Research Seminar Abstract
Collectively Improving Our Teaching: Efforts in Evidence-based Teaching that Produced Classroom Transformations, Unanticipated Discoveries, and Scholarly Publications, Dr. Kimberly Tanner
Many efforts to improve teaching in higher education focus on a few faculty members at an institution at a time, with limited published evidence on attempts to engage faculty across entire departments. We created a long-term, department-wide collaborative professional development program, Biology Faculty Explorations in Scientific Teaching (Biology FEST). Over three years of Biology FEST, 89% of the department’s faculty completed a weeklong Evidence-based Teaching Institute, and 83% of eligible instructors participated in additional semester-long follow-up programs. A semester after institute completion, the majority of faculty reported adding active learning and inclusive teaching strategies to their courses. Instructor self-reports were corroborated by audio analysis of classroom noise and student survey evidence on the frequency of active learning. Additionally, the majority of faculty participants have collaborated on scholarly efforts that have led to unanticipated discoveries and multiple scholarly publications. Also unexpectedly, most respondents also believed that they had improved relationships with departmental colleagues and felt a greater sense of belonging to the department. Overall, our results indicate that department-wide collaborative efforts to improve teaching can indeed attract large numbers of faculty, spark widespread change in teaching practices, improve departmental relations, and produce scholarly discoveries.
CEG Poster Session
The Curriculum Enhancement Grant (CEG) provides faculty with technical and instructional support, time, and funds to implement projects designed to improve student learning and success at IUPUI, IUPU Columbus, and IUFW. In addition, the grants seek to enhance the conversation about scholarly teaching on campus and increase the practice of the scholarship of teaching and learning. Furthermore, work on CEG projects may enable faculty competitiveness for external educational or curricular improvement grants. The grant supports a wide range of faculty projects designed to improve student learning and success. 2018 CEG Scholars will present the results of their project at the poster session.
Workshop Description
Order Matters: Becoming Metacognitive about Teaching Choices and Teaching for Brain Changing, Dr. Kimberly Tanner
What teaching choices are we making as instructors, and why? How do we as instructors decide how to spend in-class time with students? To what extent do our teaching plans align with what is known about how the brain learns? What tools are available to become more analytical about our teaching choices and strategize for change? In this interactive workshop, participants will explore their current approaches to planning and reflecting on their teaching, as well as explore the 5E learning cycle model as an analytical tool for understanding teaching choices. Individual participants will have the opportunity to self-assess and analyze current class sessions and identify small changes that could be immediately implemented to maximize student engagement and learning.