2005-2006 UW-Stout Proposal for UW-System OPID Grant to Support the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Project

 

Back to Scholarship of Teaching and Learning

 

(Note: the Cover and Transmittal pages have been deleted from this copy.)

 

 

University of Wisconsin System

Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Grants

2005-06 INITIATIVE ABSTRACT FORM

 

ABSTRACT

"Building an Effective Community of Scholars of Teaching and Learning at University of Wisconsin-Stout" will focus on investigating questions of learning. Five mentors from previous SOTL project and fifteen new scholars will divide into five small groups, each facilitated by a mentor. The groups will meet numerous times throughout the academic year to plan and implement an investigation of a learning question; each scholar will conduct an investigation. In addition the large group will meet four times to share work and insights. Two half-day workshops in August will introduce participants to action research strategies and to concepts related of learning questions.

               Outcomes of the project include an investigation of learning questions; a reflective essay, a final report, and a presentation by each scholar; development of communities of practice related to SOTL; a commitment to pursue SOTL activities; and an understanding of effective research methods and question phrasing. Short-term assessment will include a series of reflective essays created by participating faculty and students; assessment of student learning in courses; data on number of and attendance at presentations; intent to pursue other SOTL grant opportunities; critical incident questionnaires (for the workshops); and an inventory of methodological approaches. Long-term assessment will include data on grants submitted and types of changes made in instructional approaches to classes. Results of this project will be disseminated by posting reports to the project website; by requiring participants to make public presentations of their work, preferably at national conferences; and by a presentation by the principal investigator at a national conference.

 

 

 

 

 

III. Project Narrative

A. Goals and Intended Outcomes of the Project

In the previous two years, successful projects have developed a Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SOTL) culture at the University of Wisconsin-Stout. The proposed 2005-2006 project continues two previous goals and adds one new goal. The continuing goals are (1) investigating questions of learning and (2) building a community of practice centered on the scholarship of teaching and learning. The new goal is (3) creating an effective methodological approach to learning projects, both in conducting action research and phrasing learning questions.

               The outcomes of this project will be

·        An investigation of a learning question by each of 15 scholars in a course (1)

·        A reflective essay and a final report by each scholar on the investigation of the learning question (1)

·        A set of student reflective essays on their reaction to the investigation of the learning question (1)

·        Presentations of results in local, regional and/or national venues (1)

·        The development of communities of practice related to SOTL (2)

·        A commitment to pursue SOTL activities, in pedagogy and in obtaining grants (2)

·        An understanding of effective phrasing of a learning question (3)

·        An understanding of action research as a methodological strategy (3)

B. Description of the Project

The first two goals --investigating learning and building community--will be achieved through a mentor-scholar relationship; the third goal will be achieved by a set of required workshops.

The mentor-scholar relationship continues a successful model introduced at UW-Stout in the 2004-2005 SOTL project. There will be five mentors and fifteen scholars. Each mentor, a scholar who has completed a SOTL project in one of the past two years, will facilitate groups of three participants. The group members will assist one another in creating and implementing plans to investigate learning. Each scholar will conduct the investigation in one of his or her classes. These groups will meet at least once a month throughout the academic year. During the first semester the groups will discuss articles, review relevant scholarship in their fields, phrase a learning question, and plan and implement a project that investigates learning in some aspect of their classes. During the second semester the groups will meet to reflect on class events. All participants will visit at least one class of a member in their group. Furthermore, the large group will meet four times throughout the year in order to share insights.

In addition, to solidify the SOTL community, each scholar will be required to post a reflective essay and a final report to the project's website and to make a public presentation, preferably at a conference. (In the first year of this project six participants presented at national conferences, and more at local and regional conferences.) During the spring semester participants will be advised of grant opportunities to continue support of SOTL activities in their classes.

The third goal --effective researching and question phrasing --will be satisfied by a set of workshops. A major issue during previous two years of this project has been choosing appropriate research methods. The advisory board believes that a case-study, action-research base is the most effective for this kind of project. Since most instructors are unfamiliar with these strategies, a campus leader in action research, Ms. Kari Dahl, will lead two required workshops, a half day in August and a one-hour follow-up in January.

In addition the advisory board believes that concentrated work on phrasing learning questions will facilitate greater awareness of SOTL concepts, thus ensuring more focused work in the projects. Dr. Daniel Riordan, the Director of the Teaching and Learning Center, will lead a half-day workshop in August and a one-hour workshop in January dealing with focusing a project, and course, on a question of learning.

C. Engagement with Scholarship of Teaching and Learning

This project will engage its participants in both the goals of this UW-System SOTL initiative and the critical dimensions of Scholarship of Teaching and Learning.

The project reflects the System goals. It will continue UW-Stoutıs already effective SOTL program. Through the mentor-scholar relationship it provides an effective method of developing scholars and building the capacity of scholars to conduct SOTL projects. It provides a critical cross-disciplinary forum for teachers of different disciplines to work with one another in investigating learning on campus. It also works to create transformations of the curriculum. Numerous individual classes have been transformed already; in addition former scholars have created a Math Teaching and Learning Center, and a diversity awareness group who meet regularly to deal with curricular concerns and who will submit a SOTL proposal this year. Furthermore, this project will advance a long-standing campus goal to further active learning as a basis for courses at UW-Stout, and a well-articulated position of the Provost to transform the curriculum by focusing on learning.

This project engages practitioners in the standard aspects of teaching and learning projects. We have built in opportunities for peer review and reflective practice in the regular group meetings and in the report due at the conclusion of the project. We will facilitate systematic inquiry by our emphasis on conducting action research and phrasing learning questions. We require public dissemination of work and the production of a usable product in the report posted to the website.

Assessment

The Director of the Teaching and Learning Center will conduct the assessment. The short-term goals of the assessment will be to examine: 1) what was learned, 2) participation in discussions, 3) satisfaction, and 4) how the Scholars intend to incorporate this new knowledge into their teaching and learning. One year after the program is completed, additional information will be collected to measure the longer-term impact of the program on: 1) behavior changes, and 2) engagement in a community of practice.

To provide short-term assessment of the goal of investigating questions of learning, each scholar will create a final report on the project and a reflective essay describing their process of developing and investigating his or her question. The final report will develop conclusions on the project based on discipline-specific requirements for creating knowledge. The reflective essay will contain written reflections on these questions: (a.) Which practices did I employ to encourage deeper learning? (b.) What did I learn about investigating questions of learning? (c.) In my practice, what will I do differently to apply this new knowledge? (d.) What is my level of satisfaction with focusing on student learning? We will also ask scholars to require students to create at the end of the course a brief reflective essay on what they have learned about learning in the course. In addition, scholars will use their regular discipline-specific strategies (pre- and post-test, essay exams, projects, etc.) to assess learning. For long-term assessment one year after the project scholars will asked to report how they have applied knowledge learned to their instructional practice.

To assess the building a community of practice centered on the scholarship of teaching and learning, discussions will be held in the spring to determine whether individuals or groups are willing to pursue other grant opportunities in order to create new SOTL projects. Additionally, information will be collected on attendance at on-campus teaching and learning discussions/presentations. After one year we will collect information on the number of grants submitted, conferences presentations, and on-campus discussions

To assess the effectiveness of the workshops we will conduct Critical Incident Questionnaires at the end of each workshop and also require, in the reflective essay, a comment about usefulness of the project. An inventory will also be developed of all the methodologies utilized in the investigation of the learning projects. After one year we will collect information on how scholars have applied methodological approaches in their work.

Finally, the Director will collect all the reflective essays and, using them and work from the two previous projects, prepare a presentation for delivery at a national conference (e.g. AAHE, EDUCAUSE).

 

Schedule

April--call for mentors and scholars

May--mentors and scholars chosen by TLC Board; initial meeting

August--books and urls distributed; action research/methods workshop

September--initial large group meeting; small groups meet

October/November--small groups meet

December/January--large group meeting; follow-up workshop

February/March--small groups meet; projects underway

April--small groups meet; projects underway; presentations; data collected; search for other funding opportunities

May--large group meeting; reports, reports and essays written

G. Personnel

The following people assisted in the planning and writing of this proposal: Dr. Daniel Riordan (Director of the Teaching and Learning Center), Dr. Carolyn Barnhart (2-year participant in SOTL), Dr. Alan Block (TLC Associate), Mr. Len Bogner (TLC Associate), Ms. Kari Dahl (2-year participant in SOTL), Dr. Julie Furst-Bowe (Assistant Chancellor), Ms. Jane Henderson (co-Director of Nakatani Center for Teaching with Technology/Learning Technology Services), Dr. Jerry Kapus (former System Fellow and Scholar), Dr. James Tan (TLC Associate), Ms. Meridith Wentz (Director of Institutional Research).

 

IV. Budget Narrative

Budget is $20,000.00, request from SOTL matched with $10, 000 from the UW-Stout Provost office (see appended letter).

Personnel. Five mentors; each will receive $400.00;  Fifteen Scholars: each will receive $1,250.00. While they may take the stipend either as salary (and thus fringe benefits are attached) or as a services/supplies travel stipend (in which case there would be no fringe benefits), for budget planning purposes the stipend were all included as personnel dollars. Thus the match may be less once the project participants identify which option they will choose. The money will be released 50% in January and 50% in mid-May. This money will provide enough to cover a trip to a national conference for scholars and to assist mentors in support of investigations they are pursuing, or to take the stipend as salary with associated fringe benefits..

Books. $910.00. Purchase 15 copies of Opening Lines ed. Pat Hutchings (Carnegie Foundation, @28.00), and Action Research, Arhar, Holly and Kasten (Merrill,@ 34.00). Since mentors already have the books, only 15 need be purchased. These books, which contain seminal articles and concepts, are used in the small group meetings.

Facilitator. $450.00 will support the facilitator to the Action Research Workshops. The workshop on learning questions will be covered as part of the duties of the Director of the Teaching and Learning Center. Ms. Henderson, co-director of the Nakatani Center/LTS recommended this amount.

Supplies. $70.00 will cover all necessary photocopying.