Clare Byrne and Gina Marandino, Title III
Abstract: St. John’s University received a Title III Grant from the Department of Education to provide faculty with development in the integration of technology, information literacy, active learning strategies, and critical thinking into their courses. During the past five years of the grant, the Title III Team taught faculty how to develop students’ ability to engage in problem-based learning and critical inquiry. A structured faculty development program was established that includes workshops on technology integration, critical thinking, information literacy, and active learning strategies; as well as, one-to-one meetings to develop curriculum and strategies for specific courses, and development of skills to implement into courses. To help us attain our goals, we established a state-of-the art faculty teaching development center and set up curriculum to enhance faculty technology skills. Dissemination is an important part of the Title III program. During the fifth year, grant funds enabled faculty members to present at five different conferences where they disseminated information about the principles and skills they learned in the Title III program. Due to the success of the program’s prior cohorts, a one year extension of the grant was granted by the DOE. This year’s focus is on creating a critical thinking learning module, expanding our training to include eleven more faculty members, and integrating training and resources so that the program will continue to have a sustainable impact at St. John’s when it ends in September 2011.