Engaged Learning Innovations Sample Projects
2012 - 2013 Projects
Heightening Engaged Learning in Spoken Communication - Susan McFarlane-Alvarez
“Instead of mindlessly venturing through the requirements of each presentation from semester start to semester conclusion, this program activates the student involvement in the course by connecting the dots between what the students seeks in completing the course, and how the course applies to the student’s academic and professional aspirations.”
Engaged Learning in English 1101 and 1102 Writing ePortfolios - Robert Pfeiffer and Mary Lamb
This project aims to “improve how our students engage in their writing by enhancing what we expect in their ePortfolios. The goals of our proposal are to I) revise the ePortfolio requirement to ensure that students "produce and revise various forms of writing for different audiences indifferent disciplines" ("High-Impact Educational Practices") and 2) offer teaching strategies for all faculty members who teach sections of the course.”
Improved Engagement in Chemistry 1211 - Patricia Todebush
This project will use active learning strategies, in the form of classroom demonstrations performed by student teams, as a way to motivate students. It is proposed that if students are more motivated, they will be more engaged with the course material and thus will perform better on class evaluation measures. Every week during the semester, a student team will perform a live classroom demonstration. This demonstration will be directly related to the material being presented in class that week. All students in the class will then be required to write an essay describing the demonstration and the scientific principles governing their observations. The use of in-class demonstrations will give the students a “wow” factor. It is anticipated that this will spark their interest in the material. The essay they must write will reinforce the scientific principles being discussed. In addition to increasing student motivation, this project also has the opportunity to enhance the students’ writing skills since they will be writing weekly essays on scientific topics.
2013 - 2014 Projects
Self-Paced Online Course - Sherry Southard
“This self-paced online course ("SPOC") is a Common Intellectual Experience that involves the use of state of the art technology to create a highly interactive, engaging and flexible learning environment. This is accomplished through the use of rich multi-media content, interactive exercises and animation technology to create a visually and intellectually stimulating environment. Student will meet several times to discuss their experience and impressions.”
Equipping Students for Mathematical Modeling - Jelinda Spotorno
This project looks to redesign the learning environment in Math 1101 by developing tools and activities that help students better understand the concepts within the curriculum. The design involves restructuring the in-class time to include small group activities and developing videos and demonstrations for the online environment in order to provide students with just-in-time instruction.
Writing, Collaborating, and Constructing Research Questions in Statistics - Aaron Rafter
The goal of this redesign project is to create and implement activities that will allow students “to write short research reports on data that they find or collect. Initially, they will write a description of their research study and a question to answer that will be submitted as a proposal to ensure that the quality of the study follows the guidelines of statistical research. Students will be required to read each other’s report, offer feedback and collaborate within the course.”
The Rhetoric of Consumption - Jennifer Parrott / Economics: Text and Context - Gay Solomon
These collaborative projects aim to help students apply writing strategies by linking together ENGL 1102 and ECON 1101. Students will submit joint assignments for the two courses and apply writing techniques taught in ENGL 1102 to the concepts and principles learned in ECON 1101.