March 1, 2011

Engage students in STEM courses with an inquiry-based assignment

Want to increase student engagement in your STEM course?  Consider adopting an inquiry-based activity in your course.  Inquiry-based activities present a scenario, problem, or question to students who then propose potential solutions and design some or all of the research methodology that will contribute to a solution or answer to the question.  The exploratory nature of inquiry-based assignments differs from many traditional laboratory exercises that are designed to demonstrate an established scientific explanation and produce one correct answer if students follow procedures correctly.  In contrast, inquiry-based projects frequently produce a variety of acceptable solutions.

If you have created an inquiry-based module for an introductory-level science course that produces successful student learning and engages students with your discipline, consider submitting your activity for consideration for the Science Prize for Inquiry-Based Instruction.  The editors of Science recently established an annual prize to recognize and disseminate outstanding, inquiry-based interactive science education modules.  Submissions must provide complete instructions on how to implement their module. Modules that are easily portable, require only modest resources (supplies, equipment, specialized expertise) are preferred.  The module must contain no copyright restrictions.  Individuals who develop winning teaching resources will be invited to describe their inquiry-based teaching module in an essay that will be published in the journal Science.   
Rules of eligibility are posted on the web site for the Science Prize for Inquiry-Based Instruction.
http://www.sciencemag.org/site/feature/data/prizes/inquiry/

Applications for the first round of evaluations are due April 15, 2011

If you have questions about whether your module is eligible for a Science Prize for Inquiry-Based Instruction, direct them to Dr. Melissa McCartney at mmccartn@aaas.org.

---

October 19, 2010

Maintain momentum on your research through collaborations with faculty and students
 
Balancing the demands of teaching, research, and service can be difficult at a regional comprehensive university, where faculty teach more courses than colleagues at a research-intensive university.  Finding the time and resources to develop a research program can be especially challenging.  Several resources are available to faculty at UWF that will help you establish and maintain a productive research program:

• The Office of Research and Sponsored Programs provides support with the location of funding for grants and assistance with budget development and electronic submission to grant agencies (http://research.uwf.edu/internal/index.cfm).    
• The Scholarly and Creative Activities Committee awards internal grants to faculty and graduate students.  Information about the current grant cycles, including the Request for Proposals and critical dates for grant submissions and decisions, is available on the SCAC web site. (http://research.uwf.edu/internal/funding/internal.cfm).   
• The College of Arts and Sciences hosts a web site for searching for potential research collaborators among colleagues at UWF.  Create a profile for yourself on the Research Connections web site (Link is no longer active).  Search this site to identify faculty with relevant research skills and shared research interests who might collaborate with you on a research project.  Collaboration is an effective strategy for preventing research and writing projects from falling to the bottom of your to-do list.  Collaborations are also a great way of connecting with colleagues in your department or in other departments on campus.  Contact Dr. Eman El-Sheikh for more information about Research Connections (eelsheikh@uwf.edu).
• Faculty who engage undergraduate students in their research activities will find additional support for undergraduate research from the newly-established Office of Undergraduate Research, directed by Dr. Pam Vaughan.  For more information, visit the Office of Undergraduate Research web site (http://uwf.edu/our) or send an e-mail to OUR (OUR@uwf.edu).    

Each fall, the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs facilitates a CUTLA Faculty Friday on finding funding for research.  The current workshop is scheduled for Friday, October 22, 2010.  Details and reservations for this workshop are on the CUTLA calendar.

 

Updated 03/19/13 cdw