Supporting Teaching, Learning, and Technology in the College of Letters and Science
Did you know Canvas can calculate weighted final grades that match the weighted percentages in your syllabus? This can make entering final grades into faculty center easier and is more transparent for your students.
L&S Design for Learning Series Created by Maria Widmer. Edited by Laura Schmidli. Read time: Many instructors have a renewed interest in fostering uniquely human skills like teamwork. The ability to work effectively with others is often cited as a key “real-world” competency that benefits students in several ways. By working with peers, students can …
Did you know you can adjust due dates for all of your Canvas assignments at once? This makes it easy to update content from prior semesters.
Using our credit hour worksheet can help you better estimate student time and ensure your course meets the credit hour definition and includes regular and substantive interaction. Use this worksheet to estimate how your course components contribute to the standard of 45 hours of learning activity per credit required for your course. View the Template …
Diagramming course components can help instructors and students see how activities fit together and when time will be required to engage. Establishing a clear and repeatable “rhythm” can help students structure their participation. This document offers a template and several examples. View the Template Our template uses Google Docs to diagram how course components sequence …
Creating a weekly (or per unit) map of your course can help you align and sequence content. This template offers a framework for creating a detailed week-by-week (or unit-by-unit) plan for a course. It provides a high-level view of content, activities, and objectives. This document provides an outline for a 14-week course for you to …
Łukasz Wodzyński, Assistant Professor of Polish and winner of the 2026 Chancellor’s Teaching Innovation Award, talks about making learning portable and the value of the humanities in a changing world.
Did you know you can hide un-used Canvas course navigation links? This makes your course easier to navigate – for you, other instructors, and your students.
Created by Cory Sprinkel, Morgridge Center for Public Service & Molly Harris, L&S Instructional Design Collaborative. Providing students with opportunities to meaningfully apply their learning and skills to community interests can lead to transformative outcomes for their learning and development. Community-Based Learning (CBL) improves students’ critical thinking and civic responsibility (Strage, 2000), their ability to …
Created by Laura Schmidli and edited by Maria Widmer. Many instructors have collected a final paper or project, only to be disappointed that students missed the mark. This can stem from the gap between a complex prompt and students’ ability to organize the work and learning required. Breaking down complex tasks and providing temporary support …
Created by Maria Widmer and edited by Molly Harris. Every year, the University of Wisconsin–Madison welcomes around 8,500 first-year students and 1,200 transfer students to campus. Instructors in the College of Letters & Science teach 80% of first-year students’ credit hours. As a College, we play an outsized role in supporting the academic and social …
Created by Laura Schmidli and edited by Maria Widmer. Teaching in a team provides advantages within an increasingly complex higher education environment. Multiple instructors can more effectively manage larger classes, provide interdisciplinary context, handle complex educational technology, model collaboration for new instructors and students, and better meet the needs of an increasingly diverse student body. …