IU wins prestigious teaching award

IU's Scholarship of Teaching and Learning program), which encourages faculty members to investigate how students learn in the classroom, won a national award Monday from the American Council of Education.\nIUB Chancellor Sharon Brehm and biology professor Craig Nelson accepted the 2003 Theodore M. Hesburgh award and $30,000 on behalf of the campus at a luncheon in Washington, D.C., Monday morning. \nThe SOTL program was created in 1998 by Moya Andrews, then associate dean of faculties, as a way for faculty members to apply their research skills to student learning. Participating faculty members are encouraged to investigate the effectiveness of their own teaching practices and then report on the findings to their colleagues.\n"This is absolutely wonderful," Jeanne Sept, associate dean of faculty, said. "It's a great testimony to the creativity and energy of our faculty."\nSept said the energy and enthusiasm of IU's faculty have made the program stand out from others like it across the country. Faculty members respond well to the research opportunities, she said, because the program is led by other faculty and not by administrators.\n"This program is about faculty coming together, and there is a real sense of community that has developed as a result," Sept said.\nClose to 2,000 faculty members and graduate students have participated in the SOTL program since its inception.\n"SOTL fits so naturally into the teaching enterprise," Brehm said. "The faculty feel comfortable with it. It's a very empirical approach to teaching and allows for a lot of creativity." \nThe $30,000 prize will be invested back into the program, Brehm said.\nTwo years ago history professor Leah Sopkow began conducting a SOTL-sponsored research experiment in her medieval heroes class to determine the value of letting students rewrite papers. The data she collected seemed to show that students learn more if given the chance to do revisions. \n"I took a close look at one of my teaching practices to see if it actually worked," she said. "What I found was very reassuring. I definitely would not have done it without SOTL."\nEarlier this year, Sopkow presented her findings to other faculty members. \nJust two years ago, Time magazine heralded the success of IU's freshman retention programs by naming IU the 2001 College of the Year. \n"If you add this award to Time magazine, that's a pretty remarkable record in a short period of time," Brehm said.\nEach year, IU showcases the best research projects conducted in the SOTL program. The 2002-2003 series includes a scholarly look at how students respond to the events of Sept. 11, how students use textbooks and how faculty members make assessments of student performance.\nIn early March, professors Brian Powell and Janice McCabe will give a presentation of their findings on grade inflation. The session will be at noon Friday, March 7 in the IMU. \nThe Hesburgh award is named in honor of Theodore M. Hesburgh, long-time president of the University of Notre Dame. Hesburgh was also a dear friend of Herman B Wells and often said he modeled his own presidency after the IU legend. \n"What makes the award so interesting is that Hesburgh was a close personal friend of Herman Wells," said Perry Metz, assistant vice-president for external affairs. "It's kind of a nice emotional bond to get the award in his name."\nThe Hesburgh award is sponsored by the Teacher's Insurance Annuity Association and College Retirees Equity Fund, a multi-billion dollar financial services organization.