Reimagining: Two Popular Courses Have Been Redesigned With Today’s Learner in Mind

A major challenge facing educators is how to adapt courses to meet the learning needs of today’s students. NIU’s general education courses present a particular opportunity because of the desire to offer an introduction for students who may or may not be familiar with the subject while still being stimulating and compelling.

In recent years, two of the most popular gen ed offerings in the College of Visual and Performing Arts, ARTH 282 – Introduction to World Art and THEA 203 – Introduction to Theatre, were redesigned to be more inclusive and better serve the learning styles of today’s students while still maintaining academic integrity.

Introduction to Theatre had been created at a time when it was traditional for courses to be more European focused, based on a specific culture and time period, and lacking in perspective of the broader world. Introduction to World Art faced the challenge of how to adapt the delivery of the course to better connect with today’s students.

The results of the changes to both courses have been impressive and show that students are more engaged and perform better in both courses. Gibson Cima, associate professor and head of theatre studies in the School of Theatre and Dance, was tasked with undertaking a purposeful redesign of Introduction to Theatre.

“For me, there was a need to recognize what the students need to know to understand theater and to become lifelong lovers of the art. To that end, it’s valuable to learn how theater functions including what it can do well and where it might miss the mark.” Cima said.

Ann van Dijk, associate professor of art history, took a step back to ponder how you can more accurately evaluate what is being learned.

“One of the leading elements I’ve really rethought is the purpose of testing in art history. Is a test built to identify what you know or can it be more of an opportunity to learn?” van Dijk said.

“We had a problem with students frequently failing the test at the end of each unit. What if you give students two chances at a test? After they take a test, students get a better sense of areas where their study can improve. Once they retake the test, they can re-apply what they have learned. It’s a win-win situation.”

Professor of art history Mary Quinlan said that another challenge lies in how much you can teach of a broad subject in just 16 weeks, and how new learning methods could benefit students in all of their courses.

“When a slide library existed in our building, I would explain to the classes there are 240,000 slides upstairs, but we will only be studying the tiniest fraction of those,” she said.

“That was true, and it is still true in the digital age. We are extremely selective. But the kinds of analytical work and skill-building that we do with them crosses a lot of art cultures—close visual analysis and clear descriptions of what is seen, for example.”

To learn more and read the entire interview with Cima, van Dijk and Quinlan, visit: myniu.com/courseredesign