Monday, May 11, 2009
Seven projects, ranging in topics from ancient empires to
digital learning, designed by teams made up of 23 faculty and staff members
have been selected for funding through the college’s Support for Innovation in
Teaching and Learning Initiative, now in its second year.
In funding seven of 12 Innovation in Teaching and Learning grant
proposals, Whitman continues an initiative designed to encourage individuals,
departments and programs to develop new approaches to advancing student
learning, to provide assistance to faculty and staff for designing and
implementing these approaches, and to promote greater collaboration across
divisions, departments and programs.
“This initiative exemplifies the Whitman community’s innovative spirit,”
said Lori Bettison-Varga. "The proposals were very impressive, and the
resulting work will bring new, creative approaches to learning both in and out
of our classrooms."
Members of the Innovation in Teaching and Learning Grant
Committee received 12 proposals, from which the following seven were chosen for
funding:
- Sharon Alker,
Theresa DiPasquale, English Department
Experiencing the
Virtual Archive:
A two-year subscription to the ProQuest database Early
English Books Online (EEBO) will allow Alker and DiPasquale to expand and
deepen current assignments in courses they teach, to introduce new assignments,
and to design a new course on the “History of the Book.”
- Brien Garnand, Elyse
Semerdjian and Brian Dott, History Department
Ancient Empires/Old
World Encounters:
A digital text initiative for comparative history.
- Michelle Janning,
Gilbert Mireless, Noah Leavitt, Bill Bogard, Keith Farrington, Helen Kim and
Kari Norgaard, Sociology Department
Public and Applied
Sociology in the Curriculum Community:
A year-long series of events that will assess,
unify and enhance curricular offerings in applied and public sociology.
- John Kitchens and Bryan Lubbers, Education Department and Whitman College
Technology Services
Incorporating GIS in
the Classroom:
Develop and administer workshops to integrate Global
Information Systems into student and faculty research.
- Rogers B. Miles,
Religion Department
Sampling the Religious
Soundscapes of the Pacific Northwest
- Deberah Simon, Mare
Blocker, Charles Timm-Ballard and Kirsten Nicolaysen, Chemistry Department, Art
Department and Geology
Department
Enhancing the
Collaborative Hands-on Experience of the Chemistry of Art
Expand the
scope, depth and collaborative nature of Chemistry 102 (The chemistry of art)
by offering more opportunities for hands-on study of the influence of the
chemistry of materials on the production of art. It will foster a greater
collaboration between the chemistry, art, and geology departments at Whitman,
as well as bring in experts and artists from the community.
- Phil Thompson, Kyle
Singer, David Schmitz and Polly Schmitz, Office of Communications, Whitman
College Technology Services, History Department and Alumni Office
Distributing Digital
Learning via iTunes U
Support the digital distribution of historical
lectures, visiting speakers and major college events via the iTunes U service,
making available content that is not currently easily accessible to students
and the public.
