The University Record, January 21, 1998

13 receive Whitaker Fund support

From the Center for Research on Learning and Teaching

Thirteen faculty members have received support from the Gilbert Whitaker Fund for the Improvement of Teaching. Funding is awarded to proposals that model collaboration among faculty colleagues and deepen the commitment to good teaching.

Funds are awarded in two stages. Stage I provides seed money for project development and preliminary implementation with the awarding of up to 10 initial grants of $5,000 each.

In the Stage II competition, Stage I projects provide a report to the Center for Research on Learning and Teaching on what has been accomplished and what might be accomplished with additional funding. A faculty advisory board recommends recipients on the basis of the reports and the provost may award up to three grants of $25,000 for continuing efforts.

Stage II recipients and their projects are:

  • Michael Rodemer and Loretta Staples, School of Art and Design, "A Computing Curriculum for the School of Art and Design." The award will support individual and in-house workshops for faculty, the initial experimental phases of the new curriculum, work with the Office of Instructional Technology to develop course materials and two faculty retreats.
  • Patricia Simons, Department of History of Art, "Reshaping the Art History Curriculum for the Next Century." Among Simons' goals are the development of more thematic, cross-cultural and methodologically self-conscious courses, goals for concentration levels and a "visual literacy" requirement, and researching innovative pedagogic tools.
  • Nicholas Steneck, College of Engineering, "Interactive Electronic Tools for Engineering Ethics Instruction." Steneck will develop a case-writing class for undergraduate students, offer a workshop for faculty and graduate students to generate cases for the Web site and add substance to the Web site developed with Stage I funding as a resource for faculty to use in teaching engineering ethics.

    • Stage I recipients and their projects:

  • Larry Gant, School of Social Work, "The NILE Project: New Interactive Learning Experiences." Gant will take advantage of technological innovations to provide options for students to access content and choose among alternative modes of learning.
  • Todd Gernes, English Composition Board, "Rethinking the Rhetoric of Science." Gernes will develop and pilot a comparative rhetoric of science course in astronomy, biology, chemistry, geology and physics.
  • Simon Gikandi, Program in Comparative Literature, "Designing a Comparative Cultural Studies Concentration." Gikandi will develop and implement a new concentration in cultural studies.
  • Sugih Jamin, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, "Computer Networks Discovery and Visualization Toolkit." Jamin will create a software laboratory testbed to provide students with hands-on experience in computer networks courses.
  • Rita Loch-Caruso, Environmental and Industrial Health, "Training Environmental Health Professionals." Loch-Caruso will investigate perceived problems and possible solutions in the current structure of the training of master's degree students in her department through focus groups, a faculty retreat and surveys of students, faculty, alumni and prospective employers.
  • Timothy McKay, Department of Physics. "Increasing Student Engagement in Large Introductory Physics Lectures." McKay proposes to introduce "peer instruction" techniques into large introductory physics lectures.
  • Joanne Pohl, School of Nursing, "Interdisciplinary Educational Model: Community-Based Health Care." Pohl will create a new interdisciplinary experience among the schools of Nursing, Social Work, Public Health and Dentistry and the College of Pharmacy.
  • David Stern and Scott Furney, Department of Internal Medicine, "Measuring the Impact of a Residency-Based Curriculum on Medical Education in Medical Student Teaching." Stern and Furney propose to develop and implement a curriculum using a well established seminar model for the improvement of medical education.
  • Steven Yalisove, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, "Integration of Active Learning Methodologies in the Large Classroom Environment: A Technological Approach." Yalisove proposes to integrate active learning methodologies into large classes by installing a "Classtalk" system in the Iacocca Lecture Hall and using it for "Materials Science and Engineering 250."
  • Meiko Yoshihama, School of Social Work, "Invisible No Longer: Asian Pacific Islanders in Social Work Education." Yoshihama proposes to elucidate the issues pertinent to social work with the diverse and growing Asian Pacific Islander populations and infuse this information into the existing curriculum.