Reacting Consortium | Reacting to the Past

EXPLORE THE REACTING CONSORTIUM

STAFF

WHAT IS THE CONSORTIUM?

The Reacting Consortium is an alliance of colleges, universities, and individual faculty committed to using, developing, and publishing the Reacting to the Past series of role playing games for higher education and providing programs for faculty development and curricular change. Through the main program office at Barnard College, the Consortium provides programs for faculty development and curricular change, including a regular series of conferences and workshops, online instructor resources, and consulting services. For those interested in developing their own games, the Consortium also has an Editorial Board that provides guidance and oversight during the game development process from concept to official designation and publication.

About Us

RC: Mission & Purpose

MISSION
The mission of the Reacting Consortium is to promote imagination, inquiry, and engagement as foundational features of teaching and student learning in higher education through the development and dissemination of Reacting to the Past role playing games.

PURPOSE
The Reacting Consortium develops Reacting to the Past (RTTP) role playing games to inform and transform student learning in American higher education. These games effectively support the achievement of critical thinking, historical and intercultural knowledge, empathy, leadership, integrative learning, effective communication skills, and intellectual curiosity among students. They promote innovative teaching by faculty and administrators of higher education.

The Consortium develops Reacting games for publication through a partnership with an established publisher. It provides faculty with opportunities to learn the highly interactive RTTP pedagogy and to join a community of practice in the support of undergraduate teaching and learning. It provides institutions with effective programs of faculty development and with tools for innovation in curriculum design to encourage advanced accomplishment across both disciplinary and interdisciplinary programs.

HISTORY
The Reacting Consortium is a continuation of the Reacting to the Past Institute, originally developed by Dr. Mark Carnes and supported in its first decade by Barnard College, with major grants from the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (U.S. Department of Education), the Christian A. Johnson Endeavor Foundation, the National Science Foundation, and the Teagle Foundation. The Reacting Advisory Board determined in 2012 to develop and charter a membership organization, housed at Barnard College, to expand instructional support and development opportunities for affiliated faculty.

AN INNOVATIVE, AWARD-WINNING PEDAGOGY

Reacting to the Past was recognized as a model for excellent undergraduate pedagogy by the Hesbergh Award in 2004. Since then, many educators who have received pedagogical recognition and awards have cited Reacting as a key part of their success.

The Reacting Consortium was also awarded the Endeavor Grant, which gave select member institutions the funding and opportunity to explore the use of Reacting to the Past within an undergraduate curriculum revision.

AWARDS AND INITIATIVES