Karle Flanagan, Senior Instructor of Statistics, has recently been named as a CITL Faculty Fellow effective Fall 2021. The Center for Innovation in Teaching & Learning Faculty Fellowship program seeks unique perspectives and academic interests to assist CITL Staff in identifying faculty needs and reducing barriers to participation in CITL programs, workshops, and events. Supported by the Office of the Provost, CITL Faculty Fellows participate in monthly strategic planning sessions to develop new programs and initiatives in teaching, learning, and emerging technology. The CITL Faculty Fellow is one of the most prestigious teaching-related opportunities at the campus level.

Flanagan’s focus will include making large lecture courses accessible to all students. As the primary Statistics 100 instructor for the past several years, Flanagan is well versed in managing and operating courses with large course capacities. Stat 100 is consistently one of the larger courses offered each term across the entire campus, with Flanagan also consistently appearing on the “Teachers Ranked as Excellent by Their Students”. With almost eight years of experience teaching large lecture courses, Flanagan continues to be passionate about ensuring students have a positive and meaningful experience in large enrollment courses. “In Stat 100, my goal is to help students see the value of statistics not only in their majors and their jobs, but also in their lives as citizens. I also am passionate about making large enrollment courses accessible for students by providing a wide variety of resources, as I do in Stat 100 and 107,” Flanagan offered.

As making large lecture courses more accessible to students across campus is an area of focus CITL is aware of, Flanagan’s expertise seems to be a natural fit. Flanagan plans to provide resources and share interactive teaching demonstrations with fellow instructors who are teaching large-enrollment courses. Flanagan plans to share the many tools and techniques she has implemented to become a vital part of the student experience in the classroom. In addition, Flanagan's goal is to create a community of faculty who teach large-enrollment courses. “I hope to become a better teacher myself, learn from my colleagues and hear other perspectives, and help make large enrollment courses the best they can be for all students at Illinois,” Flanagan said regarding what she hopes to gain from this experience.

Professor Michel Bellini of Cellular and Developmental Biology and Director of CITL stated that he “witnessed [Flanagan’s] great enthusiasm and genuine desire to enrich the learning experiences of students at multiple campus events.” Professor Bellini continued that he looked forward to working with Flanagan on enhancing large enrollment courses through the CITL Faculty Fellow program.