CIRTL Researchers Present Teaching-as-Research Projects at the 2006 CASTL Colloquium

The Carnegie Academy for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (CASTL) held their 2006 Colloquium on the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning: Evidence, Impact and Momentum on April 1 and 2 in Madison, Wisconsin.  The colloquium focused on the impacts of treating the scholarship of teaching and learning as a systematic and thoughtful investigation of student learning processes in order to improve teaching practices and increase student learning.  CIRTL Researchers Mark Connolly, Don Gillian-Daniel, Jana Bouwma-Gearhart, and Susan Millar presented three current CIRTL teaching-as-research (TAR) projects at the colloquium.  TAR is the deliberate, systematic, and reflective use of research methods to develop and implement teaching practices that advance the learning experiences and outcomes of students and teachers, and incorporates the same essential notions embodied by the scholarship of teaching and learning.  The presentations focused on research being conducted through Delta, a CIRTL program at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. 

Mark Connolly’s session, “Using Pooled Data from Related SoTL Projects to Evaluate a SoTL Initiative: Is It Possible?” (Co-authored by Mark Connolly, Christine Pfund, Don-Gillian Daniel, and Laurel Hedlund), highlighted current research that explores whether data gathered by instructors engaged in related but different TAR projects can be used to support conclusions about Delta’s impact.  Connolly’s presentation focused on the development of the researchers’ evaluation design, their findings, and their conclusions about the feasibility of this approach.  The session concluded with participants’ feedback and suggestions for improving the project.
 
Don Gillian-Daniel’s interactive session, “Future Faculty Professional Development: Effectively Engaging Graduate Students as Co-Investigators of Student Learning,” began with a basic overview of the Delta Program, followed by a panel discussion with graduate student interns.  The interns described how they worked with faculty and staff to apply their understanding of teaching-as-research to real world problems.  These stories were used to emphasize the value of teaching internships as an effective route for graduate student professional development. Via group discussion, session participants generated new ideas for connecting current and future faculty with each other across University of Wisconsin System campuses, through possible joint teaching professional development activities. Existing collaborations with other UW System campuses were also discussed.         

“Long-term Impact of a SOTL-like Endeavor on STEM Graduate Students and Postdocs at a Research-Extensive University” presented by Jana Bouwma-Gearhart and Susan Millar, focused on the preliminary findings of an ongoing longitudinal study aimed at discovering science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) graduate students’ and postdocs’ attitude and knowledge pertaining to teaching and learning as a result of their participation in the Delta Program.  Bouwma-Gearhart and Millar shared interview findings pertaining to respondents’ notions of professional development needs.  They discussed how a professional development program based on teaching-as-research, an approach to practitioner research that resembles SOTL, may influence participants’ beliefs and practice surrounding teaching and learning, and their choices, preparation, and confidence regarding their future professional roles.  Bouwma-Gearhart and Millar’s session provided a discussion forum for people who are attempting to tailor SOTL and similar initiatives for graduate students and postdocs in STEM fields.

The three CIRTL presentations showcased some of the work being done at CIRTL, specifically within the Delta Program.  For more information about the Delta Program visit the website at http://www.delta.wisc.edu/.

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