Introductory Seminars

Teaching Resources

The IntroSems Program offers both financial and pedagogical resources to support faculty in creating active, engaging, and vibrant small seminars.

Pedagogical Support

IntroSems is organized around faculty teaching small seminars comprising first- and second-year students. To support faculty in developing their seminar—many of whom are making the transition from large lecture courses to small, discussion-based seminars—the IntroSems Program offers a range of pedagogical development opportunities, including but not limited to:

  • One-On-One Consultations

    IntroSems faculty and instructors may consult throughout the quarter to discuss topics ranging from planning a syllabus to determining how to use course enhancement funds, to debriefing course evaluations.

  • Workshops

    Offered exclusively to IntroSems instructors, these workshops are designed to address the specific needs of IntroSems faculty, and feature topics such as designing inclusive courses, planning active learning activities, and navigating unexpected classroom conversations or student concerns.

Academic Technology Support

A specialist in academic technology is available to work with IntroSems faculty on a wide range of projects, including designing interactive on-line discussion forums to implementing video annotation software to creating digital projects, such as podcasts and web pages. For more information about developing instructional technology tools, contact Hollie Fortkamp at hollief@stanford.edu.