9 Leading a Block

The successful design and delivery of a block is an ongoing process which occurs year round. Regional block leads, students, curriculum committee members, thread leads, and block directors are all integral parts of this process. A timeline summarizing the cycle of a block is outlined here:

Anatomy of a Block Cycle – Text Version

As you are probably aware, a great deal of effort goes in to block preparation, implementation, and assessment. A comprehensive instructional guide for how to lead a Foundations block has been developed by Julien Goulet, Assistant Director for Curriculum. Although designed primarily for block directors, it includes lots of useful information for regional block leads as well: Block directors guide to foundations curriculum

Spokane Block Prep Process:

In addition to the centralized process outlined above, several important steps occur in Spokane to get a block up and running:

3 Months Out
Lockdown Meeting with all WWAMI sites to determine final block schedule
Sean Collins Spokane Administrative Block lead preps skeleton of AY

Review and finalize Spokane Specific schedule with Sean

Begin to recruit faculty for large group sessions (if applicable)

2 Months Out
Sean puts draft schedule into the AY
Sean sends email to core faculty to sign up for small group dates
Regional lead coordinates who is teaching which large and small group sessions, recruiting faculty where necessary. This includes coordinating with Themes and Threads
Begin to recruit outside faculty for small group and large group gaps

1 Month Out
Final Draft Schedule is given to Sean, all changes to AY must
be made and finalized
Sean submits “Event Upload” to Elentra
Changes can be made after this but can ONLY happen by working directly with Sean –
(Note that all changes after the Event Upload must be made individually and take a lot more time
to complete
Sean locks the AY so no changes can be made without his knowledge (important so that changes are also
reflected in Elentra)
Optional huddle with Sean

3 Weeks Out
CANVAS “Copy Out”. All changes to Canvas materials must be approved by the block director after his date
Sean organizes CANVAS to match Spokane schedule and adds times
Sean Updates CIW Permissions group to give faculty access to CANVAS

2 Weeks Out
Regional block lead double checks CANVAS order and content
Sean creates small group spreadsheet and adds to CANVAS
Sean collects parking information from outside guests
Sean links small group spreadsheet to AY

1 Week Out
Sean publishes CANVAS
Block lead coordinates building access for guests (get monthly code from Sean)
Meet with/notify Sean of any tech needs for sessions
Consider doing a walk through of room tech
Block lead reviews the small group and large group schedule to note the guest faculty scheduled and email
them materials directly
Make sure all faculty have access to necessary teaching materials

During the Block
Sean sends students small group materials
Faculty tracks small group attendance on CANVAS
Faculty manages content and outside faculty content requests
Sean can upload and edit CANVAS as needed

Post Block Items
Attend lessons learned meetings
Optional meeting with Sean for feedback on course

Student Curriculum Leads

Student Curriculum Leads deserve special mention. These are two students elected by their classmates each fall. Their main role is to act as a liaison between students and faculty. They contact regional block leads to discuss any questions or concerns gathered from peers. Student Curriculum Leads continue to check in with faculty throughout the block, surveying peers for feedback and passing on any student concerns or suggestions for improvement. They help to coordinate student-led review sessions for each exam. At the end of the block, curriculum leads provide Spokane specific feedback regarding areas of improvement for the next year. Open, frequent, informal dialogue is essential to make the most of this valuable role and for block success.

Glossary of Terms for block leads

Block Director – Oversees  the entire block including large group content and topics, small group cases, scheduling, and assessments etc. Block Directors can be from any of the WWAMI sites.

Canvas copy out – Final deadline for Canvas materials. After the copy out date all changes to Canvas must be approved by the block director.

Regional Block Lead – Responsible for administering the block at the site (regional) level.

Student Curriculum Leads – 2 Students elected by classmates at their site who serve as liaisons between students and regional block leads during the academic year.

Student Block Partners – students from any WWAMI site that meet with

Lockdown – Date of the final block schedule. This occurs during a WWAMI wide meeting with Block Directors, Regional Block Leads, and Thread and Themes Directors

Skull session – Pre-recorded or live session put on by Block Directors designed to provide Regional Block Leads with key information and teaching points for a specific topic, as well as to offer teaching tips and advice. Could cover either a small group or large group topic.