Focal Point Course Proposal Template

Please copy this template into a word processing program, and fill in the fields below. Email completed applications (as an attachment) to Doug Long at dlong@depaul.edu or firstyr@depaul.edu. You may also deliver a hard copy to the First-Year Program Office in Munroe Hall, Lincoln Park Campus (include a copy on disc). If you have any further questions, please contact the First-Year Program Office at (773) 325-7573.

Deadline: Proposals are due February 15th for courses intended to be taught
in the next academic year (for both winter and spring quarter quarters).

Please note: If you are scheduled (or are under consideration) to teach a Focal Point Seminar (FPS) originally proposed by someone else, you need not complete another proposal form. Instead, please submit a copy of the syllabus used the last time the seminar was taught and a statement summarizing 1) who you are and why you’re qualified to be an instructor for this FPS, and 2) what changes, if any, you plan on making in your own teaching of the course. (Submit this statement to Doug Long at dlong@depaul.edu).

For official use only:
Please provide the following information:
Course Title:

Anticipate First Time Teaching the Course:

Name: 

Department: 

College/School:

Telephone Number:                                       E-mail Address:

Has your chair, director, or dean approved this submission? ____Yes ____No

Will you be the primary instructor of the course? ____Yes ____No

Are you willing to serve as the primary contact for the course? ____Yes ____No

Comment:

Course Description
Provide a statement indicating the central theme and topics of the course (one or two paragraphs).

Sample Syllabus
Provide a brief sample syllabus, tentatively listing topics to be covered during the ten weeks of instruction.
 

Focal Point Learning Goals 
Provide a brief explanation of how your course would address the following FP Learning Goals:
  • Expose students to a variety of original works and teach them the difference between primary and secondary sources (e.g., textbooks).
  • Improve students’ writing skills through ongoing assignments (in class and outside of class) which demonstrate synthesis of material, with opportunity for feedback and revision.
  • Acquaint students with how to approach a single topic, with a central focus, through a multidisciplinary perspective (as opposed to introductory discipline type courses that skim the surface of many topics).
  • Engage students intellectually in a seminar setting that includes active participation and discussion of assigned readings (with the long term goal of intellectually socializing them into university life).
  • Develop students’ critical thinking skills through assignments and discussion questions that challenge them to analyze the logic of readings and presentations.

Student Projects 
Provide a brief description of the types of projects that you envision for students as part of your course requirements.

Liberal Studies Goals 
Provide a brief account of the ways in which your course would address the Liberal Studies goals of
  • Reflectiveness:
  • Value consciousness:
  • Critical and creative thinking:
  • Multicultural perspective: