Center for Instructional Innovation - Western Washington University's Teaching and Learning Center
Innovative Teaching Showcase
Welcome to the Innovative Teaching Showcase, an online publication created by the Center for Instructional Innovation (CII) as a way to highlight and share exceptional teaching practices by Western Washington University faculty. Each year, several instructors are nominated to participate, and then work extensively with the CII to create this in-depth resource. The Showcase is published on this website at the end of each academic year.
The CII is currently accepting nominations for the
2009-10 Innovative Teaching Showcase.
This year’s Showcase theme, “Effective Teaching in Large Classes,” seeks to honor faculty who take on this sometimes daunting task.
Teaching a large class effectively is hard work, but it's possible to do it even if you're not a big-league entertainer. If you make the necessary logistical arrangements far enough in advance… large classes can come close to being as educationally rewarding as small classes. The instructor's satisfaction may be even greater in the large classes: after all, many professors can teach 15 students effectively, but when you do it with 100 or more you know you've really accomplished something.
—Richard M. Felder, Ph.D., North Carolina State University
Higher education instructors are facing burgeoning course enrollments, all the while keeping an eye on student learning outcomes, course evaluations, and retention. Some instructors rise not only to meet the external demands, but to hone in on the intensity—and specific character—of the large class experience. These instructors work to engage students by any and all means necessary and the pay-off is simple: every quarter, thousands of students enthusiastically learn disciplinary essentials, gain profound philosophical or scientific reasoning, and become, even en masse, better future citizens.
The new Showcase will be published here on June 1, 2010.
Please peruse past Showcases via the navigation to the left or search all Showcases.
To connect directly to this year's Showcase, select the link to the 2008-09 Showcase on the left navigation under "Current Edition," or choose the text-based version. Please note that those who choose the text-based version will not be able to view the graphics and video clips.
