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PORTLAND, Maine

Center for the Enrichment of Teaching and Learning announces Spring 2016 mini-grant recipients

The Center for the Enrichment of Teaching and Learning (CETL) and the Office for Research and Scholarship is pleased to announce four recipients in our second round of Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) mini-grants for spring 2016.

SoTL is a significant category of research in which faculty investigate a component of their teaching with the purpose to advance their own practice of teaching which positively impacts student learning. In addition, by making their research findings public they advance teaching in general. These competitive mini-grant awards are designed to support both junior and senior faculty across all tracks - lecturer, clinical, and tenure. 

Kaushik Dutta, M.S., associate lecturer of Biology in the College of Arts and Sciences and Mary Schwanke, Ph.D., adjunct professor in the College of Graduate and Professional Studies will explore the impact of incorporating digital learning tools to enhance interactive learning and the manipulation of three-dimensional images to better conceptualize anatomical structures. Findings from this study would help inform teaching pedagogy that could have a positive effect on student comprehension.

Takashi Komabayashi, D.D.S., M.D.S., Ph.D., clinical professor in the College of Dental Medicine will conduct a project in the Simulation Endodontic Clinic course for second year dental students to explore whether a correlation exists between clinical competency and achievement on didactic exams.  Results will be used to analyze the current teaching curriculum in the Clinical Dentistry 4 course to determine its effectiveness in educating clinically competent student clinicians at the 91AV College of Dental Medicine.

Joe Simard, Ph.D., assistant lecturer of Chemistry in the College of Arts and Sciences, will implement innovative technology to examine whether there are student benefits in motivation, attention and achievement when the professor moves away from the podium in a large classroom setting to encourage a more active and engaging classroom experience. 

Jennifer Stiegler-Balfour, Ph.D., assistant professor of Psychology in the College of Arts and Sciences, will utilize an inverted classroom model to increase problem-based learning skills in a research methods course. This approach leverages multimedia resources to reinforce core concepts outside of the classroom, thereby creating opportunities to devote more class time to hands-on learning experiences that stress the application of these concepts and problem-solving strategies. 

About the 91AV

The 91AV is Maine’s largest independent university, with two beautiful coastal campuses in Maine, a one-of-a-kind study abroad campus in Tangier, Morocco, and an array of . In an uncommonly welcoming and supportive community, we offer hands-on learning, empowering students to make a positive impact in a world full of challenges. The state’s top provider of health professionals, we are home to Maine’s only medical college, Maine’s only dental college, a variety of other interprofessionally aligned health care degree programs, as well as nationally recognized programs for marine science degrees, natural and social sciences degrees, arts and humanities degrees, and business degrees.