Applications due June 30, 2022 for work to begin in Fall 2022
The large lecture course can be an efficient way to reach a large number of students, but there are widely known challenges to creating a meaningful experience for students and faculty alike. How do we engage students in their own learning when they are among hundreds in a lecture hall? How do we spark curiosity, critical thinking, and deep learning? Are there ways to create connections in a large classroom that support student success?
The Innovating Large Courses Initiative is a new program focused on supporting academic units to create sustainable change for learning in large courses at CU Boulder. The initiative aims to improve student success in these courses through team-based efforts and cross-campus collaboration.
Large courses exist in a kind of ecosystem, wherein many people contribute. At the center are students and faculty, who are supported by Graduate Teaching Assistants (GTAs), graders, department staff and advisors, Learning Assistants (LAs), department and campus tutors, librarians, and an array of other learning support staff. Thus, at the center of the initiative is the department-based Course Team that will collaboratively work to identify and address the particular issues associated with student success in their respective course(s).
Course Teams will be led by a faculty team manager. Teams will work together for three years to plan and implement effective teaching strategies that support student learning; and identify and adopt course design practices that align instruction, assignments, learning activities, and assessments with course learning outcomes. The initiative will assist course teams to identify co-curricular and academic support strategies to address student learning needs outside of the classroom context.