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Based on feedback from the instructor and student surveys conducted at the end of last semester, the ISUComm Foundation Courses team has made some changes to the structure of ENGL 150/ENGL 250 face-to-face courses:

1. Streamlining the face-to-face Canvas shells for ENGL 150 and 250. The shells include the syllabus, major assignment descriptions with due dates, peer reviews, and reflections; these are the “anchors” of the course and should remain consistent across sections. To encourage instructor agency and creativity (and to promote attendance), we have removed the standardized learning activities from the face-to-face Canvas shells.
2. Reduced number of major assignments and increased suggested word counts. To provide more time for instruction, drafting, and revision, we have removed the “Analysis” assignment in 150 and the “Summary in Conversation” assignment in 250. The work from these assignments will be integrated into other major assignments in the courses.

These changes are not major curricular revisions, but they will have pedagogical implications. Please also note:

• Instructors are welcome to copy learning activities that they want to use from previous semesters into the shell for their section. We encourage instructors to make sure the activities are suited for in-person learning;
• The Online Learning Team (olt@iastate.edu) is available to provide support as instructors make the streamlined Canvas shell work for the course and for students;
• We are hosting a Brown Bag lunch series during the fall semester to share ideas about how to make the most of face-to-face time in class.
• We are working on an online repository of teaching materials for Foundation Courses instructors to use as a resource, which will be shared soon!