Re/Designing Courses

Examples of Questions Raised by UW Instructors:

"How do I make the transition from smaller to larger classes?"

"Are there active learning strategies we can incorporate into 500 person lectures?"

"How do I maintain active communication with students in larger classes?"

Suggested Resources that Provide Starting Points to Address These Questions:

Teaching Large Classes

• Actively Engaging Students in Large Classes - CIDR Teaching and Learning Bulletin, 12(3)
• Beating the Numbers Game: Effective Teaching in Large Classes - by Richard Felder
• Teaching Large Classes - A 15-minute video offering practical suggestions for facilitating learning in large classes

... more on Teaching Large Classes

Active Learning

• Active Learning with PowerPoint - including discussions of Active Lecturing, Active Learning Strategies, Effective Handouts, Games, and Formative Assessment
• Classroom Performance Systems - A series of short video clips by UW Austin Professor Dee Silverthorn on interactive teaching in large classes
• Strategies for energizing large classes: From small groups to learning communities - Volume 81 of New Directions for Teaching and Learning, with chapters on a variety of topics related to teaching large classes (Jossey-Bass, 2000).

... more on Active Learning

Class Participation and Discussion

• More and Better Class Participation
  CIDR Teaching and Learning Bulletin, 4(1)
• Any Questions? Different types of questions that can be effectively asked in class, by Richard Felder
• Six Ways to Discourage Learning - An article written to help instructors "become aware of very common things ... which don't help the learning process, and avoid them!"

... more on Class Participation and Discussion

Assignment and Course Design

• Designing a Course - CIDR Teaching and Learning Bulletin, 2(1)
• Planning and Assessing Assignments in Large Classes
  CIDR Teaching and Learning Bulletin, 12(5)
• Writing Learning-Centered Objectives, by Liz Banset, University of Nebraska - Lincoln

... more on Course Design