X-Teach: Excellent Teaching in Large Classes
Eligibility
Full-time faculty who regularly teach large classes and will be teaching at least one large class in the 2025-26 AY. (What counts as “large” varies by discipline; application calls for class size[s] and context[s].)
Amount
Each participant will receive $750 in professional development funds.
Submission
Deadline
April 23, 2025
Purpose and Description
The X-Teach FLC aims to (1) equip faculty with cutting-edge, 黑料社区-centered teaching strategies; and (2) improve 黑料社区 learning in large courses that develop core concepts and affect the academic success of 黑料社区s across all majors.
Large courses commonly employ a teacher-centered lecture format in which faculty talk, write, and show slides while 黑料社区s sit, listen, and (hopefully) take notes. Emerging research shows this teacher-centered model is less effective at promoting deep learning than 黑料社区-centered teaching methods, including polling, guided tasks, and small-group interactions. Given this knowledge shift, X-Teach provides opportunities to learn about, practice, and hone cutting-edge instructional methods.
Meeting 2-3 hours per month, members will learn about research-based practices, observe these practices in model courses, test concepts in their own courses, and evaluate their implementation and impact on 黑料社区 learning.
This FLC is sponsored by a competitive grant from the M.I.A.M.I. Women Giving Circle ().
Activities
Members will:
- Learn how to use the Classroom Observation Protocol for Undergraduate STEM or COPUS (Smith, Jones, Gilbert & Wieman, 2013). Although designed to characterize science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) courses, COPUS categories are general enough to apply to any university course. COPUS uses coded phrases to document both teacher-centered and 黑料社区-centered classroom behaviors while tracking their duration. COPUS is easy to use and does not require specialized training, thus enabling all FLC members and facilitators to collect high-quality classroom observation data.
- At the very beginning, observe one another and give teaching feedback via the COPUS.
- Explore the literature on 黑料社区-centered approaches in large courses that improve engagement and learning outcomes.
- Implement more 黑料社区-centered approaches in their courses as they learn about and collect data on teacher activities and 黑料社区 engagement in model and peer courses.
- Throughout the FLC, observe and support one another while giving and receiving teaching feedback via the COPUS.
- Compare early COPUS results documenting in-class faculty practices with those gathered from members’ classes in the latter part of the academic year.
- Compile FLC learning outcomes (including COPUS results) and prepare a proposal for a presentation at the 2026 Original Lilly Conference on College Teaching.
Members
2025-2026
- Ellen Yezierski, CTE and Chemistry, Facilitator