The Active Learning Institute (ALI) helps faculty develop and refine skills for learner-centered teaching in their courses. Additional topics include theories of learning, course and syllabus design, collaborative learning, peer assessments and information technology for active learning.
ALI helps faculty members develop and refine their skills as learner-centered course designers and teachers. The ALI faculty designs this two-day workshop around the challenges identified by each year’s group of participants. These challenges may include (but are not limited to) the following:
- Articulating expected learning outcomes for your courses
- Designing assessments and assignments that align well with those goals
- Keeping students in heavily-enrolled courses actively engaged
- Using technology to increase engagement and improve the use of class time
- Helping students build learning communities
- Convincing students that you are invested in their success
- Designing courses that anticipate and include everyone
Every ALI focuses on designing courses that take full account of how people actually learn and we set aside plenty of time for participants to workshop each other’s new designs and strategies.
Here is what your colleagues have said about previous ALIs:
“ALI is a phenomenal asset to this college. I not only learned valuable practical content, but I also find myself sharing these ideas with my colleagues in informal discussions. It's rare to have a two-day workshop have such a strong positive impact.”
“All in all, the Institute ranks among my most productive professional education experiences.”
“I do not think I could overstate how much the experience, authority, authenticity, intelligence, commitment, and enthusiasm of the facilitators and other participants defined my ALI experience. They helped me see how these techniques could be used and gave me the sense that it would be OK to try using them.”
“The ALI was a transformative experience for me. With no formal training in teaching methodology, the most useful component was overall, big picture, course design. ”
“Great program! I wish it had been available when I started teaching.”
Previous ALI Participants
Anatomy and Physiology (Geisel)-Virginia Lyons
Anthropology—Lourdes Gutierrez Najera (also LALACS)
Art History—Marlene Heck
Biochemistry (Geisel)-Surachai Supattaphone
Biological Sciences—Kathryn Cottingham
Business Administration—Ye Luan, Richard McNulty, Paul Gardent, Katy Milligan
Chemistry—Richard Stolzberg, Jon Kull
Community and Family Medicine (Geisel)—Carolyn Murray, Scottie Eliassen, Cathleen Morrow, Catherine Pipas, Tanya Luttinger, Christopher LaRocca
The Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice—Honor Passow, Alice Andrews
Earth Sciences—Xiahong Feng
Economics—Parama Chaudhury
Education—Donna Coch
Engineering—Mary Kay Brown
English—Colleen Boggs, Michael Chaney, Mishuana Goeman (also NAS), Ivy Schweitzer (also WGST), Soyica Colbert
Epidemiology—Don Likosky
French & Italian—Michael Fodor, Nancy Canepa
Gastroenterology (Geisel)-Steve Bensen, Campbell Levy
Geography-Jonathan Chipman
Government—Lisa Baldez, James Murphy, Brendan Nyhan
History—Cecilia Gaposchkin, Leslie Butler, Robert Bonner
Infectious Disease (Geisel)-Timothy Lahey
Japanese—James Dorsey
Linguistics and Cognitive Science—David Peterson
Mathematics—Stephanie Treneer, Paige Rinker, Patricia Cahn, Katie Kinnaird, Lola Thompson, Sergi Elizalde
Medicine (Geisel)-Mary Margaret Andrews
Microbiology-Charles Sentman
Neurology (Geisel)-Morris Levin
Pediatrics (Geisel)-Adam Weinstein
Pediatric Otolaryngology (Geisel)-Mark Smith
Pharmacology and Toxicology (Geisel)-Sarah Freemantle
Philosophy—Carey Heckman, Ann Bumpus
Physics & Astronomy—Robyn Millan, Chandrasekhar Ramanathan, Miles Blencowe, Brian Chaboyer
Psychological and Brain Sciences—Thalia Wheatley, Mark Detzer, David Bucci, Ann Clark, Jon Pfister, Catherine Norris, Siobhan Robinson, Ming Meng, Bradley Duchaine, Jay Hull
Public Health—Sharon McDonnell
Radiology (Geisel)-Petra Lewis
Religion—Reiko Ohnuma, Susan Ackerman, Christopher MacEvitt
Spanish & Portuguese—Ana Merino
Writing and Rhetoric—Sara Chaney, Joshua Compton, Carl Thum, Jonna Mackin, Claudia Anguiano, Ellen Rockmore
