I would like to infuse more visuals into all of my courses. This is not something that comes naturally/easily for me–so I am curious about how to achieve this and make it feel authentic. I am not a visual learner–so I struggle with incorporating those elements into my courses…this is one challenge I am hoping to overcome through design forward. I do not yet have a plan of how to accomplish this…my only idea is to tackle the syllabus for one course each week and to dedicate an hour or two each week to this challenge…I’ll see if that works and then adjust if necessary.

I also have a huge teaching load in 2025-2026 and hope to use the time this summer in particular to set myself up for success in the Fall. If I build out my syllabi and canvas pages course by course over the summer–I’ll have a more manageable workflow in the Fall.

I am applying for a Senior Teaching Lecturer Promotion in 2025. I believe that being immersed in the work of Designing Forward will help me to better articulate many of the written materials required for the promotion. I am also scheduling several teaching observations for the Fall–and more intention and care devoted to pedagogy will likely result in better teaching (which will hopefully be observed by my evaluators).

Courses to re-design:

Fall

• TWP (for Pathfinder students)
  • potentially including some game-based/simulation elements
• Script Analysis (taking over the course from another instructor–planning to create my own syllabus)
• Study skills course (for Pathfinder students)
  • integrating pieces of Designing College that worked well with activities from my Time Management course
• Theatre History
  • most of the course is fine, but since I no longer require a textbook I’d like to organize and populate the ‘readings’ for the course more intentionally
• Voice & Diction
  • most of the course is fine, but I’d like to integrate an additional lower stakes students teaching the material assignment earlier in the semester, to help prepare them better for the final. I think I could work this in to a unit re-cap activity that is ongoing…just need to readjust the calendar slightly and create assignment text for the student led review/re-caps

Spring

• Stage Management/Theatre Management (taking over the course from another instructor–planning to create my own syllabus)
• Acting II
  • making moderate adjustments (with my co-teacher): replacing the monologue assignment with another scene, and adding in more styles content mostly
• Directing for the Stage
  • making moderate adjustments (with my co-teacher): replacing the monologue assignment with another scene, and adding in more styles content mostly ***including directing in 3/4 thrust spaces and in the round
• INCP (not sure if I am teaching this yet…)
  • stick with Protest & Performance topic
    • co-teaching?…figure this out

So…my goals and plans relate to all of the modules so it was hard to choose just one. I am in the Care & Equity module–since that’s what I care the most about. But much of the time I will be spending is actually on the more nuts & bolts–formats & modalities so I selected that one. Always -Jessie Chapman