Eberly Center

Sample Agenda and Facilitation Questions 

Agenda (day-long retreat)

Morning

• Welcome and meeting overview (e.g., work done thus far; what to expect during today’s meeting--highly participatory, anticipated meeting outcomes)
• Mapping review and student learning (project map on large screen or display/monitor, reorient faculty to map)
  • Potential questions to facilitate discussion
    • Curriculum sequence and progression
      • Are courses sequenced appropriately to allow for student progression from introductory to mastery levels?
      • Is each outcome introduced at the appropriate place in the curriculum?
      • Do any gaps exist where outcomes are not addressed sufficiently?
      • Are there any unnecessary overlaps?
      • Does too much time elapse between introductory knowledge, advanced knowledge, or mastery?
      • What are the strengths of the curriculum (i.e., where program outcomes are addressed thoroughly)?
      • Given our observations, what steps should we take to improve the curriculum (and student learning)?
    • Instructional activities/student practice
      • Do students receive adequate opportunity to practice using their knowledge and skills in variety of contexts?
      • Do they receive enough feedback from faculty on their performance?
      • What are the instructional strategies that faculty most use?
        • Do they align with the discipline/field?
        • Do they align with employer needs?
        • Are there additional strategies that should be employed?
      • Are “high impact” or “active” instructional practices used (e.g., public reviews, service learning, research opportunities, internships, culminating or capstone experiences, skill intensive courses--writing or problem-based intensive courses)?
      • What concepts or skills do students seem to have the most difficulty with in your courses?
      • Given our observations, what steps should we take to improve the curriculum

• • Assessment
    • How should we go about assessing student learning and the effects of our changes/improvements?
      • Should we prioritize what outcome(s) to assess, and engage in a regular cycle of assessment?
    • Might we use assessments already embedded in our courses to measure student performance at the program level?
    • How should we assure that we use the same criteria to measure the same outcomes?
    • What is our implementation plan?
    • Action items and next steps