Thirteen teaching and learning grants awarded for 2006

The WSU Office of Undergraduate Education announced the 13 faculty teams awarded with the 2006 Teaching and Learning Improvement Initiative Grants in amounts up to $15,000 each.

“The outstanding quality of this year’s proposals indicates that WSU professors are exceptionally committed to enhancing and improving undergraduate student learning,” said Mary Wack, Office of Undergraduate Education interim director. “The grant program began in 2003 and the proposals have been stronger each year.”

A panel from the prestigious President’s Teaching Academy Advisory Board reviewed a total of 24 proposals. Founded in 2004 by President V. Lane Rawlins, the board is charged with promoting and celebrating the many facets of world-class teaching and learning at the university. The board worked with the Faculty Senate in 2005 to formalize the WSU “Six Learning Goals of the Baccalaureate,” which are: creative and critical thinking; quantitative and symbolic reasoning; information literacy; communication; self in society; and specialty.

Teaching and Learning Improvement grant applicants were encouraged to align department and program learning outcomes with these six goals, and to propose ways to foster inter- and intradisciplinary collaborations among scholars—all with the goal of continuous, sustained improvement of educational programs, said Wack.

The topics and recipients of the 2006 Teaching and Learning Improvement Initiative grants are:

*”Improving Student Outcomes by Linking Critical Thinking to Program Development and Evaluation,” project leader Ella Inglebret, Department of Speech and Hearing Sciences in the College of Liberal Arts.

*”Developing Learning Outcome Assessment Tools for Introductory and Senior Level Plant and Soil Science Majors,” project leaders Teresa Cerny-Koenig, Catherine Perillo, Kathleen Willemsen, Caroline Pearson-Mims, Bill Pan, Bill Hendrix, Bill Johnston and Larry Hiller, representing a cooperative effort involving the departments of Crop and Soil Sciences, and Horticulture and Landscape Architecture in the College of Agricultural, Human and Natural Resource Sciences.

*”Automating the Collection, Organization, and Feedback into Degree Programs of Learning Needs and Assessment in Introductory Courses,” project leader Robert Rosenman, School of Economic Sciences in the College of Agricultural, Human and Natural Resource Sciences.

*”ET- Cubed: Educating Tomorrow’s Leaders Today,” project leader Dawn Shinew, department of Teaching and Learning in the College of Education.

*”Implementation and Evaluation of the Science, Engineering, and Mathematics Living Learning Community,” project leaders Shane Brown, Kip Findley and Denny Davis, various departments in the College of Engineering and Architecture in collaboration with the College of Sciences.

*”Design and Implementation of a Placement Exam and New Introductory Course to Increase Retention of Computer Science Students,” project leader Christopher Hundhausen, School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science in the College of Engineering and Architecture.

*”Assessment of Outcomes in Core Engineering Courses,” project leaders Lisa Morris, Shane Brown, Bill Cofer and Dave Stock, departments of Civil and Environmental Engineering, and Mechanical Engineering in the College of Engineering and Architecture.

*”Project Access,” project leaders Irenee Beattie, Christine Horne, Julie Kmec, Kim Lloyd, and Christine Oakley, Dept. of Sociology in the College of Liberal Arts.

*”Evaluating Use of the Public Health Nursing Intervention Model in Student Clinical Experiences,” project leaders Janet Katz and Janet Purath, College of Nursing.

*”Breaking the Barriers and Closing the Loop on Assessment in the World Civilizations Program,” project leaders Richard Law, Ken Faunce, Marie Glynn, Theresa Jordan, Susan Kilgore and Jeff Sellen, General Education Program in the Office of Undergraduate Education.

*”Assessment of Achievement of Learning Outcomes,” project leader Tom Tripp, Business Programs at WSU Vancouver.

*”Creating a Culture of Assessment for the General Education Program,” project leader Candice Goucher, General Education at WSU Vancouver.

*”Improving the Quality of Undergraduate Education in Molecular Biosciences,” project leaders Michael Konkel, Nancy Magnuson, Ronald Brosemer, Eric Shelden, Phil Mixter, Marilyn Bender and Justin Fischer, School of Molecular Biosciences in the College of Sciences.