Stephanie Dunson on Writing Your Way to Collaborative Discovery
Release Date: 10/28/2024
Introducing Long Life Learning Season 2
Long Life Learning
Long Life Learning is back! Join us every Monday this May and June to hear Kavitha Bindra, Executive Director of the Yale School of Management Executive Education, speak with accomplished executives and thought leaders to discuss living with inspiration and vitality. Season 2 centers around leveraging dynamic leadership for global impact, inspired by the voices that come out of the Yale Global Executive Leadership Program (YGELP).
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Jo Ann Jenkins on Social Change and Lifelong Mentorship at AARP
Long Life Learning
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Stephanie Dunson on Writing Your Way to Collaborative Discovery
Long Life Learning
If you’ve ever caught yourself about to correct a spelling mistake on a grocery list, this week's guest has advice for you: Stop! And reflect: Why? Yale School of Management Lecturer and reflective writing practitioner Stephanie Dunson joins Kavitha in the studio for a discussion about how the power of process writing moves us from inward reflection to outward, purposeful action. Stephanie encourages her students—of all ages—to let go of everything they’ve been taught about “right and wrong” in writing and embrace the metacognitive journey of pursuing uncertainty: What’s...
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Michael Swiatek on Why This Is the Golden Age of Accessibility and Life
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This week’s guest, Michael Swiatek, is a longtime airline executive and strategist. He also identifies as a blind, low vision individual, and is pioneering new ways to make flying accessible and comfortable to all travelers. Mike joins Kavitha to explain how he went from despising the airline industry to embracing it as a vocation, and why he’s excited, at age 61, to boldly step into a dual role as Chief Strategy Officer and Chief Accessibility Officer for Abra Group. Listen to take part in discussions of Mike’s incredible international experiences, what he’s seen change in the...
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Joanna Lohman on Why She’s Refiring, Not Retiring
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Marc Freedman on Seeking Curiosity and Purpose in Midlife Transitions
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In our first-ever episode of Long Life Learning, host Kavitha Bindra (Executive Director, Yale SOM Executive Education) is joined by Marc Freedman, Founder and Co-CEO of CoGenerate. Marc is dedicated to championing intergenerational projects for the greater good, and will serve as Faculty Director for the forthcoming Experienced Leaders Initiative (ELI) provided by Executive Education at the Yale School of Management. Together, Marc and Kavitha lay the groundwork for a dynamic first season, untangling myths around aging and celebrating the joy of embracing the second half of life. Join...
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Welcome to Long Life Learning!
Long Life Learning
Long Life Learning host Kavitha Bindra introduces the premise of Season 1: how to center purpose and meaning in the context of midlife transitions. Just like participants in Yale SOM Executive Education's forthcoming Experienced Leaders Initiative, guests on the show are embracing their personal and professional milestones with dynamic leadership and tenacity! Featured voices include upcoming guests Marc Freedman, Joanna Lohman, and Michael Swiatek.
info_outlineIf you’ve ever caught yourself about to correct a spelling mistake on a grocery list, this week's guest has advice for you: Stop! And reflect: Why?
Yale School of Management Lecturer and reflective writing practitioner Stephanie Dunson joins Kavitha in the studio for a discussion about how the power of process writing moves us from inward reflection to outward, purposeful action. Stephanie encourages her students—of all ages—to let go of everything they’ve been taught about “right and wrong” in writing and embrace the metacognitive journey of pursuing uncertainty: What’s missing from their writing? Why did they choose a particular word or structure? How can they move from fixation on the product to a generative emphasis on process?
This mindset shift, Stephanie believes, can help writers break through static individual beliefs and powerfully activate group thinking. Join this week’s conversation to learn why Stephanie sees unfinished writing as the perfect, porous entry point into another’s internal experience, and how to share your writing in a way that prioritizes vulnerability over exposure.
Transcript
Episode 4—Stephanie Dunson Transcript
Links and Resources
Information on ELI and Yale SOM Executive Education:
Resources Mentioned in Today’s Episode:
- Embracing Contraries, Peter Elbow
- How We Think, John Dewey
- Transformative Learning in Practice, Jack Mezirow and Edward Taylor
- The Evolving Self, Robert Kegan
- A River Runs Through It, Norman Maclean
- 100 Essays I Don’t Have Time to Write, Sarah Ruhl
More Featuring Stephanie:
- Stephanie’s guest appearance on Dr. Heidi Brooks’ Learning Through Experience podcast
- Stephanie’s podcast, 100 Writing Mistakes Academic Writers Make... And How to Fix Them
About Today’s Guest
Stephanie Dunson, Yale SOM Lecturer in Reflective Writing
Stephanie Dunson is an award-winning scholar and a collaborative process specialist whose experience spans the academic and business worlds. Over her thirty-year career, she’s gained an international reputation as a writing process expert, leading workshops at major universities, speaking at leading colleges, and coaching faculty from top programs. Her development as a team thinking expert is grounded in her work as a consultant for the Bard College Institute for Writing and Thinking and continued within academia through her tenure as Director of Writing Programs at Williams College. As a corporate consultant, she leads writing workshops designed to help groups collaborate critically on complex problems, make meaningful use of diverse viewpoints, and build communities of inquiry, support, and respect. At Yale SOM, she's a Lecturer on Reflective Writing and an Executive Education affiliate.