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Teaching on the Block Plan
The Block Plan
is a concentrated format, with each day the equivalent of about
a week under a semester schedule. Some maintain that the amount
of material covered each day -- and the amount of homework assigned
-- should be the same as a week's in a semester. Others maintain
that the Block Plan encourages depth of coverage rather than breadth.
Because, for example, each class session spent discussing a novel
is the rough equivalent of three 50-minute class sessions under
the semester schedule, two days of discussion works out to about
two weeks of discussion in a semester. So you may find yourself
assigning less reading in total, but spending more time covering
each text. Remember, while students will almost surely have extracurricular
activities, yours is the only class for which they must prepare.
If at all possible, on a visit to the campus or in the days prior
to your teaching block, sit in on a class or two. This may help
you to gauge the demands of teaching on the Block Plan. For
on-line examples of current syllabi, see your host
department's we bsite.
Colorado College operates under an Academic
Honor Code system with which you should be familiar. Please
review the materials contained on the linked websites and ASK YOUR
CHAIR if you have any questions about the Honor Code or about Honor
Council procedures and policies at the College. Professor Bob Jacobs,
Psychology, is the Faculty Advisor to the Honor Council. He would
be pleased to talk with you about the Honor Code. ALWAYS introduce
the Honor Code at the beginning of your classes, explain your policies
and preferred practices, and require students to sign "Honor Code
Upheld" on papers and examinations. If you suspect an Honor Code
violation, please speak immediately with your chair or program director,
as he or she can assist you in taking the next steps outlined on
the Honor Council webpage.
Classes meet at 9:00 a.m. on the first day of block; after that
day you may set a meeting time with which you feel most comfortable
(meetings will usually be 2.5 or 3 hours long). Feel free to schedule
field trips or to occasionally hold class in a student's house or
apartment (or your own). Students are supposed to be available to
you from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., so make use of whatever is at hand which
you feel will be germane to the course or will usefully vary the
routine. You may want to spend a class day at the college's mountain
cabin or, if you plan sufficiently in advance, you may spend several
days at the Baca Grande Campus in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains.
Check with support staff or your department or program chair as
far in advance as possible about arranging for transportation
and meals.
A precise, carefully delineated syllabus with class meeting times,
office hours and telephone numbers, description of assignments,
paper and presentation guidelines and deadlines, grading system,
and attendance/late paper policy statement is even more important
for this concentrated academic schedule than usual. Students often
like to meet with professors, so plan on scheduling ample office
hours.
By the end of the first five-seven days of the block, students
usually should have been given an assignment and had it graded and
returned. Thus they will quickly receive some idea of your grading
style and general preferences.
Colorado College faculty use a variety of pedagogical strategies,
even within a single block. Most combine the instructor's presentation
of material in lecture format with discussion and group activities.
The best mix of strategies varies somewhat by division and definitely
by individual! Straight lecture format is perhaps less effective
for most (but not all!) on the Block Plan than in university settings
with course enrollments in the hundreds. More importantly,
one purpose of the Block Plan is to encourage a seminar-like experience
within a conceptual framework conveyed by the instructor. Questions,
discussions, and free exchange of ideas are vital to the experience.
The Block Plan is also ideal for assigning projects and/or oral
presentations by the students, either individually or in groups.
Long research papers are obviously unwieldy and time-consuming
for most (again, not all) one-block courses. Many papers assigned
on the Block Plan average five-six pages; some faculty assign frequent
one-page response papers, and others do combinations of two or three
papers of various lengths per block. You are also welcome to (and
students will expect you to) schedule a final exam (either group
oral exams or standard written exams) on the last day of the block.
Please remember that very quick paper turnaround is essential on
the Block Plan: students should get back graded papers a reasonable
time before the next paper is due. You may also allow or demand
paper revisions according to your own policy.
Grading standards are, of course, notoriously difficult to standardize,
especially in the humanities. But please feel free to use the full
scale of grades for individual assignments and course grades. Not
all students do A and B level work all the time and in every course.
A general description of each grade may be found in the Colorado
College Bulletin (the Catalog of Courses), in the "Academic
Policies" section, which you should review.
In 1997 the faculty implemented a course evaluation system
that mandates course evaluations in all courses taught in all departments
and programs at Colorado College. All students are expected to evaluate
classes at the end of each couse, using forms designed and provided
by the faculty within each department/program. Course evaluation
forms should be composed within, and approved by, each department/program
and need not be uniform across departments/programs. See the Faculty
Handbook, B.II.G. Check with your chair or program director
for copies of the course evaluations used by CC faculty in your
department or program. You are welcome to modify existing forms
to fit your own assessment goals.
Departmental faculty and staff will be happy to answer any question
or assist you in placing textbook orders or provide material such
as sample syllabi for courses similar to those you are teaching.
Textbooks are usually ordered in May of the preceding spring for
first-semester courses; in October for second-semester courses.
If you wish to place books on reserve in
Tutt Library, you should speak with the divisional librarian
(Humanities, Social Sciences, or Natural Sciences) or reach the
appropriate librarian via e-mail. Detailed information on th elibrary can be found at:
General Information
You will likely be staying in a college-owned apartment on or near
campus. Once your travel plans have been finalized, arrangements
will be made to give you the keys to the apartment. Mail is usually
not delivered to the apartments; please have your mail sent care
of the department in which you will be teaching. If you will be
bringing your own car, please let your department chair know in
advance so she or he can arrange for a parking sticker for you.
All departments have fax as well as phone service, but faculty
are asked to cover the costs of personal communications. Average
monthly work-related phone/fax charges for faculty members average
about $15-$20 each, which gives you some idea of what is deemed
reasonable.
The college's health plan does not cover visitors who stay less
than a year. (take out the sentences here that refer to faculty
coming from outside the United States.) If you are employed for
less than a year please arrange with your own insurer to cover you
while away from home.
We will arrange for your own personal office space and you will
also have the use of your host department's general office. Please
introduce yourself to your departmental staff assistant as early
in your teaching block as you can. You will have a computer in your
office (almost certainly a PC). Your classroom will be assigned
a few days before the block begins: your departmental staff assistant
will have that information for you. If your course includes a computer
lab component or if you have particular audio-visual needs, contact
your department chair well in advance of your teaching block.
If you are from another country:
- You must obtain a J-1 visa to work at Colorado College. The
International Studies Program will help you with the J-1 visa
application process and with your orientation to Colorado College:
www.coloradocollege.edu/dept/isp/internationalfacultywelcome.htm
- All J-1 exchange visitors are required to have health insurance
for the entire time they are in J-1 status. If you are employed
with Colorado College for less than a year, please refer to the
International Studies Program website to review health insurance
coverage requirements: www.coloradocollege.edu/dept/isp/internationalfacultyJ1.htm#healthins
- You must obtain a social security number in order to be paid
in the U.S. You'll have to visit the Social Security office very
early in your stay. The nearest office is at 3628 Citadel Drive
North, a fifteen-minute drive from campus. When you go, please
get a receipt for payment; this can be shown to the payroll office
to expedite your addition to the college's payroll. The card should
arrive ten to twelve working days after application.
Colorado Springs
If possible, plan to arrive a day or two (at least) ahead of your
first scheduled class. Weather in the Rockies can be unpredictable
at any time of the year and, from October through April, it is always
possible that your travel may be delayed. While you may experience
sunny, 60-degree weather in the middle of winter, you might just
as easily encounter a snowstorm in April. Pack accordingly. In addition,
the Springs is located at an altitude of 6,200 feet in the arid
southwest. If you live close to sea level, you may require a few
days to adjust. You may have headaches, feel a bit queasy, and/or
get tired easily for at least a couple of days. Be sure to drink
plenty of water to counteract the dry climate.
Colorado Springs has several good to fine restaurants; ask people
in your department about their favorites. If you don't have a car,
you will still have access to restaurants, convenience stores and
bookstores: downtown is within walking distance of the college.
If you have access to a car, the surrounding area offers (of course)
beautiful parks and scenery and a great variety of outdoor activities
-- skiing, mountain biking, hiking, fishing, etc. Low-stakes gambling
is also available at Cripple Creek, a historic gold rush town about
forty minutes from the Springs. For more information, you may also
want to browse the resources in the Pikes
Peak Region.
Many internationally known speakers and performers visit the college
each year. The college also supports several NCAA teams, including
Division I women's soccer and men's hockey.
Teaching on the Block Plan is intensive and time-consuming, but
we urge you to take advantage of the area while you're here.
This guide is based upon one devised
for the Department of English, Colorado College, by Barry Sarchett. |
