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Faculty institute focuses on transforming curricula
4:14 p.m., Jan. 26, 2007--A record 150 participants attended UD's Winter Faculty Institute, which kicked off Jan. 8 in the Perkins Student Center. Robert Lue's keynote address, “Technology's Role in Curricular Transformation,” established the focus of the institute. “The Winter Faculty Institute is a wonderful aspect of UD--the more often you bring faculty together, the more opportunity there is to bring about transformations,” Lue said. Tom Apple, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, welcomed participants to the month-long series of teaching, learning and technology events and reaffirmed UD's commitment to transformational changes for students. Curricula transformation Lue, director of life sciences education and dean and senior lecturer in molecular and cellular biology at Harvard University, also is dean of the Harvard Summer School of Arts and Sciences. Lue said his role as head of the Life Sciences Education Committee is to help lead the transformation of the undergraduate curriculum across five Harvard departments in the Division of the Life Sciences. The committee's goals were to build a curriculum that:
“We no longer offer the traditional introductory biology, chemistry and physics courses,” Lue said. Instead the new curriculum provides an integrated foundation of introductory “portal courses”--integrated courses that include biology, chemistry, physics and math. As part of this broad curricular revision, Lue also assembled a task force of faculty and technical professionals to include innovative computing and visualization as integral parts of the new curricula. “The students have to be players, not merely recipients,” Lue said. “It's not just what is taught, but how it is taught.” To help students integrate concepts from different disciplines, the advantages of multimedia became central to the changes taking place, Lue said. Students now play the role of both multimedia viewers and authors to create multimedia projects that include:
To view some of the multimedia projects created, visit “Biology Goes to the Movies” at [www.mcb.harvard.edu/NewsEvents/News/Curriculum2.html] and the Molecular and Cellular Biology MultiMedia site at [http://multimedia.mcb.harvard.edu/].
Electronic learning portfolios John Zubizarreta, professor of English, director of honors and faculty development and former dean of undergraduate studies at Columbia College, began the afternoon session with his discussion, “Learning Portfolios: Reflective Practice for Improving Student Learning.” “As educators, we need to figure out ways to assess deeper learning and ways to validate, honor and respect different learning styles,” Zubizarreta said. According to Zubizarreta, one way to assess deeper learning is through learning portfolios--an evidence-based process that combines reflection, documentation and collaboration. “Deep learning is tied to reflection, and the heart of a learning portfolio is reflection,” Zubizarreta said. Learning portfolios can be used for:
“When you give students the opportunity to reflect on their experiences collaboratively, it improves learning and makes it more durable,” Zubizarreta said. To learn more about learning portfolios and Zubizarreta's book, visit [https://secure.aidcvt.com/ank/ProdDetails.asp?ID=1882982665]. For more information about the institute, visit [http://www.udel.edu/present/winter/index.html]. The Winter Faculty Institute is co-sponsored by the University of Delaware Library, Center for Teaching Effectiveness, Institute for Transforming Undergraduate Education, Office of Educational Assessment, IT-User Services and the College of Arts and Sciences. Article by Suzanne Nanis
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