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THE CIRTL NETWORK NEWS |
Upcoming Network Events: STEM Education Scholars Program
Featured
Opportunity:
Network Connections Together with Bob Webb, a professor of physics and associate dean at TAMU, Herbert has proposed using CIRTL’s instructional materials development and internship courses to prepare graduate students to introduce inquiry-based learning into science classrooms.
Ask a CIRTL Graduate Student! Q: Has participating in CIRTL influenced your career interests? If so, how? Andrea Hanson, Ph.D. Candidate, Aerospace Engineering Sciences, University of Colorado-Boulder: Before working with CIRTL, I was set on only looking for faculty positions at a large research university. Being a part of this program has shown me what a large impact a well-trained and motivated professor can have on students at smaller universities and colleges. I have decided to include research universities both large and small in my search for a faculty position.
News from the Field In this article, the author examines the importance of leadership – defined as “people working together believing that their cooperative efforts will lead to…systemic change” - in undergraduate science and math programs. Treisman first addresses the issue of how to develop localized communities of people devoted to solving a particular problem at a given university. Treisman also discusses how leadership in these programs contributes to the effective dissemination of ideas.
Implications of Learning Research for Teaching Science to Non-Science Majors (PDF) - Etkina & Mestre This paper discusses cognitive research findings on constructivist learning theory; the learner does not simply acquire new knowledge or skills in a vacuum, but that instead they use, and build upon, their prior knowledge when faced with new information. While it is true that a good deal can be gained from traditional lectures, provided the students have been properly prepared for the material, the authors suggest other strategies as well, including encouraging hypothetico-deductive reasoning, providing students with opportunities to actually “do science” themselves, and using charts during instruction to help students organize their knowledge hierarchically.
For several decades, Harvard has enjoyed its status as one of the premier research universities in the world; its faculty receive many rewards for their efforts. However, faculty have expressed concern that this intensive focus on research seems to have come at the expense of teaching and contact with students, with some undergraduates still not familiar enough with their professors after four years to request letters of recommendation. Prominent faculty members from a range of disciplines, led by Dean Theda Skocpol, are leading an effort to bring a greater institutional focus to bear on teaching, without de-emphasizing research.
Next newsletter: August, 2007
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