The FYLI Toolkit is a collection of resources, strategies, ideas and helpful tips that you can use in your courses to address the key FYLI outcomes. The Toolkit material comes from the contributions and experiences of all of us at NAU.

These tools focus on the teaching principles, techniques, and technologies that shape the character of a course and make it engaging.

Click on each of the following questions to find tools which will help provide answers:

• To what degree does your course actively engage students?

• In what ways does your course require attendance and/or participation?

• In what ways does your course use lectures strategically, if at all?

• To what degree does your course both use rubrics and provide and explain them to students for major assessments?

• Early and often: In what ways does your course offer early and formative feedback? Are there frequent low-stakes assessments? Is feedback provided through GPS and mid-term grade reports?

• Every class needs a hook: In what ways do you bridge students’ current interests and conception of the disciple compared with the intellectual interests and habits of mind currently in the discipline? (for example, begin with a popular culture connection). Are you aware of the context from which students are approaching the discipline? How does your course take into account students’ diverse cultural backgrounds?

• In what ways does your course assess the critical skills and/or knowledge students have when they enter the course?

• To what degree does your course effectively utilize co-curricular learning experiences?

• In what ways does your course ensure that the information, materials, instructional delivery, student activities and assessment are inclusive and accessible?

• In what ways does your course include teaching methods that promote community building (i.e., students getting to know one another)?