Does planning your course make you feel like you are racing to require students to complete a list of assignments from an ever-expanding textbook? Do you dread giving yet another dry lecture? Imagine a classroom where, instead of listening to a lecture, students are leading discussions organized around civic issues. Imagine students collaborating in teams to apply course content to real-world examples instead of recalling facts on an exam. After a brief introduction to the process of backward design, you will 1) discuss ways to connect your course to a civic issue 2) define critical thinking for your discipline and 3) examine activities, connected to a civic issue, that develop students' critical thinking skills. This session is appropriate for instructors in any discipline, and be please prepared to participate.
