2011-2012 DELTA Large Course Redesign Pilot Grants Awarded

The 2011-12 DELTA Large Course Redesign (LCR) Pilot Grants were awarded this month. The LCR Pilot Grants provide financial (pending budgets) and staff resources for faculty involved in redesigning large courses. Through the DELTA LCR Pilot Grants, we primarily seek to help faculty and staff achieve the redesign of large introductory courses and improve access to critical path courses that serve as foundation studies for students to successfully transition to more advanced study. Funding is also granted for faculty who are addressing the need to cope with increasing enrollment demands, and/or for investigating the use of technology to achieve more efficient and cost-effective instructional methods. The objective is to utilize existing instructional technology to enhance teaching and learning and increase access to high-demand courses.

The DELTA LCR Pilot Grants were awarded for redesign support of the following courses:

Dr. Michael Paesler, Professor and Department Head to redesign Physics for Engineers and Scientists (PY205N)—The objective for redesigning the course is to find a solution to the increase in student enrollments in the course without the laboratory space to accommodate the growth. The redesigned course will study the introduction of Kits into the PY205N laboratories in a weekly alternating system whereby students perform in-house lab experiments and kit lab experiments in alternating weeks.

Dr. Alina Duca, Teaching Assistant Professor, Department of Mathematics to redesign Applied Differential Equations (MA341)— The redesign of MA341 will be structured as a student-centered course incorporating new teaching strategies and technologies. The basic structure of the traditional course will be supplemented with technology-based, out of class activities, automated assessment with instant feedback, and online projects tailored to different majors.

Dr. Brenda Burns-Williams, Senior Lecturer to redesign Calculus I (MA141)—MA141 will continue to be redesigned to improve student learning, establish consistent content coverage across all sections, provide in-class and online student-centered learning activities, and track student success in higher-level courses.

More information can be found at: https://delta.ncsu.edu/teach/lcr/. Questions about the DELTA LCR Pilot Grants should be directed to Dr. Traci Temple (traci_temple@ncsu.edu, 513-3193).