Patrick O’Sullivan, CTLT; Tim Fredstrom, Music
Sometimes tinkering with a course between semesters just isn’t enough; it needs a serious overhaul. Instructors may have first designed the course as a newer assistant professor, may have inherited it, or may realize it is not reaching its potential. This is when it is time to blow it up and start over so to take advantage of the instructor’s growth as a teacher, ownership of the class, and/or to enrich students’ learning experiences as always intended. This is the premise of the “Reinvent Your Course” workshop conducted during CTLT’s 2007 Summer Institute for the 21st Century Educator. Seventeen ISU instructors at all ranks and from across campus worked throughout the summer to reinvent their courses. Their journey was guided by key principles of effective instruction embodied in a new curriculum development model supplemented by coaching by the facilitator and each other. For many, it was an eye-opening and rewarding experience that has the potential for an enduring transformation of their teaching. In this session, participants will share their experiences reinventing their course (the good, the bad and the ugly) and then teaching their reinvented course in the fall of 2007. They will also share their insights and recommendations for colleagues who realize that their own courses need reinvention too.
