The Schreyer Institute for Teaching Excellence is now accepting applications for the Fall 2004 InSPIRE Academy which begins Oct. 4 on the Penn State University Park campus.
InSPIRE stands for Integrating, Scholarship, Performance, Innovation or Research Experiences. The academy is a competitive program for faculty members who are interested in embedding their research and creative accomplishments into the curriculum of their undergraduate courses with the goal of encouraging students to explore and engage in further research. The academy consists of a series of workshops designed to guide faculty members through the design and assessment process, work with faculty from other disciplines and learn about the "best practices" of faculty in similar fields.
All participants will receive an additional three semesters of support from the course and curricular development consultants at the Schreyer Institute. Along with feedback and advice on design and assessment issues, these consultants will work with participants to develop evaluation plans that can be used to measure the impact of the course modifications on student learning and lead to publications in discipline-specific journals.
Faculty members who are selected as InSPIRE fellows will be required to participate in all of the workshop sessions; complete the design of the new course elements and activities; implement the new elements into the next course offering; collaborate with institute consultants during the three semesters of additional support; and serve as a mentor for participants in subsequent academies. All participants who fulfill these requirements will receive a monetary award to support their teaching and learning activities. In addition, participants from Penn State locations other than University Park will receive support for their travel.
Additional information and guidelines for applying can be found at http://www.schreyerinstitute.psu.edu/programs/INSPIRE