Center for Instructional Innovation and Assessment - Western Washington University's Teaching and Learning Center
2009-10 Featured Instructors
Jason Kanov, Department of Management, teaches Management and Organizational Behavior 311 to an average class size of 200.
David Shull, Department of Environmental Science, teaches Introduction to Environmental Science 101 to average class size of 450.
Larry Symons, Department of Psychology, teaches Introduction to Psychology 101 with average class size of 250.
To navigate this year's Showcase, select the links to the 2009-10 Showcase on the left navigation bar. For complete publication information, check out the Colophon.
Planning for Large Classes
The 2009-10 Innovative Teaching Showcase theme, "Planning for Large Classes," seeks to honor faculty who take on this sometimes daunting task. 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. Take this opportunity to meet this year’s featured instructors and to become inspired.
To learn more about this year's Showcase theme, Planning for Large Classes, read the following excerpt from Catherine Riordan's Introduction:
"Western's vision is to become the premier public comprehensive university in the country through engaged excellence. This mission begs questions of specificity: What practical steps can teachers take to create a "learning environment of the highest quality?" What does "personalized teaching" look like in a small senior seminar? What does it look like in a large lecture?
The faculty highlighted in this year’s Innovative Teaching Showcase provide three different answers to these questions through demonstrations and explanations grounded in three widely-diverging fields."
Read more...
