Creating a Collaborative Learning Environment

Since 1993, over 300 of your colleagues from 96 departments have participated in CCLE...

EXPLORE
How People Learn

ENGAGE
A Changing Student Body

ENVISION
The Improvement in Your Classroom

"This experience has started to change the process by which I approach new semesters and new topics." ~ Faculty participant, Food Science

Are your students learning what you think you are teaching them? Do you feel as if the time that you invest in teaching is not yielding enough learning? Creating a Collaborative Learning Environment (CCLE) is an opportunity for you to address these questions as you collaboratively explore, with a small group of colleagues, how people learn and its implications for your teaching.

If you choose to participate in CCLE, you will be asked to make a committment to:

FOCUS
On developing and expanding a deep and personal understanding of the learning process as a precursor to talking about teaching.

ATTEND
Weekly team meetings - 1.5 hours/per week for an academic year scheduled around participant availability.

SHARE
Your experiences in learning and teaching.

COLLABORATE
With a team of colleagues from diverse disciplines and be a resource for others.

BE OPEN
To engaging in new ideas, perspectives and techniques.

Dates: FALL 2009 to Spring 2010- Day and time to be determined based on availability of participants
Instructor: Brian Bubenzer, College of Letters and Science

Course Description: CCLE is an opportunity for you to collaboratively explore the learning process and its implications for your teaching with a small group of colleagues who meet weekly throughout the academic year.This year there are three options for CCLE:

1) a group for faculty and staff,
2) a group for graduate students and postdocs, and
3) a mixed group for everyone. 

CLICK HERE to start the registration process. If you have additional questions, please email Brian Manske

To learn more about CCLE, please consider reading the full introductory chapter of the guidebook: MS Word / PDF

History of CCLE

Syllabus

Collaborative Learning groups meet weekly throughout the academic year. Readings and activities guide discussion and are tied to sequential and overarching themes. This year's topics include:

Group dynamics
Diverse learning styles
Learning-through-Diversity
Collaborative learning projects
Teaching-as-Research
Moving to Action

Download a detailed 2008-09 syllabus here: MS Word

"[I learned in CCLE] that there is much more diversity than you would ever think in a group of students. Everyone comes to the classroom with a different background and the background affects the way they learn. By using a variety of teaching methods while being sensitive to culture, you can help to create an inclusive learning environment." ~ Graduate student participant, Physics