Frontload Course Development by Creating Intensive Course Design Institutes

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

There are many factors that disincentivize faculty teaching innovation, this is most apparent when considering new faculty. PhD programs help aspiring professors become subject matter experts but often do not include coursework on the fundamentals of teaching. New faculty inadvertently begin their career with limited course design experience. New faculty orientation often serves as an introduction to institutional policies and procedures and is not always a mechanism to provide “onthe-job” training.

Even if faculty know who to turn to for teaching and learning support the tenure rat race disincentivizes prioritizing teaching improvement.