DIIA Team Leads Discussion of Inquiry-Based Teaching at Discovery Learning Project Seminar
At the November luncheon seminar of the Discovery Learning Project, a DIIA team coordinated by Lynn Jones Eaton, Associate Director for Faculty and Graduate Student Instructional Development, led a discussion of ways that DIIA supports innovative instruction at UT Austin. The interactive session addressed the division’s initiatives in supporting innovations in using virtual worlds, in facilitating ongoing student feedback, and in providing individual consultation.
The Discovery Learning Project (DLP) was conceived to build on the legacy of innovation in discovery learning pioneered at UT Austin by professors R.L. Moore in mathematics and R.N. Little in physics, who developed inquiry-based approaches to teaching aimed at helping their students accept responsibility for their learning, develop skills in problem-solving, and tap their creative abilities. The monthly seminars hosted by DLP feature speakers and panels to share ideas for improving students’ skills as independent thinkers and for transforming students into life-long learners. With support from The Educational Advancement Foundation, the Hewlett Foundation, and the College of Natural Sciences, DLP also provides support for a faculty mentoring program.
Joining Eaton at the luncheon seminar were Kyung Huh, Mario Guerra, Dawn Zimmaro, Pamela Brochhausen, Morrie Schulman, and Karron Lewis to describe how DIIA provides campus-wide support for teaching and learning through services focused on emerging instructional technologies, tools for formative assessment, and best practices in engaging students.
The DIIA panelists explained their roles in DIIA’s recent collaboration with Jerome Bump of the department of English in adopting Second Life for use in his freshman seminar in fall 2006 and spring 2007. Three-dimensional virtual worlds allow students to create environments and experiences to serve as catalysts for class projects, class interaction, and peer collaboration.
Panelists emphasized the importance of formative assessment in engaging students and monitoring the effectiveness of discovery learning. Through DIIA’s Ongoing Course Assessment (OCA) online tool, instructors can use customized surveys to elicit anonymous feedback from students to monitor the quality of instruction and its impact on students’ learning.
Panelists invited instructors to look to DIIA for individual consultation addressing pedagogical best practices for engaging students and prompting discovery learning through inquiry-based teaching.