The Psychology Department in the College of Arts and Sciences seeks funding for one-year (2021-2022) to explore the integration of more active learning and hands-on experiences into to a large 2000-level lecture course. This proposal will address the needs of the College of Arts and Sciences and the Psychology Department to offer more experiential and collaborative activities to our student population taking large lecture courses. Specifically, this aligns with the desire to increase the number of active learning classrooms across grounds and to reduce the number of introductory courses that are taught in large auditoriums. This proposal will work toward the following goals:

1. Develop and implement strategies to significantly increase the number of undergraduate students involved in active learning opportunities in introductory classroom settings;
2. Enhance student connection to and investment in the course materials to increase engagement and learning;
3. Utilize newly designed smaller collaborative classrooms in an inclusive way that welcomes every student in a larger course and increases a sense of belonging;
4. Enhance or introduce interdisciplinary ideas and real-life connections within an active learning curriculum and strengthen potential engagement pathways within a student’s major, minor or concentration