Lectures to help faculty cut cruft from their curricula

Faculty members who've been mulling over the idea of reworking their courses might want to consider an upcoming lecture from Georgianne Connell, a senior instructor in the Biology Department at Western Washington University.

Connell is fast becoming an expert on using big ideas to unburden curriculum and provide a road map for what content to cover and what to eliminate.

All faculty and staff are invited to attend this two-part mini course, titled "Depth vs. Breadth: Using Big Ideas to Unburden Your GUR Curriculum," put on by the Faculty GUR Group. The course is offered on two dates, each covering different material. Attend both or either:

• Part One: 4 to 5 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 18, Bond Hall Room 111 – Introduction to using “big ideas” to unburden your course: See the process Connell used to unburden the curriculum for Biology 101. Prepare to be inspired and bring your syllabus to use during thinking exercises.
• Part Two: 4 to 5 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 25, Bond Hall Room 111 – Guided practical planning time for your course. Join this workshop to begin the process of unburdening your own course. Come with your syllabus and a mindset to roll up your sleeves to get some work done rethinking your course.

The idea behind the Faculty GUR Group is that faculty–as well as students–need to sustain their general education. With this in mind, the Faculty GUR Group was formed to bring together people from different departments across the university to allow each participant to enhance their general education by acquiring useful knowledge their colleagues consider basic.