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Section 3.1 Winter Term: Getting Started with the Re-Envisioning Process

  • Gain the support of the head of the department

    • discuss the feasibility of undertaking curricular reform and communicate progress often

  • Form a small committee (3 to 4 people)

    • choose volunteers, people who have changes they want to see and help make happen
    • choose people willing to listen to the rest of the group as well as to put out their own ideas
    • choose people who represent the various perspectives of faculty in the department (e.g., experimentalist/theorist; different faculty ranks, research foci, teaching experiences)
    • choose people who have knowledge of different aspects of the curriculum
    • choose people whom other faculty seem to trust

  • Inform the community about the intended process via a department colloquium

    • present overview and timeline

    • explain expectations for faculty participation such as:

      • responding to an online survey,
      • meeting with a committee member to create a set of index cards listing main topics in a course one is currently teaching if teaching upper-division
      • consulting with the committee at least once to provide input to proposed plans
      • participating in faculty meetings during discussions and eventual vote

  • Document faculty and student perspectives via an anonymous online survey

    • collaborate within the committee to generate and refine questions
    • include open-ended questions to elicit positive input (e.g., preferred learning goals for majors, knowledge/skills students need to start doing research, aspects of the current program that should be preserved, ways to enhance faculty knowledge of curriculum and use of active engagement strategies)
    • include open-ended opportunities for negative feedback as well
    • include requests for ratings of importance for topics (e.g., various subject matter themes and issues needing attention)
    • clarify consent process; gain IRB approval; create and test online versions
    • provide two versions: one for faculty and graduate students; one for juniors and seniors
    • launch survey immediately after department colloquium, state deadline for responses
    • analyze responses; use results to inform committee priorities and actions
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