I think that these kinds of opportunities made me very curious on how I can bring my interest to the table.”
Ellen Greenberg, Instructor in Mathematics, discussed the difficulties of planning the class’ curriculum, while also highlighting the benefit of Workshop 12 to the student body. Greenburg compared Workshop 12 to other student programs such as the Community and Multicultural Development (CaMD) Scholarship, describing how the program provided opportunities for student collaboration and coordination.
“As a group of faculty, I think we’re all trying to say; are we providing the time to take a field trip or to work in the habit learning garden or to have blocks of time to really be more in-depth and engaging with the material as far as long term plans or goals or changes? I think it’s one of many amazing experiences that students can seek out. The CaMD Scholars Program Face Scholars program allows students to do research and present to their peers. I think The Workshop offers that for 20 students which I think is a wonderful chance for them to really work on bonding as a group and then pursue their own interests as well,” said Greenberg.
Tulah Jefferson ’24 shared how Workshop 12 would influence the grand scheme of her life. Jefferson also described how she felt drawn to the opportunity to learn more about the broad outreach of the program, allowing students to connect with those who are outside of the Andover community.
“I think as I transition into college, I’ll have a lot more independence and less influence from adults, so I think this will really help me figure out how I kind of want to manage my time and what purposes I personally want to pursue instead of just following the curriculum and standards that I need to graduate. Other than that, I think it’s really important that while we have these connections at Andover, a lot of the time, we get really stuck inside of this ‘Andover Bubble’ and our mindset can become small. Although we have really diverse thoughts and ideas here, we’re definitely not the only people in the world, so just being able to access other people outside of Andover with different life experiences and life paths will also help me be a more understanding and holistic person in general,” said Jefferson.
