Support Programs and Professional Development
ThinkAchieve Faculty Fellows 2013-2014
We are pleased to announce three new ThinkAchieve faculty development programs for 2013-2014. These programs are year-long faculty cohorts led by selected UTC faculty who are experts on a teaching strategy or approach that promotes student critical thinking and active learning. With this program, faculty participants attend a half-day workshop on May 2, 2013, and at least three meetings with the cohort during each semester of the 2013-2014 academic year. The program culminates with a campus-wide presentation by each cohort in May 2014.
Faculty may apply for their cohort of interest by Friday, February 22nd. Selections for each cohort will be made by the ThinkAchieve Awards Selection Committee; up to five faculty members will be accepted to each cohort. A broad representation from the colleges will be a priority in the selection process. Cohort participants will be paid $500 for participation. Active involvement in all components of the program (workshop, academic year meetings, and campus-wide presentation) is required.
The 2013-2014 Faculty Fellows Programs are:
Bringing Creative Energy into the Research Process
Priscilla Seaman
Reference/Instruction Librarian, Lupton Library
This Faculty Fellows program focuses on the topic of how to convert research anxiety and dread into research creativity and ‘flow state.’ Although 21st-century students have access to a vast information landscape, they often begin their college education with a “Google mindset” and a linear thesis/conclusion research model. This program will introduce faculty to a cyclical research approach called the Information/Research Life Cycle which begins with the formulation of a good, researchable topic/question, and takes the researcher through 12 stages of the research process. At the completion of the program, faculty will be able to help students construct researchable questions, understand and use controlled vocabulary and keyword search techniques, identify tools and databases for the exploration of research questions, evaluate sources within databases, incorporate the research life cycle into course materials.
Cohort Participants are:
- Susan McDonald, Occupational Therapy
- Carrie Meadows, English
- Will Stern, Health and Human Performance
- Alice Tym, Sociology, Anthropology, and Geography
Creating Meaningful Connections: Pop Culture in the Classroom
Ralph Covino
Assistant Professor, History Department
Scholarly attention has focused on millennial students’ resistance to ‘old school’ lecture formats, their technology-dependence, and what happens when they get to college; however, a key aspect of the way these students actually process information in their out-of-class lives -and how it can be used in-class- has yet to receive much notice. Many on the teaching front-lines have noted how students react positively to in-class references to film, television, and other media such as The Hunger Games, 50 Shades of Gray, superhero films, and the like; but how can we best harness our students’ ‘referential culture’ to promote logical and coherent critical thinkers? This cohort seeks to explore best practices for the use of popular culture in the classroom and train faculty to develop exercises that have students communicate and articulate connections between pop culture and their subject matter in a meaningful way.
Cohort Participants are:
- Jessica Auchter, Political Science
- Jennifer Boyd, Biology, Geology and Environmental Sciences
- Lindsay Irvin, History
- Hope Klug, Biology, Geology and Environmental Sciences
- Craig Laing, Sociology, Anthropology, and Geography
- Jessica Peacock, Health and Human Performance
Using Problem-Based Learning as a Tool for Critical Thinking
Cheryl M. Robinson
Associate Professor, School of Education
Problem-based learning is an instructional approach by which student learning centers on a multi-level problem that cannot be answered with a single correct answer. Much of the literature in regards to problem-based learning suggests that by having students learn through the experience of problem-solving, both content and thinking strategies are learned. In this Faculty Fellows program, faculty will learn to create a problem-based learning course in their own discipline. They will learn how to meet each of the 8 instructional principles of problem-based learning that will be shared during the workshop and cohort meetings. The culminating activity will be a presentation of their instructional plan. Come enjoy the creativity and fun as you enhance your teaching techniques.
Cohort Participants are:
- Angela Ballard, Communication
- Claire McCullough, Computer Science and Engineering
- Madonna Kemp, English
- David Witt, College of Business, Management
- Kelli Hand, Nursing