The Course Development Seminars in Teaching Excellence (STE) and EPIC Summer Institute (ESI) initiatives brought together faculty and graduate students to develop undergraduate courses from fields across the Humanities. Building upon the foundational work of the Mellon-EPIC Fellows from the Collaborative Humanities Track (STE), participants worked collaboratively across disciplines and levels of experience to workshop and produce syllabi for fully designed, ready-to-teach courses.
While the format for each initiative was different, they both emphasized the following learning outcomes:
Practice aligning learning outcomes with course activities and assessments
Develop/revise an assessment with equity and flexibility in mind
Redesign portions of a syllabus to reflect more inclusive, student-centered language
Consider active learning techniques to enhance student engagement and understanding
Explore tools for providing meaningful feedback and opportunities for soliciting feedback on one's teaching
Practice accessible use of Bruin Learn
Framework
The Course Development STE and ESI were developed using a framework emphasizing inclusive and accessible teaching strategies. Click on each link to the right to learn more.
Course Development Seminars in Teaching Excellence
The Course Development STEs were a series of quarter-long workshops focusing on innovative and inclusive undergraduate teaching within the Humanities. Each STE was comprised of four faculty members and four graduate students who met as a cohort at least five times over the course of a quarter. STE workshops included:
Health & Medical Humanities—Fall 2021
Environmental Humanities—Winter 2022
Digital Humanities—Spring 2022
EPIC Summer Institute (ESI) on Course Design
The 2022 EPIC Summer Institute (ESI) brought together faculty from the Humanities to participate in a week-long intensive program modeled on the Course Design STE to design their courses ahead of the academic year. The ESI took place September 6 – 9th remotely via Zoom.
Instructors were required to attend multiple daily sessions on topics like Backward Design and Equitable Access, as well as meet with their small groups led by a faculty facilitator to complete and give feedback on assignments. A benefit of attending the ESI is that the instructors got a head start on course design for the upcoming year, had access to resources and teaching materials, and formed connections with a learning community of instructors across the Humanities dedicated to inclusive and equitable teaching.
Participant Spotlight
All participants from the Course Design STEs were asked to design a brand new syllabus, or update an existing one, based on the framework outlined above. Below are some examples of what they produced.
Among its many inclusive components, Vivian Delchamps' syllabus incorporates a Diversity Statement and Statement on Collective Care (page 5); a note about access needs and her fragrance-free classroom policy; and a land acknowledgement with supplemental materials (page 6).
Check out Page 2 to see how Gabriel Page incorporates community agreements into his explanation of how to succeed in the course.
Instructor Wendy Kurtz includes a thorough section on student wellbeing, complete with resources, that uses easy-to-follow language. View Wendy's complete syllabus here.
Michelle Smith includes an Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, & Belonging Statement and provides helpful Academic and Wellness Support Resources (pages 5-6).
See how Lauri Mattenson incorporates student voices into her syllabus (page 2) and prioritizes self-care (page 5).