Examples of faculty of researchers
how are faculty “RESEARCHERS”?
Key criteria:
|questioner | knowledge seeker| appraiser | action taker|
As researchers, we innovate by maintaining currency in both our fields and our teaching practice to best position our students for success. We think critically about our professions and our teaching and approach research with a critical lens that we bring to our classroom and students. We take action on the research we find in order to offer the best learning opportunities to students.
Check out these examples from Georgian peers that demonstrate how researching shows up in their work.
PS. Thanks for sharing your awesome work with us!
Jarrod’s Pedagogical Change
The challenge: For several years, I had a large portion of my students struggle with a few key topics that were problem solving based. I always felt it was due to the math required to get the solution. “Why can’t they ‘see’ what the ask is?” I can’t go any slower and I had intentionally removed as much ‘math’ (read: equations – or other barriers) as possible.
The fix: Through research and coaching from my mentor, we found that my students were simply mimicking my work and not truly understanding the problem in front of them. This led us to the BTC (Building Thinking Classrooms) framework, where students are presented the problem first, without ‘learning’ how to solve it, and try to work their way through it, in small groups.
The win: By implementing parts of the BTC framework, I observed a considerable increase in student comprehension and the number of students who could solve the problems independently. This transformation wouldn’t have been possible without questioning, seeking knowledge, and taking action based on research.
Samantha’s Adding Active Learning to Theoretical Course
The challenge: Years ago, I was asked to teach a course that was heavily theoretical, and both the Dean and I wanted it to become more hands on. The department had a variety of equipment in various areas, but no one really had a full equipment list, nor any activities designed to use the equipment in a class setting.
The fix: Within the context of program renewal, a new course and course code was created allowing for adjustment of learning outcomes and assessment. Scouring a variety of print and digital resources and inventorying the existing equipment, five new in-class activities were designed to support student learning of course topics. Implementation of the activities used existing equipment, were designed to work in classes of 50 students and made use of existing classroom space (with some minor adjustments).
The win: The addition of hands-on learning made the course fun and engaging for myself and the students. Theoretical content became more relatable. The interactions between students and myself created a stronger classroom climate and the variation in assessment opportunities let students shine in different ways. Taking the time to research what we could do with what we already had and re-envisioning the course in a more applied nature were key to creating an effective course.
To see a course activity example for physics, view this lab activity (Georgian login required).
Do you have a design example you’d be willing to share? If so, first, thank you so much for acting as a MENTOR for your peers.
Reach out to Faculty Development to share your research competence with teaching peers.
