The Program for Instructional Effectiveness (PIE) has awarded eight Teaching Innovation Grants for spring semester 2020. PIE began its work in fall 2019 as a university-wide program to promote effective teaching practices by supporting faculty professional development opportunities.

Grants of up to $5,000 each have been provided to faculty from six colleges after proposals were reviewed by a faculty committee in a very competitive grant cycle. The funded projects reflect a variety of teaching methods, styles, and technologies aimed at improving student learning and opportunity. The following faculty members received the Teaching Innovation Grant:

•       Vanessa Ballam (Theatre and Dance): “Simulation Training for Theatre Students and Faculty”
•       Samantha Blatt (Anthropology): “Visually Impaired Students”
•       Alex Bolinger (Marketing and Management): “Showing Students Their ‘Why’: Designing an Interactive First-Year Keystone Course in Business”
•       Anna Grinath (Biological Sciences): “Design and Implementation of a Data MAKER Biology Instructional Module for a Large Introductory Biology Lecture Course”
•       Logan Lamprecht (Counseling): “Building Cohesive and Experiential Distance Learning Communities through Technology-Enhanced Classroom Environments”
•       Susan Tavernier (Nursing) and Barbara Gordon (Dietetics): “Putting Students in the Driver’s Seat: A Participatory Approach to Developing Interprofessional Course on Palliative Care”
•       David R. Woods and Connie J. Miller (Communication Sciences & Disorders): “Integrating a Treatment Technology into the Training of Clinical Students”
•       Xiaoxia Xie (Mathematics and Statistics): “Promoting Project-Driven Teaching Mode in Differential Equations (MATH 3360)”

In fall 2020, all recipients will participate in a campus-wide presentation of the pedagogical work they accomplish with the help of these grants. More information will be provided in the fall about this event