DSSP Faculty Worksheet

Designing a Scholarship in Practice course

Faculty Worksheet – use this to sketch out ideas for your course.

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Identify the course discipline/field

In other words – describe the body of scholarship that will be applied (put into practice) in the course

This is a crucial first step that establishes the body of scholarship that will be applied in the course. (This question is also the first question in the General Education Application for Scholarship in Practice courses.)

 

Make a list of examples of projects or practices authentic to the work of the course discipline/field

(Research is work that is authentic to all disciplines, think of other examples of how theories, knowledge, and methods of the course discipline are applied)

Brainstorm ideas. Think of lots of options.

1. Once you have generated your ideas, review your projects/practices. 
2. Rule out projects/practices that are not authentic to the course discipline. 
3. Next, review each project/practice for specific requirements that will impact the course design. Note for each of project/practice if the following are required

• significant funds for supplies or access to specialized equipment
• supervision or safety precautions
• specialized training
• engagement with stakeholders, external participants
• prior knowledge or expertise

Idea	Supplies/ Equipment	Training	Stakeholders	Expertise

Select a project/practice (that will serve as the “work” of the course)

Imagine how you will support students meeting the learning outcomes.

Imagine how you might accomplish this work in a course setting.

How will learning be scaffolded? Will this be a mock experience or experiential? Jot down some ideas, then pick an approach to build out in an overall course design.

 

Imagine the course as a whole – the overall course design

Review the course design models in the How To guide.

Consider how the course will flow. Map out stages where students will meet learning outcomes. How and when will students receive feedback that allows them to learn and refine their work?

Sketch out the design:

 

Fill in the details – add details to your course design sketch

Course content	How will students learn content/concepts that support project/practice development? When might you add some readings, lectures etc? Add these steps to your sketch.
Course Schedule	How much time is needed for each stage? Begin to think in terms of the course schedule. Add time to your sketch to see how the work develops over the semester.
Grading	How will you indicate to students the value of the work? How will you use points to support the scaffolding of the learning? Jot down points in relation to student work in the course design sketch.
Assignments	We all think of student work in courses in terms of “assignments.” Using authentic names for work products will reveal to students that this is a course where they are learning real world skills. Go to your sketch and add names that make sense in your field.
Critique, Revise and Refine (LO3)	This outcome is crucial to the Scholarship in Practice experience and is a significant distinguishing factor from a traditional course where a student might complete a project, get a grade and never revisit that work. Check your course design and make the opportunities for critique, revise and refine central to the course design and the student learning. Think about various ways this may be accomplished (peer review, experts visit for a day) and how this is done in your field.
Teamwork (LO5)	If you plan to address LO5 add teamwork to your design. Remember that you will need to set up the course so that students learn how to work in teams. Look at the course design and determine where you will add time for teamwork steps (including team-building, team contract, teamwork, and assessment of students working in teams).

 

Now you have your basic design – time to make it formal.

1. Put your design into a course schedule, develop your grading scheme and draft your syllabus. Check out the syllabus examples for some ideas.
2. Draft the response to the questions on the Scholarship in Practice General Education application, listed below.

General Questions

• Please give a brief description of the course.
• Course Pre-requisites
• Course Co-requisites
• Please list any restrictions (e.g. majors only) placed on this course
• What is the approximate course size (students/academic year)?
• Please describe how student learning outcomes will be assessed.
• Comments on the course that you feel may be useful for the review process.  Also, if this is an existing course that you are planning on making changes to via VPAC, please list those proposed changes here.
• Select and critically evaluate areas of scholarship relevant to the practice of the discipline.
  • What activities/assignments support student learning related to this outcome?
  • How will you determine that students are meeting this learning outcome?

Scholarship in Practice Questions

• Describe the body of scholarship that will be put into practice
• Describe how this body of scholarship will be applied

Learning Outcomes Information

Learning outcomes are phrased as “At the completion of this course, students will be able to…”. Indicate after each learning outcome how the course will:

• give students the ability to meet the learning outcome
• determine that students were successful in meeting the learning outcome.

Courses in Scholarship in Practice must address the outcomes listed in bold:

• Select and critically evaluate areas of scholarship relevant to the practice of the discipline.
• Apply relevant methods and frameworks to the planning, modeling, and/or preparing necessary to produce a project or participate in the practice in a manner that is authentic to the discipline.
  • What activities/assignments support student learning related to this outcome?
  • How will you determine that students are meeting this learning outcome?
• Critique, revise and refine a project, or the practice of the discipline, according the authentic manner of the discipline.
  • What activities/assignments support student learning related to this outcome?
  • How will you determine that students are meeting this learning outcome?
• Effectively communicate the application of scholarship through ancillary material (written, oral, and/or visual).
  • What activities/assignments support student learning related to this outcome?
  • How will you determine that students are meeting this learning outcome?
• Collaborate in order to bring about a successful outcome.
  • What activities/assignments support student learning related to this outcome?
  • How will you determine that students are meeting this learning outcome?

 

Template for Building a Course Schedule

Date	Topic	Assignments*	Learning Outcome	Reading

Remember – when referring to assignments related to Scholarship and Practice outcomes – use authentic names