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Deadline for Submission: November 18, 2024

Short term has always been a space in the Bates calendar for innovation, experimentation, and new opportunity, and the Short Term Curricular Innovation Project builds on that history as it intersects with campus equity and inclusion initiatives.

Short-term (Re)design courses will provide faculty the time and support to explore the literature on teaching and learning and available models for pedagogical innovation within their fields and integrate that exploration with a specific course design or redesign project.

This program seeks to support curricular renewal through the (re)design of specific courses and the broader impact of enhancing faculty expertise on pedagogical innovation across the college. Participating faculty will be those interested in pedagogical innovation at the level of a course but also interested in sharing insights from their work as a contribution to curricular renewal and innovations in teaching and learning at the institutional level.

The AAC has approved this program’s general guidelines and process. The CRC approves specific courses based on recommendations made by other campus groups with relevant expertise at stake.

Course (re)designs with a broad institutional impact, including contributions to general education or core department/program curriculum, will receive priority.

Guidelines for Pedagogical Innovation/Course (Re)Design courses:

• Range of courses: Courses are distributed across the academic divisions that organize the college’s departments and programs, with attention to current initiatives, institutional mission, and departmental and program needs as relevant.
• Instructors: Courses are ordinarily taught by a single continuing member of the Bates faculty as part of their regular teaching load; proposals for team-taught courses are also accepted.
• Listing of Courses and Major/Minor/GEC Credit: Courses are listed within the department(s) and program(s) with which their instructors are affiliated, as relevant to the content of the course; relevant departments, programs, and GECs are invited to count the courses toward their major, minor or concentration requirements if they consider it appropriate.
• Enrollment, Meetings and Grading: Enrollment is ordinarily 3-5 students by permission of the instructor and with whatever pre-requisites the instructor deems appropriate to the content; meeting times and grading are at the discretion of the instructor within the normal guidelines for short term courses; students receive course credit for participating.
• Other Resources and Expectations:
  • Resources: Instructors receive a small fund to support expenses for materials and/or activities with their students;
  • Expectations:
    • Complete a 60-minute pre-planning workshop focused on selecting student pedagogical partners during December before STIP participation. 
    • Opportunity to participate in the Group Instructional Feedback Technique (GIFT) program through the Center for Inclusive Teaching and Learning (CITL) the semester before and following STIP participation to enhance course growth and development. Please see this page for more information about the GIFT program, including benefits and registration information.
    • Complete a 60-minute workshop about relevant pedagogies hosted by the Center for Inclusive Teaching and Learning and then have an individual debrief conversation with the Center for Inclusive Teaching and Learning in March.
    • Commit to teach the (re)designed course during the 2025-26 academic year (with allowances for sabbaticals and curricular demands that may require offering the course in a different semester);
    • Participate in assessment as requested by the VPAA/DOF and Institutional Research offices.
    • Note: During the final week of the short term, instructors and their students participate in a campus-wide event hosted by Purposeful Work. 

Process for selection and approval of courses:

• Proposals are brief, about 3 pages total, and include:
  • title and a brief overview of the course to be designed or redesigned (including an indication of whether it will be the design of a new course or re-design of an existing one)
  • a concise description of the curricular or pedagogical problem or issue the course (re)design will address; strong proposals will identify the gap between the current state and desired state and how a (re)design will close that gap. 
  • a brief description of the role of the specific course in the college curriculum (at the general education or department/program/GEC level) and the opportunity for pedagogical innovation within the specific course; please include clearly-stated preliminary learning goals for the (re)designed course
  • brief explanation of the potential for broader institutional impact (i.e., how might sharing insights from this particular (re)design contribute to curricular renewal and innovations in teaching and learning elsewhere around the college?)
  • a preliminary outline of the 3.5-week course schedule regarding what instructors and students will do during the term 2025.
  • Budget and budget narrative for expenses to cover materials and/or activities they need to carry out the planned revision. The budgeted amount should not exceed $1,500
• Submission of proposals: Proposals should be submitted electronically to Krista Aronson (karonson@bates.edu) as Short Term Curricular Innovation Project Coordinator. Submissions can be in any format (Word, PDF, etc) and are due by November 18, 2024. Recognizing that course grids are due prior to this date, I encourage faculty to plan as though they are not teaching a (re)design course and adjust in December should they receive a STIP award.
• Review of Proposed Courses: The Short Term Curricular Innovation Project Coordinator and the Office of the VPAA/DOF review proposals in consultation with the Center for Inclusive Teaching and Learning.
  • Factors Considered in the Review and Selection Process:
    • quality and feasibility of the proposed course (re)design, including the degree to which inclusive and/or antiracist pedagogies will be incorporated into the (re)designed course along with this potential contribution to the curriculum via Race, Power, Privilege, and Colonialism (RPPC).
    • potential impact of the specific (re)designed course in relation to general education, department/program/GEC curricular and student needs.
    • potential contribution to curricular renewal and innovation in teaching and learning beyond the specific course to be (re)designed
    • contribution to the institutional mission and institutional priorities/initiatives
    • distribution across the academic divisions
    • degree to which the specific (re)design could not be pursued without the resources provided by participation in this project, including the need for students to participate in the process.
• Approval of Courses: On the basis of this review, the Office of the VPAA/DOF recommends a set of courses to CRC; CRC reviews the recommended proposals and may request additional information, clarification, revision or reconsideration, as in its typical course approval process; because CRC is the faculty governance committee charged with the introduction of courses into the curriculum, it retains authority for final approval of the specific courses.
• Support, Oversight, and Assessment: Once the courses are approved, support, oversight and assessment are the responsibility of the VPAA/DOF office and other units reporting to that office, as well as the Short Term Curricular Innovation Project Coordinator. The results of assessments are reported to AAC and CRC for consideration of future refinements and further institutionalization as warranted.

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