Award winners announced
The Center for Teaching Excellence reveals recipients of Illuminate Grant
The Center for Teaching Excellence has presented its new award winners for Spring 2015, bringing new life to the learning experience. Thousands of dollars in grants have been given to various departments and programs within Liberty University through the ILLUMINATE Grants for the Improvement of Teaching, which provide the proper funding for faculty to increase active, or “hands-on,” learning activities and tools for students.
Dozens of departments and programs have received grants over the past three semesters, including the Schools of Aeronautics, Communication & Creative Arts Education and
Government.
These grants serve as opportunities for teachers to provide active learning in their classrooms, where the students can gain a deeper understanding of their prospective subject matters.
“In order to learn, students must do more than just listen: They must read, write, discuss, or be engaged in solving problems,” the Center for Teaching Excellence’s
website states. “Active learning engages students in two aspects — doing things and thinking about the things they are doing.”
Kate Reinsma, associate professor in the Center for Medical Health and Sciences, received an ILLUMINATE Grant for the 2015 spring semester.
Her project, called “College Students’ Knowledge, Attitudes, and Taste Preferences of Conventionally and Organically Grown Fruit,” will be used in research methods classes in the Public Health Program.
These classes will conduct surveys on Liberty’s campus with two separate types of apples: one organically grown and one conventionally grown. The students will then ask the testers if they taste any differences and which apple they prefer. The survey’s purpose is to test how much college students know about organically and conventionally grown fruits.
“This will show the students how data is collected by conducting good surveys and then analyzing them,” Reinsma said. “I’m excited for the students to see how data is collected in the real world, not just by sitting in class.”
Ben Kalu, assistant professor in the Department of Biology and Chemistry, received a grant for “Integration of Ultrasonography in Human Anatomy Education.” Kalu and his colleagues, Dr. Kimberly Mitchell and Mark Blais, plan to incorporate ultrasonography — an ultrasound-based imaging technology used to view internal structures of the human body — into their classes.
“(Liberty) is among the pioneers in introducing ultrasonography,” Kalu said.
Kalu and the professors hope this new technology will help increase students’ appreciation of the human body and how it works. They also hope it will make the learning more interesting and hands-on for students.
“(The ultrasonography) gives real-life pictures of blood flowing, different muscles and organs moving while they’re at work,” Kalu explained. “Students will not just learn the theory, they will try it themselves. Instead of looking at pictures, they get to see the heart actually beating.”
Both Reinsma and Kalu believe the ILLUMINATE grants benefit Liberty as a whole, providing the students with more realistic and holistic approaches to learning. They, along with the other recipients, appreciate the financial support for their programs so that the extra money does not have to come from their own pockets.
“These grants allow us to try new methods of education to improve student learning experiences,” Kalu said. “The university is investing in the faculty and classroom experience and there’s something distinctive about that.”
The Center for Teaching Excellence announced the newest recipients for the 2015 spring semester also includes “Criminal Justice Crime Scene” and “Forensic Identification of Biological Agents” from the Helms School of Government, “Facilitating Active Learning in Intro to Engineering & Problem Solving” from the School of Engineering and Computational Sciences, and “Renewing our Passion through Arts Integration” from the School of Education.
Ritter is a news reporter.