Course Innovation, With Support

Whether you’re adjusting rubrics, trying new assignments, or changing your course structure, you don’t have to do it alone.

Our STEM instructional designers and Faculty Success Managers can help with syllabus matching, custom content builds, TA grading setup, and more, so you can stay focused on teaching.

This month, we’re highlighting how instructors collaborate with Catalyst to strengthen their courses. Read our latest blog post, Unlocking Student Engagement With Role-Based Group Work, and watch for our first Faculty Outreach podcast, coming soon.

Feature Spotlight: Collaboration with Catalyst

Putting Our STEM Expertise to Work for Your Course

Whether you're looking to refresh your assessment strategy or simply save time on administrative tasks, our team is ready to step in. Here is how your peers leverage Catalyst support throughout the semester:

Tailored Assessment Setup

We help build multi-part sequential questions and custom rubric criteria tailored to your specific lab experiments or lecture goals. 

TA & Grading Workflow Optimization

From launching our new Needs Grading panel to configuring useful Quick Grade tools, we ensure your TAs spend less time clicking and more time teaching.

Proactive Course Maintenance

Need an assignment tweaked or provisional data adjusted on the fly? Send a quick note to your Faculty Success Manager, and we'll handle it or help you learn how to make those last-minute edits on the platform.

"The ability to use technology to solve large program challenges is impressive, and their ability to code in assessments is a game changer. You get dedicated support from people who are unbelievably responsive."

— Director of Undergraduate Chemistry Laboratories

Labflow & Spark: Tips & Tricks

Here are a few quick ideas crowdsourced from our team and fellow instructors on incorporating new workflows into your course through collaboration with our teams:

1. Design AI-Critical Lab Tasks: Have students use AI to generate pre-lab analysis or calibration curves, then require them to critically evaluate whether the AI output is correct using their live lab data.

2. Add Contextual "Friction" to Questions: Prevent generic AI responses by working with us to build multi-part sequential questions tied directly to students' in-lab observations or lecture discussions.

3. Streamline TA Prep: Review assessed criteria in the Student View tab during weekly TA meetings, using our new Auto-Complete Report function to ensure your instructors are ready to answer all student inquiries.

Instructor Spotlight: Thoughtful Assessments, Rubrics, & Student Pacing

This month, we are spotlighting Sheryl Dykstra, PhD (Teaching Professor: Organic Chemistry Lab for Majors) and Angela Bischof, PhD (Associate Teaching Professor and Director of General Chemistry Labs) at Penn State University for their thoughtful work on course assessments and rubrics.

Both instructors demonstrate how intentional rubric design and creative assessment structures elevate student accountability and learning.

Sheryl has developed an innovative AI assignment in her organic chemistry lab that challenges students to engage thoughtfully and critically with artificial intelligence tools as part of their coursework.

In General Chemistry, Angela has focused on developing multi-component grading rubrics to deliver high-quality feedback at scale and implementing Labflow's Token System to manage student extensions. 

Join the Conversation

Are you doing something unique with your rubric design or utilizing AI assignments in a creative way? Reply directly to this email to share your story!

Warmly,
The Catalyst Team
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