Transforming Course Design Opportunities at SSU:

Sonoma State University has received funding from the CSU to implement a project in Transforming Course Design. This funding will enable training, collaboration, and support of 6-8 faculty to engage in a Faculty Learning Community on Transforming Course Design. Each faculty member will receive a $1000 stipend, as well as full travel support to participate in the CSU Symposium on Teaching & Learning in Spring, 2008. Application.

About Transforming Course Design:

The most successful courses maximize student engagement, emphasize active learning and use technology to enable increased amounts of high-quality contact between faculty and students. Ways in which these outcomes may be achieved include increasing the amount of material made available online; using online quizzing/feedback mechanisms or student response systems (e.g., Clickers); making use of discipline-based computer laboratories; providing flexibility in course options; and maximizing student access to course help, either from an instructor or teaching assistant.

Outline of Transforming Course Design Activities at SSU

• Transforming Course Design workshop, September 12, 11a-12p in Schulz 3001
• Applications for participation due to Brett Christie due Friday, September 28
• Applications reviewed by members of Professional Development Subcommittee
• Notification to applicants by Monday, October 8
• Subsequent TCD Faculty Learning Community (FLC) mtgs (1-2 hours each)
• Mtg 1 (mid-Oct): Further defining TCD. Intro to Threshold Concepts
• Mtg 2 (late-Oct): FLC shares Threshold Concepts from one course
• Mtg 3 (early-Nov): Pachyderm demonstration and hands-on workshop
• Mtg 4: (mid-Nov): FLC presents draft of Pachyderm templates and discusses how Threshold Concepts are presented and reinforced
• Mtg 5: (early-Dec): FLC shares draft Online Unit of Instruction (OUI). FLC provides in-depth peer, enabling final planning for spring implementation
• Mtg 6: (early-Feb): FLC demonstrates first complete OUI.
• Mtg 7: (late-Feb): Student feedback. Pachyderm template for 2^nd OUI.
• Participate in SSU Expo of Faculty Scholarship and Research (date TBD)
• Mtg 8: (early-Mar): Brief demo of 2^nd OUI. Student FB. Plan 3^rd OUI.
• Funded travel to present in CSU Teaching and Learning symposium
• Mtg 9: (late-Mar): Present 3^rd OUI to FLC and receive peer feedback.
• Submit Online Units of Instruction to merlot.org

More Information About TCD

• Academic Transformation model (Twigg, et. al) developed thru Nationl Center for Academic Transformation (http://www.center.rpi.edu/).
• Increasing Success for Underserved Students: Redesigning Introductory Courses (www.thencat.org/Monographs/IncSuccess.htm)
• Success Stories in Transforming Course Design, sorted by discipline (http://www.thencat.org/PCR/Proj_Discipline_all.html)
• CSU TCD website (http://www.calstate.edu/ats/transforming_course_design/)