Inquiries into Teaching and Learning

About the Project

The Academic Affairs' Assessment Committee (AAAC) and the Faculty Center for Teaching & Learning (FCTL) invite you to engage in systematic assessment of student learning outcomes as part of FCTL's Inquiries into Teaching & Learning project. This project is funded by the Office of Academic Affairs through AAAC and FCTL.

This principle aim of the Project, like that first articulated by Walvoord and Anderson (1998) and, later, by Savory et al. (2007) , is "to help you approach your own teaching in a more structured fashion, as you investigate teaching (and learning) questions that you really care about, that cycle back into your teaching for improved student learning, that are embedded within a specific classroom context, and that you may have encountered over successive course offerings."

It is also our hope that participants in this project will go on to serve as resources for faculty at Ferris who wish to improve their teaching and students' learning through a systematic assessment of student learning outcomes.

Participants in the Project will proceed through two phases:

Phase I: Planning, Implementation, and Reflection (Spring 2008)
During this phase, you will work individually and the other participants to:

Plan

Identify two "points of inquiry," that is, specific questions about your teaching or your students' learning that you wish to examine.
Identify or develop assessment tools or methods to collect information that will provide answers to your questions.

Implement

Collect the information

Reflect

Consider how the information answers your questions and what changes to your teaching, the course, etc., are warranted.

Phase II: Dissemination (Fall 2008)
During this phase, you will meet with the other project participants to share your findings and lessons learned. You will also, if you choose, have opportunities to share your findings more widely with other faculty on campus or at a conference.

Support
Support for faculty includes:

Collaboration with Ferris faculty and staff with expertise in the areas of teaching, learning, and assessment.
Funding of no more than $1,000 per participant to attend a symposium, conference, or workshop on student learning outcomes and assessment.
A $400 Professional Development Incentive.

Letter of Interest
Interested faculty must submit a letter of interest to Todd Stanislav by January 18, 2008. This letter needs only to indicate that you are interested in participating in the Inquiries into Teaching & Learning project and the course which will be the context of your assessment. You may send the letter via campus mail (IRC 134A) or e-mail at stanist followed by the @ symbol and ferris.edu.

If you have any questions, please contact Todd Stanislav at ext. 3541 or via e-mail.

References:

Walvoord, B.E. and V.J. Anderson. 1998. Effective Grading: A Tool for Learning and Assessment. Jossey-Bass, San Francisco, CA.

Savory, P., A.N. Burnett, and A. Goodburn. 2007. Inquiry into the College Classroom: A Journey Toward Scholarly Teaching. Anker Publ. Co., Inc., Bolton, MA.