HOME Faculty/Staff New accreditation requirements bring innovative instruction techniques

New accreditation requirements bring innovative instruction techniques

Written by Jai Malano-Ayers

Tuesday, 08 July 2008 07:49 PM

As part of a new requirement in accreditation, institutions of higher education will undergo a Quality Enhancement Plan to increase active learning in the classrooms. David Silva, Academic Affairs vice provost, said the QEP is a required part of accreditation and aims to improve learning by focusing more on helping students become better thinkers. “In order to keep our accreditation, we have to show that we are fiscally and educationally responsible,” he said. Silva said the QEP initiative increases student-teacher interaction, and that education should be more about learning to apply, analyze, synthesize and evaluate the information that is received. “At its core, the QEP is a research project that asks the question ‘Are there things that we can do to improve student success?’ ” he said. Physics lecturer Nilakshi Veerabathina, who was awarded a grant to support her active learning approach, said her main goal is to motivate an appetite for long-term learning. “My proposal was for active learning through scientific devices, so I will be purchasing equipment that will increase student participation and touch on all the different learning styles,” Veerabathina said. She said the main tool being used in the program is a remote clicker that allows students to participate in class discussions and oral debates without having to raise their hands. “With this, it eliminates the risk of embarrassment for students and displays only the percentage of right and wrong answers on an overhead projector, and only I can see how each student responds,” she said. William Dillon, electrical engineering associate professor, said a planning committee is now in the process of reviewing the plan for the 2009-10 school year. “What we are finding is that students like the instant confirmation that comes with the interactive Web sites,” he said. Nursing associate professor Cheryl Anderson, who served on the initial committee to develop the QEP, said she introduced active learning teaching strategies into her class years ago, and that there are some downsides to the initiative. “Active learning depends on the student and, because of that, it’s not always well received,” Anderson said. She said student evaluations have shown that speaking from a defined, structured outline actually works better with critical thinking activities and small group discussions, more than hands-on activities do. Librarian Gretchen Trkay, who did an active learning session on academic integrity, said the real task is taking something unpleasant and making it enjoyable for the students. “I think active learning is more about the conversation and investigative techniques that arise when discussing a topic,” she said. Trkay said that, through this new plan, students can actively seek information and teach each other how to listen more attentively. “It makes me proud to know that the university is putting so much funding and effort into improving the way that we teach and the way that students learn,” she said. Student participant Ashley Simpson said the QEP course she enrolled in during the spring had more relevance than the textbook lecture courses she had taken in the past. “I love that my professor brought in an actual guest and actively engaged us, and I look forward to taking other courses like that,” she said. Silva said the university will continue the projects for two more years, but permanent implementation remains undecided. Views: 2662 | E-mail   Be first to comment this article Powered by AkoComment Tweaked Special Edition v.1.4.6 AkoComment © Copyright 2004 by Arthur Konze - www.mamboportal.com All right reserved

Last Updated ( Wednesday, 24 September 2008 03:39 PM )

 

< Prev		Next >