Designing Forward: Reimagining Instructional Design for Cluster Learning 

The activity of year two will repeat the faculty development opportunities available in Year One as well as offering new ways of engaging with the work of the grant. Generally, there are three roles available in Year Two: 

Faculty Participants

Faculty Participants will undertake a year of faculty development work, centered on Design Forward (DF), the CoLab’s holistic faculty development program that supports a community-based exploration of the intentional design of teaching and learning. Over the summer of 2026, faculty will complete DF modules that encourage them to develop their thinking and capacity around both innovative pedagogical approaches (in particular Cluster Learning) and design practices that align with these pedagogies and the values that underpin them. In particular, participants will grapple with how to design for learning that is emergent, flexible, interdisciplinary, and open — qualities that often make teaching and learning harder to plan (and thus design) for.

Over the course of the academic year, participants will set their own faculty development goals, building upon their summer learning. Each participant will design their own “mini-course” for themself and spend the year pursuing further learning and development to achieve their chosen goals. The CoLab will offer complementary programming that intersects with participants’ goals.

AWARD: Each Faculty Participant will receive a $1500 award for their faculty development work; $1000 will be paid after completion of the summer curriculum, and $500 will be paid upon completion of their individual faculty development plan (either in December 2026 or May 2027). 

ELIGIBILITY: All PSU faculty (full- and part-time) may apply to be a Faculty Participant. Staff who work in “academic adjacent” areas of the University are also invited to apply. Season One participants may return as Faculty Participants, with the expectation that they will focus on different summer modules and different individual faculty development goals. 

Faculty Designers

Participants in Season One are invited to apply to become Faculty Designers, focusing on a specific instructional design project they wish to tackle that builds upon their learning as Faculty Participants. These projects could involve redesigning part or all of an existing class, developing a new class, or redesigning a set of classes as part of a larger curriculum. In particular, we are interested in projects that explore how to design for emergent and flexible learning. If desired, Faculty Designers can request funding to hire a Student Collaborator to assist with their project. 

AWARD: Each Faculty Designer will receive a $1500 award, which will be paid out through payroll over an agreed-upon period of time. 

ELIGIBILITY: PSU Faculty or staff who completed Year One of the grant may apply to be Faculty Designers. 

Faculty Fellows

Participants in Season One are invited to apply to become Faculty Fellows, providing support and leadership for other grant activities. Fellows may serve as “teaching assistants” for the summer curriculum, collaborate with the CoLab to assess the work of the grant, and/or work on revising, improving, and expanding the DF curriculum. Applicants will be asked to describe their interests in these various roles when applying — or to suggest another support/leadership role they could take on in support of the grant. 

AWARD: Faculty Fellows will receive a $1500 award, which will be paid out through payroll over an agreed-upon period of time.  

ELIGIBILITY: PSU Faculty or staff who completed Year One of the grant may apply to be Faculty Designers.