Frontload Course Development by Creating Intensive Course Design Institutes

While it is essential for faculty to proactively design a student and learning-focused course, they often benefit from in-the-moment advice about the changes they have made to their teaching practice. Most institutions meet this need by offering peer or staff observation services through their centers of teaching and learning. While this approach gives faculty student and peer feedback about their teaching practice it also runs into three challenges that limit its efficacy.

By relying solely on professional staff and faculty to provide this service, the scale of the program is limited by funding and staffing constraints. However, even at institutions with capacity this approach may not always yield the most informative results. Research indicates that inconsistent relationships with authority figures, particularly during K-12, creates a trust barrier between underrepresented students and staff.

Use this brief for strategies and a case study on supporting faculty through course redesign.