Reflections on Course Design and Classroom Decisions

This project began as an effort to "capture" actual classroom teaching at Carleton and pair it with faculty reflection on what they were trying to accomplish in their classrooms. The initiative was funded by a Mellon Foundation Faculty Life Cycles grant, and it included, ultimately, 10 Carleton faculty from 9 different departments. We originally imagined this as merely an opportunity for other faculty members to virtually "visit" each other's classes, and the intent was to build a library of actual classes that any Carleton faculty member could check out. The faculty interviews, however, proved to be a very rich source resource frequently providing much more extensive reflection on teaching philosophy, goals, aspirations, and changes over time than we originally imagined. So, far beyond a "virtual visit," these videos became a platform for established, successful teachers to reflect on how they think about the classroom, from small details to broad themes. The actual classroom videos, as well as the interviews, are available in the Perlman Center.