Introduction

In the dynamic landscape of higher education, institutions continuously strive to enhance the learning experience for their students. As part of the Excellence in Teaching and Learning P3 Project at the University of Iowa, teaching and learning experts in the Office of Teaching, Learning and Technology, the Center for Teaching, and Academic Support and Retention have worked to compile this toolkit as a list of tested interventions that can be applicable to your large lecture course.

Designed by a team of seasoned educators, researchers, and learning specialists, this toolkit is the culmination of experimentation and evidence-based practices. Its primary goal is to equip instructors of large lecture courses at the University of Iowa and beyond with a wealth of proven strategies to optimize student learning outcomes and overall educational excellence.

Some of the key features you will find in this tookit:

• Evidence-Based Approaches: Each intervention in the toolkit is rooted in sound research and empirical evidence. We have carefully curated the interventions that have demonstrated success in various higher education settings, ensuring that they are relevant and applicable across disciplines and learning environments.
• Practical Implementation Guidelines: Recognizing the diverse range of teaching styles and institutional contexts, our toolkit provides implementation advice for each intervention. These user-friendly resources empower educators to seamlessly integrate the strategies into their existing teaching practices.
• Customizable Solutions: The toolkit is designed with flexibility in mind. Instructors can adapt and modify the interventions to suit their unique pedagogical preferences and student demographics, allowing for personalized and contextualized learning experiences. This is especially pertinent in large lecture courses, which often deal with their own complex situations in comparison to smaller courses.
• Iterative Improvement: As research into education continues to evolve, so does our toolkit. We are committed to staying abreast of the latest research and emerging best practices, regularly updating the toolkit to reflect the most current and effective interventions.
• Holistic Approach: The interventions encompass a wide spectrum of teaching and learning strategies, addressing various aspects of education, including active learning techniques, belonging, student engagement, course management, student performance, and more.

This toolkit is designed for faculty and other instructors to peruse to gather advice on ways to improve engagement and student interactions in their courses, as well as pointing the reader towards further resources as well as campus partners and specialists who can help you introduce these interventions into your course. It is only one of the many campus resources that are available to you to support your teaching. We strongly encourage you to reach out to the campus partners listed in this toolkit, including the Office of Teaching, Learning and Technology, the Center for Teaching, and Academic Support and Retention.

It is our goal to make teaching more effective for our students and easier for our instructors. We look forward to partnering with you as you explore new instructional strategies and academic supports to enhance your classrooms. We hope this toolkit sparks new ideas and are available for conversations on interventions you would like to try and questions you may have.

This document was sponsored by the University of Iowa P3 Program in Support of Strategic Priorities.