Hewlett Pluralism and Unity Project

The Office of Graduate Studies and the research staff at DIIA's former Center for Teaching Effectiveness participated in an exciting grant initiative, the goal of which was to promote pluralism and unity within university communities. For this project, we examined group work in college classrooms as a vehicle for increasing students' sense of community and openness to diverse perspectives. In its first year, fifteen courses were selected from across the university for participation in the grant, spanning fourteen different departments. In its second year, six courses were selected for participation in the grant and eleven instructors volunteered their courses for the project. Each of the selected courses on the grant was redesigned to incorporate group work as outlined by cooperative learning methods, while volunteers served as a control for courses that did not initiate group work as part of the curriculum.