Collaborative Course (Re)Design Learning Community
About
Collaborative Course (Re)Design (CCRD) is an approach to redesigning a course that you have taught previously. In CCRD, you and one of your former students work together collaboratively to redesign portions of a course that you want to update and improve. Faculty benefit from engaging in the CCRD process as it increases insights into student learning, and student collaborators benefit from engaging in the CCRD process as they develop insights into the teaching and learning process. Extensive literature demonstrates positive outcomes for everyone involved (Bovill et al., 2011; Bovill et al., 2015; Ziegenfuss & Lawler, 2008), but what is more, you may find renewed joy and energy in the collaboration and your teaching. Our learning community will facilitate the process of engaging in CCRD with you and the student you invite to be your partner.
Our learning community will include pairs of faculty-student partners who will participate in a learning community during the Fall 2025 semester. Ideal faculty fellows should have a course in mind that they have previously taught and to which they would like to make revisions. Additionally, they should be open to the possibility of collaborating with and learning from their student partner. We welcome applicants from faculty members, full-time lecturers, and part-time lecturers in all programs.
The CCRD learning community is funded by the Faculty Development Center. This learning community also supports the Teaching and Learning Together (TaLT) initiative that began at the Bruce K. Nelson Faculty Development Center during the 2022-2023 academic year. TaLT aims to increase collaborations in teaching and learning between faculty and students across our campus. We are working towards increasing the connections and community, which have historically been a strength of EMU.
Applications are due by Friday, May 30 @ 8 PM.
About the Facilitators
Dr. Debbie Heyl-Clegg
I am a professor in the Chemistry department and have been teaching at EMU for 33 years. My research in medicinal chemistry involves the design and synthesis of peptides in the investigation of new pharmaceutical agents, and I have extensive experience in collaborating with student researchers in the laboratory. More recently, since returning to faculty from an administrative appointment, I have been partnering with students in the redesign of my lecture courses using collaborative course redesign (CCRD). My main goal is to improve the learning experience for students, and the process has also reinvigorated my love of teaching. I look forward to working with faculty-student partners who want to engage in the CCRD process.
Alvaro Cobos
I completed a BA in biochemistry from EMU in 2024, and now I am a graduate student pursuing a master's in chemistry. My research studies cell signaling in lung cancer cells. I am also a graduate assistant where I help provide laboratory instruction for undergraduate students. I enjoy my work, whether it is conducting research or helping students understand chemistry. I look forward to seeing what exciting new ideas students and faculty can come up with to improve the courses offered here at Eastern.