Carry the Innovation Forward – Duke Learning Innovation
Carry the Innovation Forward is a new program focused on sustaining and expanding the learning innovations that arose at Duke during the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020-21.
During a period of change and uncertainty, Duke faculty, staff and students sought to build purpose and meaning through the adoption of new teaching methods and learning technologies, as well as stay connected to one another while physically apart. While the end of the pandemic will bring much to celebrate, we also know that out of crises new opportunities and innovations can emerge. In light of this, we are partnering with faculty who seek to use experiences from pandemic teaching to innovate the future of teaching and learning at Duke.
We are providing support for projects that align with one or more of the following four tracks (see Requirements & Information for additional details):
1. Research on Innovative Learning
Many new approaches to teaching and learning emerged in 2020. Sometimes referred to as ‘pandemic pedagogy,’ experimentation was not only welcome but necessary. We now have the opportunity to analyze those experiments to understand their impacts. Did learning improve? Did our efforts have the impact we intended? What unanticipated outcomes did we see at Duke, and were those different at DKU? What new experiments can we design based on our “pandemic pedagogy” experience?
These are the projects and partners DLI will be supporting and collaborating with in this track:
2. Exploration of New Learning Technology
While most Duke and DKU faculty used Zoom and Sakai to establish their online presence, many faculty also experimented with new technologies to create connections between students, better relay content and ideas, and ultimately provide better learning experiences for students. What tools or technologies would you like to continue exploring? What if you had funding and additional resources to explore similar tools? What problems or needs do you have that new technologies might address? (NOTE: If you are a student and/or an instructor working with students looking to fund innovative technology projects, consider applying for a CoLab Innovation Grant.)
These are the projects and partners DLI will be supporting and collaborating with in this track:
3. Re-envisioning a Course or Program for Flexible or Online Learning
In 2020, most faculty gained experience with digital learning of some sort—be it fully online, hybrid or some other combination. We know that successful online learning requires time to plan, design and prepare. We also know that the most successful efforts don’t happen in a vacuum—they require collaboration with colleagues who can bring new ideas, expertise and production assistance to the course or program. We welcome proposals for courses or programs that grow digital learning experiences from the seeds of the innovations gathered during remote learning, either Duke only or Duke-DKU collaborative courses.
These are the projects and partners DLI will be supporting and collaborating with in this track:
4. Faculty Learning Communities
We know that change and learning come from reflection and collaboration. We also know that most faculty didn’t have the time, bandwidth or energy to dig into the deeper changes they wanted to see in their courses and teaching in 2020. In this area, we will provide support to convene faculty learning communities at Duke or Duke-DKU, focused on rethinking pedagogical approaches to continue and expand pandemic-inspired innovations.
These are the projects and partners DLI will be supporting and collaborating with in this track:
We can consult with you on your instructional ideas. Duke faculty may email [email protected] to request a consult. If you would like notification of future DLI programs and instructional initiatives, join the our mailing list.
Special thanks to the Office of Information Technology, the Office of the Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education, and the Duke University School of Nursing for partnering to support selected Carry the Innovation Forward projects.