Four courses have received development funding through the latest round of Curriculum Innovation Grants (CIG) to create new courses that keep the college’s offerings current in content, quality and delivery.
The CIG Committee, which consists of members of the Committee on Learning and Teaching, met in April to review proposals submitted in the Spring 2020 round of Curriculum Innovation Grants. They approved the following:
- “B.Well NOW!,” Amy Bidwell, Health Promotion and Wellness
- “Teacher Practice in a Virtual World: Major Course Revision Using Immersive Teaching Technology,” Theresa Parry-Bick and Amanda Fenlon, Curriculum and Instruction
- “Accessibility (Social Change, Assistive Technologies & Universal Design),” Vanessa Maike, Computer Science
- “Co-requisite Remediation for College Algebra,” Zoë Misiewicz, Mathematics
The “B.Well NOW” course will look to provide students with a repertoire of techniques, resources and resilience strategies to handle everyday stressors of college and life. Focusing on holistic stress management, time management and social engagement to help students better adapt to college, the class will build off the root elements of a First-Year Signature Course that Bidwell teaches every fall and tailor it more toward second-year students.
“Teacher Practice in a Virtual World” will revise the adolescent education “Interdisciplinary Methods in the Master’s Science of Teaching (MST)” residency program, shifting from a text-based research course to an authentic practice, research and technology-based course involving virtual classroom simulations. The goal is to provide teacher candidates the opportunity to develop their educational methods and practice in an improved environment for teachers and learners.
The “Accessibility” class will provide a proactive knowledge base to those designing technological tools that support access to people with special conditions or needs. Students will learn about accessibility from a perspective of social awareness and Universal Design principles. The course targets both students interested in using accessibility in their own work and those interested in building tools and systems that have accessibility as either a main goal or a requisite.
“Co-requisite Remediation for College Algebra” will aim to support STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) majors who might come in with a limited mathematical background. Co-requisite remediation is the addition of extra support, such as a one-credit lab session focused on review of previous material, that takes place in parallel with the following course rather than sequentially. Numerous studies have found this technique increases student success.
For more information on Curriculum Innovation Grants, visit the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs’ internal funding opportunities page.