DIIA award presented to Allen/Banner team
David Allen and Jay Banner received the DIIA Award for Excellence in Teaching for their ground-breaking signature course pilot, Sustaining a Planet.
Karron Lewis, David Allen, Rob Bruce, Jay Banner, Lynn Jones Eaton
James Sprinkle, David Allen, Jay Banner, Frank Fisher
Banner, professor in the Jackson School of Geosciences and director of the Environmental Science Institute, and Allen, professor in the College of Engineering and director of the Center for Energy and Environmental Resources, were presented with the award following their joint presentation at the 2007 Teaching and Learning Colloquium for UT faculty.
The course was developed in response to recommendations made concerning the core curriculum by the Task Force on Curricular Reform, chaired by President Bill Powers, and the Commission of 125.
In an effort to transcend disciplines, Banner and Allen drew upon a common theme at the University and in both of their professional and teaching careers: sustainability. The result was Sustaining a Planet, cross-listed as geo302p/cxs318.
The team incorporated basic scientific principles from both courses, supplemented by class sessions with distinguished guest lecturers, field trips, and smaller student discussion groups facilitated by hand-picked Graduate Student Instructors who had received special training in team teaching interdisciplinary courses. The underlying goal was to encourage students to look at sustainability in regard to the environment, social equity, and the economy, and to develop problem-solving skills for the future.
The DIIA Award for Excellence in Teaching guidelines include demonstrating leadership in teaching and collegial collaboration, a high degree of commitment to student learning, fostering a love of learning and academic achievement in students, and respect for students students and what they bring to the learning environment.