As you do this, you can start to build the frame for your structure. The images of the vase, jazz combo, and the building of a structure begin to capture our vision of the seminar. The seminar creates a space where respect for other learners is paramount in the midst of the exploration of ideas and concepts. While the seminar should be a safe place, it is not necessarily a comfortable place. The exploration of new ideas and concepts can threaten students' already established meanings.
Students engage with and reflect on the material and each other.
The seminar is not just another learning strategy that is appropriate to those students whose learning style works best in a group, but in itself plays an essential role in learning. A good seminar is a powerful tool of learning for all students. It is the collaborative context that shapes meaningful learning. But it is when one's nascent, inchoate ideas and concepts are tested out in the company of others that a certain creative tension comes into play. It is an end, not just a means.