2018/2019 Call for Proposals: Exec Summary / Call for Proposals (PDF)
About the Exploration
Sharing courses as a consortium can enhance curricular opportunities for students and faculty, lead to efficiency gains by combining expertise and curricular resources, and provide opportunities for our faculty and students to explore digitally-enhanced, collaborative modes for teaching and learning in the liberal arts.
Based on insights flowing from the Upper Level Math/Stats and Self-Instructional Language (SILP) course sharing pilots, a multi-campus, multidisciplinary Steering Committee and Course Design Task Force are working in concert to explore models and possibilities for course sharing across LACOL’s digital network.
As LACOL is considering a framework for course sharing, a learner-centered course design is recommended to emphasize interpersonal connections and engagement between faculty and students across a shared class. To the extent possible, a level playing field (via technology and pedagogy) should be maintained across local and remote learners. While there is not a one-size-fits all approach, there are plenty of proven models and techniques to draw on. Support for shared courses will depend on a thriving network of relationships across faculty, IT, library, accessibility offices, and other academic support units.
While the consortium expects to be in exploratory mode for the foreseeable future, success of any course sharing initiative critically depends on local champions at the leadership and grass roots levels.
2019 Shared Courses
Introduction to Critical Data Science (Summer 2019)
Bayesian Statistics (Spring 2019, Fall 2019)
Operations Research (Fall 2019)
2017 -2018 Shared Course Pilots
Course Sharing for Portuguese (SILP)
In the Fall 2017/Spring 2018, Vassar College and Williams College shared a tutor and teaching resources for their students learning Portuguese via their Self-Instructional Language Programs.
Read more: https://lacol.net/project-summary-silp
Upper Level Math/Stats
In Spring and Fall of 2017, several LACOL colleges collaborated to pilot three shared course offerings for advanced mathematics and statistics:
- Putnam Problem Solving, Spring ‘17 (Prof. S. Miller, WIlliams College)
- Advanced Real Analysis, Fall ‘17 (Prof. S. Garcia, Pomona College)
- Bayesian Statistics, Fall ‘17 (Prof. M. Hu, Vassar College)
Read more: https://lacol.net/category/collaborations/projects/upper-level-math
Multidisciplinary Advisory Group
This group was convened in January 2018 to advance the course sharing exploration over the course of the spring term. Based on recommendations from the Math/Stats steering group as a starting point, this group is considering a wider range of opportunities across the disciplines and the policies and processes to support a course sharing agreement and framework.
Steering Committee: Members
Course Design Task Force:
This group was convened in January 2018. They are charged with developing technical and design guidelines to support robust teaching, learning and student engagement as part of a course sharing framework that may emerge from these deliberations.
Task Force: Members
Related Posts:
- Sharing Courses in Self-Instructional Language Programs through Online Conversation
- Course Sharing for Self-Instructional Language Learning (SILP)
- Operations Research – Shared Course Opportunity, Fall 2019
- Bayesian Statistics – Shared Course Opportunity, Fall 2019
- Professors present math/stats course sharing pilot at EDUCAUSE ELI
- Upper Level Math & Stats Course Exchange
- Where’s my remote? Shared upper level math courses across schools
- Project Update: Upper Level Stats shared course pilot added for Fall 2017
- Exploration of Blended Course Offerings for Upper Level Mathematics