Events roundup

Summer CTLD Teaching and Learning Book Discussion 

June 7, 11 a.m., virtually or in person (CN 105) 

“Distracted: Why Students Can’t Focus and What You Can Do About It,” by James Lang 

Why is it so difficult for our students to pay attention? Conventional wisdom blames phones and personal devices, but James Lang argues that this solution obscures a deeper problem: How we teach is often at odds with how students learn. Classrooms are designed to force students into long periods of intense focus, but emerging science reveals that the brain is wired for distraction. Join us to discuss ideas for creating environments that capture and cultivate students’ attention. 

Retirement party for Kim Starr  

Thursday, 1-3 p.m., in Jordan Student Success Building Room 330  

Come celebrate Kim Starr at her retirement party where light refreshments will be served. Starr has worked at Metropolitan State University of Denver for 12 years and was instrumental in the merging of Academic and Student Affairs in 2011 and when Academic and Student Affairs split into separate units again in 2018. She will be missed by the Roadrunner community, but you can still find her on the light rail and at Bonneville Speedway, where she and her husband participate in the pit crew every summer. 

‘Information for Foreigners’ by Griselda Gambaro 

Sundays through June 12 

6 p.m.
Colorado Free University, 7653 E. 1st Place  

Tickets: $28 

Reservations and tickets available at www.wheatridgetheatre.com. 

“Information for Foreigners” presents several examples of how authority can spin out of control in the pursuit of total power. Guided by appointed “tour guides,” the audience experiences and witnesses the abuse of authority and violation of human rights. The play is presented by the Wheat Ridge Theatre Company in collaboration with production troupe Bucharest Inside the Beltway, which was founded by Cristina Bejan, Ph.D., affiliate faculty member in MSU Denver’s History Department. 

Please note that the subject can be disturbing for some people. The audience is required to move from room to room, so comfortable shoes are recommended. Special accommodations can be made for audience members with disabilities (please send email in advance).