Title:

Proposer(s):

Lisa Enloe, Nancy Meredith, Pat Walsh

Unit:

Human Development and Family Studies

Description:

CSL will provide 140 HDFS students each year with the opportunity to work with area human service agencies on group projects designed by the students and the agencies. Students will choose a project linked to their curriculum. The goals of CSL are to aid students in their career exploration, the development of professional skills and a service ethic, and to expose students to the diversity present in our society. Groups of seven-to-ten students will be required to work at selected human service agencies with staff and clients completing a service learning project. Each service learning site will be contacted prior to the start of the semester by the project team and a needs assessment completed. The site and the project team will develop an assignment that will benefit the site and its clients. For example, students could choose to work with Youth and Shelter Services in the Adoption/Foster Care program. The project could include students planning and hosting a special event for children and their parents.

The project will serve as a pilot for incorporating service learning into an existing course. A manual designed to aid other faculty in implementing a service learning component will be developed.

Title:

Proposer(s):

Annne Foegen, Barbara Ohlund, Denise Schmidt, Jim Twetten

Unit:

Department of Curriculum and Instruction, Center for Technology in Learning and Teaching, Instructional Technology Center

Description:

Providing tomorrow's teachers with rich experiences in the use and integration of technology into PreK-12 learning and teaching is critical to Iowa State University's teacher education mission. Preservice teachers require knowledge of special education technology to provide all their students access to technology, content, and curricula. Project ASSET will provide opportunities for preservice teachers to access high quality Web-based instructional modules in special education technology. In accordance with federal law, the module content will focus on the areas of assistive technology and universal design. The modules will be developed using a flexible structure that allows instructors to customize the content, activities, and assessments to be used in their courses. Video vignettes, embedded within the Web-based instructional modules, will provide authentic classroom-based models of special education technology.

Students will be able to use the modules to access materials selected by the instructor, complete instructional activities and assessments, and view video illustrations of important concepts. The modules will be incorporated initially into C I 201, Introduction to Instructional Technology, a course required of all undergraduate teacher education students. Project ASSET will support the development of the modules and pilot the effectiveness and usability of the modules within C I 201. The initial strides accomplished in Project ASSET will serve as a springboard for subsequent use of the modules in upper division teacher education courses and efforts to obtain external funding to support the development of additional modules.

Title:

Proposer(s):

Lisa Fontaine, Cindy Gould, Fred Malven, Teresa Paschke, Chuck Richards, Kristen Wright-Evans

Unit:

Art and Design, Curriculum and Instruction

Description:

This project will provide an on-line course enhancement that will expand learning opportunities and strengthen multiple literacy skills (written, verbal, visual, and electronic) in the freshmen foundation courses currently required in the Department of Art and Design. The Foundations Instructional Resource (FIR) will feature participatory learning experiences that will encourage students to become more actively involved in their own learning process. It will provide galleries of student and faculty work as well as an online critique, providing students with an opportunity to receive constructive feedback from interdisciplinary faculty sources within the college. Links to the College of Design's Visual Resource Collection and the University Museums will enhance the students' exposure to the visual arts. There will also be a discussion center that will provide all 400 foundations students the opportunity to interact, share ideas, learn from one another, and receive feedback on their work. Online posting of each course section's unique problems and solutions will strengthen communication across the curriculum, allowing faculty in other areas of the department to adapt their upper level course offerings in response to an improved awareness of the foundations curriculum. The Foundations Program will benefit from the interdisciplinary collaboration with faculty from the department's other areas, allowing students greater exposure to the different disciplines within the department.

The Foundations Instructional Resource (FIR) will be developed, designed and implemented by the project team, then posted through WebCT for student access outside of class.

Title:

Proposer(s):

Barb Licklider, Terri Boylston, Jim Davis, Steven Freeman, Bonnie Glatz, Brett Horton, Doug Jacobson, Steve Mickelson, Mary Jane Oakland, Ilona Preszlen, Cheryll Reitmeier, Jan Thompson, Mary Wiedenhoeft

Unit:

Educational Leadership and Policy Studies; Food Science and Human Nutrition; Electrical Engineering and Computer Engineering; Industrial Education and Technology; Hotel, Restaurant, and Institutional Management; Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering; Forestry; Agronomy

Description:

The purpose of this project is to establish a concrete process by which faculty develop learning-centered assessment practices. The specific objectives of the project are to engage faculty in the study of learning theory and practice, develop faculty awareness of assessment issues, assist faculty in developing their abilities to design multidimensional assessment strategies, develop faculty capacity to make sense of data about student learning and to help faculty examine critical issues such as "what constitutes good teaching," "what students most need to know," and "what is the heart of the discipline."

Open to veteran Project LEA/RN participants, each educator involved will set a goal that will help students reach learning goals. Each will develop action plans to work toward the goals; plans will include developing congruence in lessons, courses, and programs. All lesson plans will include appropriate Classroom Assessment Techniques to monitor student learning. In addition, faculty will analyze their disciplines to determine what students really need to learn and what habits of mind students need to develop. They will then work together to develop and try ways to get students to "think like professionals in the field" and to assess the results of their efforts.

Title:

Proposer(s):

Jackie Litt, Jill Bystydzienski, Karen Kessel

Unit:

Sociology, Women's Studies Program, Anthropology

Description:

An education based largely in a U.S. context and told from U.S. perspectives is increasingly inadequate for the understanding of gender. The Women's Studies Program at Iowa State University received Miller Fellowship funding to internationalize its "Introduction to Women's Studies" course, which enrolls 325 students each year. The revised course will:

1. Teach students about globalization - the transformations associated with political, economic, and social networks across national boundaries that have intensified in the last third of the twentieth-century;Teach students international perspectives on women's lives and genderIntroduce students to experiential and scholarly perspectives of non-U.S. women, particularly women in the developing world and
2. Engage students in critical reflection on issues of ethnocentrism and international diversity.

Title:

Proposer(s):

Scott Openshaw, Jess Comer, Gloria Starns

Unit:

Mechanical Engineering

Description:

Design projects for first-year engineering students rarely entail real-life design, but rather focus on the engineering design process. Occasionally, senior-level projects will consist of real-life design projects. Students enrolled in Engineering Graphics and Introductory Design (Engr 170), taught by Scott Openshaw, and Mechanical Systems Design (ME 415), taught by Dr. Jess Comer, will have the opportunity to learn about the design process by applying it in real-life projects that assist the community surrounding Iowa State University. Students will design devices and machines for mentally and physically disabled members of the community. This will give students exposure to people in need, help students learn from others, and allow them to mold their ideas into functional devices. Some first-year and senior design teams will interact and collaborate on the same design project. Other first-year students will be paired with upper-level Mechanical Engineering students taking Machine Design (ME 325), taught by Dr. Gloria Starns. These upper-level students will tutor the first-year students in principles of stress, fatigue, fracture, and design safety. Through this interaction, first-year students will be able to determine if their designs are sound and safe for their clients.

All students involved will see engineering design in action and receive the satisfaction that they have improved lives while learning to internalize fundamental design principles. This project will help enhance the experience of first-year and senior students in engineering at Iowa State University by allowing them to serve the community through service learning.

Title:

Proposer(s):

Janet Peterson and John Burkardt

Unit:

Department of Mathematics

Description:

In an effort to meet increased enrollment, the Mathematics Department has turned to a large lecture/recitation format to teach calculus. In this project we will use web-based testing in large lectures to enhance student learning of calculus in Math 165 and 166, to provide a non-threatening environment for student learning, and to provide an immediate assessment tool for student use. In addition, we plan to develop a web-based Calculus I course for students who have already had a full year of calculus in high school or who have had calculus at the college level but failed to receive a satisfactory grade. On-line testing has been successfully used in many non-technical disciplines but software is only recently being developed to handle complicated mathematical formulas and to evaluate responses that are mathematical expressions. There are numerous advantages to the student in using web-based testing. Many students find that the usual "math anxiety," which is associated with taking an exam in a classroom setting, can be lessened by taking an on-line exam in a computer room. Taking a computer-based exam is often seen as less threatening because the student can choose the time to take the exam, other students in the computer room are working on a variety of tasks, and the instructor can allow more time to take the exam than could normally be allowed by a 50-minute class period. In addition, it is also possible for the instructor to allow students to take the exam more than once because the burden of grading is removed. Innovative implementations of the on-line testing software can also be used to provide the student with a valuable learning tool which can be used in the privacy of their own dormitory room and which can serve as an immediate assessment tool to determine if the student has mastered the basic material.

In this project we will develop a databank for Math 165 and 166 to achieve the above-mentioned goals, develop a model for a large lecture format class using on-line testing and develop a self-paced, Web-based version of Math 165. Since Math 165 and 166, which constitute first year calculus, are foundation courses for engineering students and students majoring in the sciences, this project will affect a large number of freshman and sophomore students.

Title:

Proposer(s):

Cheryll Reitmeier, Bonnie Glatz, Jean Anderson and Denise Vrchota

Unit:

Food Science and Human Nutrition, Greenlee School of Journalism and Communication

Description:

The objective of this project is to improve the oral communication skills of students studying food science, dietetics, and nutrition at Iowa State University by improving the ability of instructors to incorporate oral communication skills and exercises into their courses. We plan to "teach the teachers" by working with a communications expert and with the Food Science & Human Nutrition (FSHN) Department faculty and staff. Activities will include a needs assessment, workshops, small group discussions, individual observations and videotaping in class, and evaluation. FSHN students will demonstrate improved ability to communicate effectively with peers, customers and clients and will develop the ability to evaluate the effectiveness of their own communication as well as that of others.

Title:

Proposer(s):

A. Whitney Sanford, Carolina Cruz-Nera

Unit:

Philosophy and Religious Studies, Electrical and Computer Engineering

Description:

This project is a collaboration designed to explore how information technology can enhance the teaching of World Religions and Religions of India courses. We propose to develop a set of educational tools that provide a virtual experience of a Hindu temple equivalent to visiting the actual temple accompanied by an expert. Our research will have two components: 1) integrate Web-based audio-visual material through a course-specific Web page; and 2) begin the process of creating a virtual Hindu temple for display and interaction in a virtual reality installation. The Web data containing a vast array of audio-visual materials will be linked to the virtual display to provide in-depth information to participants as they experience the temple visit.

This novel and flexible approach to enhancing Religious Studies with advanced information technology will offer students continued access to material presented in class, will enable them to observe the source of the materials, and will allow for innovative and responsive assignments and discussions. Ultimately, the resulting virtual Hindu temple based on Radha Raman Temple in Vrindavan, India, will offer students and others access to the performative and experiential dimensions of a visit to a Hindu temple. In the long term, this project opens a new area of research on how information technology can be used to construct virtual scenarios representing remote culture, sites, and traditions. This will significantly improve educational activities when it is not possible for the students to have a first-hand experience of a particular religious, historical, anthropological, or artistic environment.

Title:

Theatre and Architectural Interior Lighting: Bridging and Crossing the Disciplines through Active Learning

Proposer(s):

Jim Trenberth, Dorothy L. Fowles

Unit:

Art and Design, Theatre and Performing Arts

Description:

The project and related equipment provide an experimental and experiential emphasis for the manipulation of light, color and texture. The emphasis is on the visual and emotive quality of the spatial environment as affected by light and color. But the study of lighting also requires understanding of aspects of the science of lighting. These are very difficult to understand using traditional means of education. The color and texture of actual materials are poorly presented in renderings - even in the most sophisticated, complex computer simulations. The interaction effects of light, color, and texture are neither easily described nor intuitively anticipated by students. The aesthetic, psychological, and perceptual effects of these elements are best understood using environmental simulations. This requires opportunities for first-hand, "hands-on" physical contact with representative materials and a forum for fostering reflection and integration of learning. The interdisciplinary, collaborative course (ArtID 464: Special Studies in Interior Design) focuses on simulations within the context of group, active, student-centered learning. The instructors' roles are those of facilitator and guide. The course is based on a sequential and interrelated series of student-team lighting demonstrations with clear learning objectives and faculty/student class critique/reflection (assessment) discussions of the outcomes.

Lighting is recognized as both an art and a science. This project and related equipment provide an experimental and experiential emphases for the manipulation of light, color and texture.

Title:

Proposer(s):

Gregory Welk, Carol Cordell, Mary Ellen Wishart, Paddy Ekkekakis

Unit:

Health and Human Performance

Description:

The Department of Health and Human Performance (HHP) prepares students for a variety of professionally related careers in the health and physical activity field. The eight options within our two majors include Exercise Science, Athletic Training, Physical Education Teaching, Sport Management, Exercise and Sport Studies, Community and Public Health, Substance Abuse Prevention, and Wellness/Fitness. The diverse nature of these options necessitates highly specialized coursework in the upper division courses as well as applied internships in some areas.

The Department of HHP has proposed to develop a team-taught foundation course (Disciplines and Professions in Health and Human Performance) to provide the students with an early exposure to the various disciplines and professions in the field. The goal is to help students identify their primary interests early in their program and to help them be better prepared for upper division coursework The course will include instruction by departmental faculty on their specific area of study, training by departmental advisors on communication skills (based on ISUComm objectives), and small group interactions led by peer mentors to allow students to practice and apply professional and communication skills. The course will be coordinated with WebCT instructional modules to enhance the integration of content. A comprehensive Intranet Web site will also be developed to provide access to departmental information and resources. These components are expected to enhance learning outcomes and retention in the program.