Annual Innovation Grants:

The Center for Teaching and Learning sponsors four “Innovation Grants” worth $1,000 each. All current FSC faculty and librarians are eligible to apply for one of the grants, which are designed to encourage innovation in teaching and learning. Proposals that outline new teaching methods and/or the use of new technologies should be no more than two pages, single-spaced. Awardees will be expected to present the details of the implementation of their new methods and/or technologies in a Fall 2008 symposium. When applying, please email proposals to Sean C. Goodlett, Faculty Director of the Center for Teaching and Learning. The deadline for this year's grants was 5 October, 2007. The final selection of awardees was conducted by the members of the Center’s advisory board.

Mel Govindan, Department of Biology and Chemistry, AY06/07 Awardee


"Implementation of Process Oriented Guided Inquiry Learning (POGIL)
in an Introductory Chemistry Course for Allied Health Majors."
1 October, 2007 (14 minutes, 12mb)

Process-oriented guided inquiry learning (POGIL) is a teaching and learning technique originally developed by chemistry educators to improve critical thinking and problem solving in science courses. Despite many reports on the effectiveness of non-traditional approaches to science instruction, the lecture model remains the preferred form of teaching. Lecturing is based on the assumption that all students need the same information, presented orally and at the same pace, with little dialogue with the presenter. Although lecturing is an efficient way to present information, it does not necessarily result in efficient learning. The POGIL approach, on the other hand, involves creating a learning environment where students are actively engaged in mastering a discipline and in developing essential skills by working in self-managed teams on guided inquiry activities – referred to as "Chemactivities" in my courses. The activities are designed to guide them through concepts and applications discussed in the textbook. These materials supply students with data or information followed by leading questions designed to guide them toward formulation of their own valid conclusions; this is essentially a recapitulation of the scientific method. The presentation will discuss the general aspects of the POGIL methodology and its implementation in my introductory chemistry course. It will also contain information about the workshops offered by the NSF-supported POGIL project.

Jane Zhang, Department of Geophysical Sciences, AY06/07 Awardee


"Why GIS (Geographic Information Systems)?"
17 September, 2007 (10 minutes, 9mb)

A geographic information system (GIS) is a computer-based technology for mapping and analyzing feature events on earth. Examples of daily use GIS are Google Earth™ and MapQuest™. GIS technology can be used for scientific investigations, resource management, environmental impact assessment, urban planning, cartography, criminology, history, sales, marketing, and route planning. For example, a GIS might allow emergency planners to easily calculate emergency response times in the event of a natural disaster, a GIS might be used to find wetlands that need protection from pollution, or a GIS can be used by a company to find new potential customers similar to the ones they already have and project sales due to expanding into that market. Differences between GIS vs. GPS, as well as commercial GIS software vs. open source GIS, will also be explored.

Bornali Bhandari and Pirudas Lwamugira, Dept. of Social Sciences, AY07/08 Awardees

The funds from the Innovation Grant will be used to buy a Data Analysis and Statistical Software, specifically STATA.  This software will be used in the ECON 3700: Econometrics, a class scheduled to be taught in the Spring semester of 2008.  Additionally, this software will be used in the assessment process of Economics students.  The justification for the Econometrics class and the software are linked to each other.  Econometrics is an introduction to econometric methods, statistical inferences and testing hypotheses. Model building techniques and their theoretical justifications are presented and evaluated in terms of their performance.  The software will help the students to learn the application of the theoretical tools learnt in class.  The Economics students of FSC are handicapped both in the job market and graduate school if they do not graduate with the knowledge embodied in Econometrics.  The STATA program contributes by giving the students practical training in this arena.  Ultimately, the students gain analytical skills which are so valued both in the job market and graduate school.

 

Ellen Borsuk, Department of Education, AY07/08 Awardee

This award will greatly facilitate the experience I am planning with Morningside Academy, a private school in Seattle. Morningside Academy bases all teaching on cutting-edge, research-based instructional techniques across curricular areas, including reading. This summer I will have the opportunity to be a full-time apprentice in a reading classroom that includes methods such as Direct Instruction and Precision Teaching, as well as progressive instructional technology. This experience will further enhance my expertise in the area of reading assessment and instruction, which will be of great benefit to the Fitchburg State College students in my classes. Given the dire consequences of failure to learn to read, it is critical to promote effective, evidence-based reading instruction for our children and to equip teacher candidates with the necessary skills.

Thomas Schoenfeld and George Babich, Dept. of Biology and Chemistry, AY07/08 Awardees

Classroom Response Systems (CRS) are a recently introduced classroom technology that enables an instructor to broadly sample, interactively and in real time, how well, or how poorly, his/her students are learning the material being presented in a course.  Overall patterns of responses to questions can be used to modify teaching styles and goals, both on the fly and over the course of the semester.  Faced with large lecture sections (~100 students) in Anatomy and Physiology each semester, we see CRS technology as an immediate solution to student passivity, but we also want to foster its more general adoption on this campus for virtues that apply to classes of all sizes, such as automatically taking attendance, grading quizzes and homework, and taking anonymous surveys on controversial topics.  Innovation Award funding will support our ongoing implementation and exploration of the Interwrite Personal Response System (PRS) as a top-rated model of CRS.  Funding will also enable us to organize training seminars and a conference to gather and share the experiences of others, for the general benefit of faculty at FSC. 

Joshua Spero, Department of Social Sciences, AY07/08 Awardee


"Simulated Crisis Management Decision Making"
15 May, 2008 (17 minutes, 16mb)

Critical thinking for learning how to research and analyze in our rapidly changing and transforming classroom environment technologically challenges us as teachers for how we can best try to prepare our students. Not only do the technological challenges of helping students to learn age-old methodologies of critical thinking, decision-making processes, options development, and problem solving involve a basic understanding of applying theories to evidence-based evaluation. But, the critical thinking of today’s fast-paced and technologically advancing world of learning challenges professors and students to grasp how to learn—not just to earn—to comprehend, apply, synthesize, and evaluate decisions to shape career paths. The emphasis on absorbing material technologically, often instantly, appears to outdo methodologies concentrated on memorizing and, unfortunately, frequently forgetting material quickly. Technologically simulating crisis management decision-making (SCMD) can enable greater appreciation for how budding student careers can improve professional growth and development. The SCMD methodology integrates simulation practices, role-playing leadership techniques, collaborative learning in real world situations and scenarios, based on scholarship and its theoretical and practical application. Yet, this method of teaching and lessons learned constantly needs to account for new technologies integral to the classroom and globally competitive career paths, for research, analysis, and evaluation. Discussion, debate, deliberation, and decision about SCMD for presentation at national conferences over this year and on which the Center for Teaching and Learning Symposia can educate provide opportunities for our teaching to guide our classroom learning.

Interviews with Our Faculty:

"Another Interview with a Mentor," Assoc. Prof. Cap Corduan, AY07/08 Faculty Mento at the CTL
21 September, 2007 (12 minutes, 11 mb)

"Interview with a Mentor," Prof. Paul Weizer, AY06/07 and 07/08 Faculty Mentor at the CTL
16 August, 2007 (8 minutes, 7 mb)

"Technology Enhanced Teaching," Prof. Susan Williams, American Historian, Department of Social Sciences
17 August , 2007 (18 minutes, 17 mb)