First Steps toward Mastering Team-Based Learning

Are you disappointed by student attendance? Do you tell students to read before class, yet find they arrive unprepared? Are you interested in implementing active learning, but are not sure how to devise engaging activities? Team-Based Learning (TBL), an evidence-based teaching strategy designed to engage students in active learning, is an effective way to address these problems! We are using our Team Mentoring Grant to promote Team-Based Learning at UNT. Chris Burns, PhD., a highly-qualified and experienced TBL Trainer-Consultant, will lead a 1-day training workshop on Friday, February 1, 2019.

The intended audience is faculty who are interested in learning about and experiencing TBL first-hand. TBL makes it feasible to effectively lead discussions with students who are better-prepared to participate in the essential practice of applying their knowledge. The workshop will cover the fundamental principles and practices of TBL that help faculty energize their classes, promote deeper learning and improve students’ critical thinking skills.

All faculty, including adjuncts, graduate students, and faculty from other institutions of higher education in the DFW metropolitan area, are encouraged to attend. The workshop will cover topics designated by the TBL Collaborative as essential, foundational knowledge of TBL, which ultimately can help attendees earn a Certificate of Knowledge of the Fundamentals of TBL from the organization. These include the Fundamental Principles and Practices of TBL, How to Create an Effective TBL Module, and Improving Facilitation Skills for a TBL Classroom. The workshop will include ways to successfully adopt many of the engaging elements of TBL without having to completely redesign a course.

Registration details will be provided before the end of this semester. Lunch will be served.

Team Grant members include: Judi Bradetich (EPSY), Jessica Craig (CJUS), Roxanne Long (BAAS), and Briton Hagan (KHPR). For more information, please contact Judi Bradetich at judi.bradetich@unt.edu.

ISDLN

In collaboration with the International School Leadership Development Network (ISLDN), Educational Leadership Program faculty in the Department of Teacher Education and Administration are engaged in ongoing research focusing on the three areas of learning, leadership, and context in high-needs schools. The purpose of the study is to determine various qualities of leadership critical to leading and building a climate of learning in schools with a context that challenges the success of students, including low-performing, low-income, rural, highly diverse, and/or vulnerable schools. This peer-mentoring opportunity combines the three main areas of research, teaching, and service expected of all UNT faculty in their respective positions. As a research team who is benefiting from funding provided by UNT’s Office of Faculty Success Mentoring Grant, the Educational Leadership Program faculty at UNT are (a) utilizing a series of common interview protocols developed by the ISLDN which are made available to its members to collect empirical data that can be cross-compared to results from other studies conducted within the U.S. and/or among participant countries, including the U.S., Mexico, Sweden, Costa Rica, UK, Hong Kong, Singapore, Australia, and New Zealand; (b) drawing from research discoveries and findings related to pressing and current problems of practice in high-needs schools to inform their teaching; and (c) developing a consortium to work in collaboration with district- and building-level educational leaders who represent districts from across the north Texas geographical area with an end goal to serve local school communities. To learn more about this project, please contact Dr. Elizabeth Murakami at elizabeth.murakami@unt.edu or visit the ISLDN website at https://isldn.weebly.com/high-needs.html

Body, Place, and Identity (BPI)

Social and cultural history specialists within UNT’s History Department are using the Body, Place, and Identity (BPI) Expansion team mentorship grant to host a conference on March 1-2, 2019 that draws in faculty, graduate students, and undergraduates from the region and country. The high-profile scholar, Professor K. Tsianina Lomawaima, will be our external keynote speaker, allowing UNT faculty members to network with her and letting university and community members learn more about women’s history as it intersects with Native American history. Professor Jennifer Jensen Wallach will be the internal keynote to showcase BPI’s strength in food studies. Faculty will chair and comment on students’ paper presentations, which increases BPI’s visibility in the region. Experienced faculty are mentoring other faculty on conference organizing. To learn more about this project, please contact Clark A. Pomerleau (Clark.Pomerleau@unt.edu).

Foster Care Research Network

Our research group (comprised of faculty from Visual Arts and Design, English, Social Work, Psychology, and Technical Communication) seeks to bring an interdisciplinary perspective to the larger national and local issues surrounding foster care. Foster care is a national problem, and we see it mentioned often in the headlines for its failures. But foster care also touches us as a UNT campus: our students come from foster care, and we as faculty are mentors, volunteers, and even parents within the foster care system. For these reasons, our research group is invested in drawing out positive ways that the challenges of foster care can be addressed through research that is informed not only by our expertise as researchers, but also by our firsthand experiences with children, youth, and professionals in the foster care system.  Our long-term vision is to create a research program that responds to local and national issues of foster care with the insight of our varied knowledge and specialties. In the short term, we are setting up focus groups of local stakeholders in order to attune more closely to the challenges of foster care that affect children, parents, social workers, and others in our community. For more information about our group or upcoming meetings, please contact Matthew Heard (matthew.heard@unt.edu).

Industry Training for Digital Retailing Program

The primary purpose of this mentoring grant is to advance the UNT digital retailing program competencies by bridging the gap between theories and practices. As the second phase of the mentoring grant, this mentoring grant will be used to earn industry UX (user experience) certification by participating in UX trainings and exams offered from the industry.  This UX certification in the UNT digital program can demonstrate the faculty expertise in UX, particularly digital platforms. In addition, the expertise and skills can be disseminated to the students and other faculty members through seminars, lectures and hands-on activities. The knowledge and skills that the faculty acquires from the trainings will further enrich the course contents, enhance the reputation of the faculty amongst our industry partners, and enable UNT digital retailing program to stay at the forefront of similar programs in other universities. For more information about our group, please contact Sanjukta Pookulangara (Sanjukta.poolulangara@unt.edu).

Engaging Faculty in Student Writing Success

This grant will support professional development that encourages cross-disciplinary excellence in writing instruction at UNT, namely, by providing interested faculty with access to materials and training focused on more effective, research-based writing instruction. We contend that (1) while many faculty value writing and writing instruction, few have received training in how to encourage better student writing, and (2) faculty and our students would benefit from such training. Regardless of discipline, as our UNT VALUE Rubrics acknowledge, employers and graduate programs are looking for individuals with strong written communication skills. Professional development that supports a strong writing culture on our campus is vital to addressing these needs.

This mentoring grant will provide mentoring and instruction for a cohort of faculty interested in learning about recent research and available tools that encourage better student writing through more effective writing instruction. The two qualified mentors who engage with these faculty will also consult with administrators who support faculty to help them develop better strategies to assist with the tremendous variety of faculty needs on a campus as large as ours. Our efforts will culminate in a community of practice designed to help faculty practically apply the information by developing an assignment, refining a writing prompt, or reconsidering best practices for peer engagement. This year-long process will facilitate a greater understanding of writing as a set of skills and as compatible with disciplinary learning, laying the foundation for a stronger writing culture at UNT and continuing research in this area based on our pilot data. For more information about this project, please contact Shari Childers (Shari.Childers@unt.edu).

Chairs Council

The Chairs Council team mentoring grant addresses peer-to-peer mentoring, collaboration, and professional development for the department chairs at the University of North Texas. The grant consists of two major initiatives. The first consists of monthly chairs’ luncheon to provide opportunities for chairs to discuss issues they face, and funds for individual. This activity will foster a sense of community and collaboration among department chairs who, by the nature of their position, are singular within their departments. The lunches have no agendas, but instead allow for organic conversation on issues of the day. The second initiative is

group participation in online webinars from Academic Impressions addressing diverse topics relevant to department chairperson ship. These webinars allow department chairs to individualize their professional development and are intended to complement the whole-university learning opportunities offered via the monthly Chair Academy. The university purchased a year-long membership to Academic Impression’s Academic Affairs trainings, which address such topics as fundraising, curricular development, personnel, and career development. For more information about this project, please contact Kelly Donahue-Wallace (Kelly.Donahue-Wallace@unt.edu).

Innovative Pedagogies in Social Sciences

The goal of our interdisciplinary mentoring group is to build a community of practice that fosters teaching effectiveness and promotes pedagogical innovation. Over the last several years, group members have participated in an ongoing conversation about how best to convey: 1) substantive information about our disciplines, and 2) analytically-based skillsets to our students. Our sense is that by highlighting these complementary dimensions of learning, we help our students to succeed in classes and then after graduation from UNT. Indeed, preliminary research indicates that pedagogical innovation increases student retention, and this is vitally important to us as educators and supports UNT’s larger mission. We feel a special responsibility in this regard, given that 42% of UNT undergraduates are first generation college students. To learn more, please contact Prof. Elizabeth Oldmixon (Elizabeth.Oldmixon@unt.edu).

Women in Science Mentoring Group

The number of women obtaining degrees in the Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) fields has increased significantly over the past decade. Despite these advancements women remain underrepresented in STEM faculty positions and do not reflect the demographics of the student population within STEM majors and graduate programs. To persist and advance within science fields in academia the awarding of research grants, collaborations, and publication within top journals is critical. Indeed, the majority of STEM T/TT female faculty at UNT have research funding and publish within their field indicating a high level of productivity. The objective of this proposal is to provide program activities that further facilitate and support the research goals of COS female faculty. The objective is to accelerate research productivity across disciplines, facilitate scientific leadership, and provide a support network. Specifically, our goals are to 1) provide a monthly gathering for COS female faculty to meet and discuss specific goals related to research productivity, 2) develop an organized method to disseminate information specific to the needs of COS female faculty, 3) increase collaborations, grant award applications, and publication submissions for our COS female faculty and 4) highlight the research activities and accomplishments of our COS female faculty. These goals will be accomplished by having organized, intentional events that bring female COS faculty members together, arm them with necessary institutional knowledge, and expand their network of research collaborators. Mentoring team includes: Pamela Padilla, Teresa Golden, Ione Hunt von Herbing, Amie Lund, Ushua Philipose, and Xuexia (Helen) Wang. To learn more, please contact Pamela Padilla (pamela.padilla@unt.edu).

Atlas – Qualitative Researchers

The Qualitative Inquiry Group comprises faculty members in the Department of Teacher Education and Administration engaged in qualitative research.  We are bringing an expert on qualitative data analysis software (QDAS) to the College of Education to train up to twenty faculty members and graduate students. Over the past two years, faculty members researched QDAS options and selected Atlas.ti to be available for researchers in the COE.  As a result, more faculty have begun to use this program for large scale qualitative data analysis.  We have mastered the basics, but need advanced training. The target goal for this project is deeper knowledge of Atlas.ti among COE faculty members doing qualitative research and an enhanced collective knowledge of QDAS to share with our doctoral students. For more information about this project, please contact Kelley M. King (Kelley.King@unt.edu).

Research Collaborations for External Funding and Campus Engagement

The infrastructure mentoring grant is directed towards developing team projects to respond to the resilient infrastructure needs. Sensors to keep structures viable, civil infrastructure are well established in the college of engineering. The grant will foster increased engagement across the University. An industry meet and greet with posters will be scheduled in the year. Please contact Nandika D’Souza to engage with the research grantsmanship focused mentoring group. For more information, please contact Nandika D'Souza (Nandika.DSouza@unt.edu).