Activities

Faculty and Instructor Opportunities

Our goal is that all instructors at WSU are knowledgeable about EBTMs and implement those practices effectively in their classrooms. (Here we use the term "instructors" to include tenured faculty, non-tenured tenure track faculty, non-tenure track faculty, adjuncts and teaching assistants). In collaboration with the Office for Teaching and Learning, we offer activities that are focused and practical and which provide tangible, immediate applications.

We offer multiple points of entry for professional development and for a range of instructors to explore, apply, assess and reflect upon the usefulness of EBTMs in STEM education. These include both discipline-specific and general workshops, orientation presentations, and presentations by invited guests to discuss discipline-based pedagogical issues. For example:

Mentoring Undergraduate Research
Would you like to know better how to mentor undergraduate researchers? These interdisciplinary STEM workshops will be based on Entering Mentoring by Handelsman, Pfund, Lauffer and Pribbenow. The mentoring workshops may be particularly interesting for faculty and future faculty who do not yet teach foundational STEM courses, and those who focus mostly on research.

Faculty Learning Communities (FLCs)
Both online and in-person, FLCs provide an opportunity where faculty/ instructors can exchange ideas and learn from each other. They also act to support instructors in learning about, implementing, and assessing EBTMs in the context of specific courses. Contact the OTL for more information.

Mid Term Assessment Program (MAP)
A MAP is a unique opportunity for instructors to get student feedback on a selected course while the course is in progress. It is a confidential and voluntary service, and feedback is given only to the instructor. Contact the OTL for more information.

Individual Teaching Development Consultations
The OTL offers a full complement of confidential teaching development services.

Graduate Students and Post Doc Opportunities

For trainees who expect to teach in the future, learning modern pedagogy may be important for career success. We welcome graduate students and post-doctoral fellows to participate in the WIDER program activities.

Department and College-based Workshops
These opportunities offer an Introduction to Evidence-Based Teaching Methods (EBTMs) within the context of specific disciplines.

Individual Teaching Development Consultations
The OTL offers a full complement of confidential teaching development services.

Annual Graduate Student Orientation
Revisions to the GTA training for 2014 will help support graduate teaching assistants in their role facilitating student-centered pedagogies and student learning communities.

Undergraduate Learning Community

Get Involved with an Undergraduate Learning Community!
Undergraduate Learning Communities are opportunities for students improve their performance in classes, connect their coursework to the real world, and to build the social and career navigation skills necessary for success. There are several models that you may want to emulate. There is the Bio 1050 Learning Community for supporting at-risk students; the WIDER Science and Math Learning Community for students in their foundational courses, and the Biology Research Learning Community to support more advanced students connecting their coursework to original research experiences. Contact Karen Myhr (kmyhr@wayne.edu) for more information on the Bio 1050 or WIDER Science and Math Learning Community. For more information on Research Learning Communities contact Kim Hunter (at6738@wayne.edu). You can help support existing learning communities or start one of your own.