Within our Design for Learning Series, our team explores topics pertinent to teaching and learning within the College of Letters & Science.
We choose topics based on input from the L&S community, trends we observe in our work with L&S instructors, and current news and events.
Within each article, we rely on research literature to identify effective practices, gather examples and input from L&S instructors and students, and share practical steps and considerations to help you try something new in your classroom.
Current Articles
Making Assignments More Authentic
September 2025
How might you motivate your students by incorporating authentic learning into your course activities and assignments? Explore the research on why authenticity matters and consider examples from L&S classrooms. We share tips small and big!
Maximizing Impact: Effective Strategies for Large Lectures
March 2025
Explore strategies from research literature and examples from L&S instructors for fostering belonging, engaging students, and promoting learning in a large course environment. How might you embrace the challenges of a lecture hall and turn numbers into an asset?
Facilitating More Effective Teaching Teams
December 2024
Review tips from research literature and examples from L&S instructors on how to make your teaching teams more effective. Whether your team includes two instructors, or several faculty and teaching assistants, creating a coherent and cohesive experience for students can improve their learning.
Choose More Inclusive Teaching Strategies
October 2024
Review research-based tips and examples from L&S instructors that can help students feel welcome, motivated, valued, and capable. What’s one change you might make to your classroom?
Suggest a Topic
We want to hear your ideas for future articles in our Design for Learning Series! We focus on local L&S examples, backed by research, that can help solve common teaching challenges. We gather input from instructors and students, as well as research literature. What teaching topic or trend would you like to know more about?