Overview
The Indiana University Freshman Learning Project (FLP) supports faculty in their efforts to develop new responses to the challenges of stimulating learning in large introductory courses, which are basically offered to first-year students.
Each year the FLP takes a cohort of faculty leaders from across disciplines through an intensive examination of strategies , and then works with them in subsequent years to spread the ideas they have developed across the campus.More specifically, the Freshman Learning Project leads faculty through the following process:
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Specify Course Operations: A structured interview which fellows specify what students must be able to do to succeed in various learning tasks
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Understanding Undergraduate Culture: IUB faculty and staff share their expertise on the undergraduate culture with fellows at the summer seminar in conjunction with readings to provide a national perspective on these issues.
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Exploring New Approaches to Stimulating Student Learning: Introduces fellows to the current debate about the "Learning Paradigm" in Higher Education. Fellows and other faculty explore various strategies for maximizing learning in their classes.
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Implementing Changes: Continued discussion among fellows, during and after the summer seminar, regarding pedagogical and institutional strategies and changes. Engender high expectations for student performance. Continued support by FLP staff to broaden these discussions on campus.
The FLP thrives because of three key aspects: careful selection of participants, exposure to the scholarship of teaching and learning, and the creation of tightly linked cohort of Fellows who translated new ideas into practice.
It began with a three-year grant of $379,233 through the Indiana University Strategic Directions Initiative in 1998; and got additional fundings from the Indiana University Dean of Faculties Office, the College of Arts and Science, and Lilly Retention Initiative in its third, fourth, and fifth years.
