2026-2027 Course Catalog – Other Courses

COL5000
Colloquium (CL)

Prerequisite: None
Credit: 1 credit
Offered: Fall

Colloquium is a longstanding and distinctive feature of an Indiana Academy education. A mandatory class for all entering students in their first Fall semester, the Colloquium is an essential introduction to their personal development at the Indiana Academy and the expectations of intellectual exploration, which include learning to formulate thoughtful inquiry, to connect and challenge ideas or concepts, and to think critically, analytically, and philosophically. Through this shared experience, students gain confidence and become more effective thinkers and communicators, growing both as individuals and as a community through activities of persistent questioning, rational discussion, and reasoned argumentation. Active class participation is essential, so the colloquium experience includes out-of-the classroom activities, such as events and opportunities on the Ball State University campus.

Colloquium is a team-taught course of four separate month-long acts, each led by a different instructor. Students rotate between all four of these acts over the course of the semester, so as to learn information from a variety of sources via different teaching approaches and to assist students in developing different aptitudes. These four modules are:

1. Salon: An introduction to the skills and discipline of small-group discussion.
2. Oratory: An introduction to public speaking and persuasive argument.
3. Drama: An introduction to acting and performance as communication skills.
4. Movement: An introduction to non-verbal communication and building physical confidence.