Departmental Application for HHMI Course Transformation Program
The HHMI Course Transformation Program is designed to transform courses targeted by the Departments
of Biological Sciences, Chemistry & Biochemistry, Mathematics & Statistics, and Physics. This program
will support a team of faculty members to design, pilot, and implement innovative strategies to increase
student success and retention in science and mathematics courses, over the course of one or more years.
Strong proposals…
 Identify a course crucial to student success; and clearly articulate rationale for transformation.
Targeting courses critical to student retention and graduation success are especially encouraged.
 Provide a detailed plan for developing the curriculum, piloting the innovation, phasing in of the
innovation across the majority of course sections, and assessing the effectiveness of the strategy.
 Include a clear plan for piloting and scaling the innovation, usually involving a small team of faculty
members and department leadership.
 Have evidence of department’s commitment for sustaining and expanding the strategy, if successful.
 Can include curricular innovations in teaching and assessment. Additionally, structural changes or
interventions that would enhance student retention and success could be proposed.
Expectations for participating pilot faculty teams:
 Transform a course crucial for student retention and success in the areas of Biology, Chemistry,
Physics, and Mathematics to include active/engaged learning strategies
 Incorporate and mentor Learning Assistants (LAs), or Peer Led Team Learning (PLTL) students
with equivalent training and faculty involvement
 Identify metrics and administer assessments to document outcomes of course transformation
 Commit to participating in twice-monthly Discipline-Based Educational Research (DBER) meetings
 Present team results annually in DBER meetings
 Consult with PI team on curriculum implementation/pedagogy
 Participate in interviews during and immediately following the implementation year(s)
 Submitting final grade rosters after each semester of course transformation
Benefits for participating faculty:
 Opportunity to improve teaching practice with assistance
 Support from the Center for Advancement of Teaching and the HHMI program leadership to help in
the development of the innovation
 Up to 3 weeks of summer salary (average per team member)
 $2,000 overload (Extra State Compensation) during course transformation design and piloting
 Eligible for research supplements to prepare a manuscript of observed results
 Eligible for travel funds
Please submit this form electronically to Laird.Kramer@fiu.edu and Rocio.Benabentos@fiu.edu
Target date is February 20th, 2015.
For Questions: Please contact Laird Kramer or Rocio Benabentos (Rocio.benabentos@fiu.edu x5946)
Howard Hughes Medical Institute – HHMI Course Transformation Program
Department: ______________________________________________________________
Course you are proposing to transform (ex PHY 2049): ____________________________
Faculty team members (Name, title, email, involvement)
Name
Title
Email
Involvement
Design
Pilot
Scale-up
(please expand table to accommodate response)
Point of Contact: __________________________________________________________
Please describe the rationale/motivation for transforming this particular course (include information
about enrollment numbers, and primary student population in the course – e.g. upper division, science
majors, service course, etc. Also, please describe what is the usual departmental teaching assignment for
this course)
(please expand to accommodate response)
Please describe what you anticipate the course will look like after your participation in the course
transformation program:
(please expand to accommodate response)
Please describe your timeline for preparing for, piloting, implementing, and scaling up the
innovation. What will be the specific roles of the faculty members involved? Note that the timeline
may span several years, as appropriate.
(please expand to accommodate response)
Please fully describe your plan for sustaining and expanding the innovation to additional sections.
(please expand to accommodate response)
Have you identified any curricula for potential adoption? (This is non-binding) If so, why have you
identified this curriculum?
(please expand to accommodate response)
Are you aware of any assessments that could be used to allow us to gauge student learning or other
metrics in the class you will be transforming? (This may include national normed conceptual tests,
common exams from national organizations, etc.)
(please expand to accommodate response)
Do you anticipate using LAs or PLTL leaders in this course? If so, please describe their role and
what type of preparation/support will be offered to them?
(please expand to accommodate response)
Do you have anything further you would like us to consider in the application?
(please expand to accommodate response)
Please attach:


Letter of support from Departmental Chair
Any other supporting information