Last year, we set in place a series of programs aimed at actively fostering an atmosphere at WSU that supports innovative research and academic excellence. The Cougar PAWS (Promoting Academic Ways to Success) initiative sparked progress in many areas and has led to some major breakthroughs in several others. Our students, faculty, and staff are utilizing new tools and are working together in new ways as we strive to reach our goals.
There are three areas of emphasis within the Cougar PAWS initiative:
• Supporting faculty innovation and excellence in instruction
• Strengthening academic preparation and student success
• Providing tools and policies that facilitate academic support and student success.
We’ve made headway in each of these categories, and I’d like to highlight a few of the exciting developments:
The WSU Teaching Academy more than doubled its membership in December, adding 25 educators. This major growth is giving the WSU teaching community more opportunities for training, professional development, and mentorship. Now 48 members strong, the Teaching Academy is as active as it’s been since it started in 2004.
Since the fall, the Academy collaborated on the Faculty-Led Teaching Innovations Workshop series with the Provost’s Office and Global Campus, conducted faculty focus groups to assess needs for teaching assistance and provided the annual university-wide TA training workshop for graduate assistants. There are 19 Academy members available for class observation and feedback: eight are available for teaching portfolio guidance, 17 for individual mentoring and 11 for group mentoring. If you’re interested in the WSU Teaching Academy, visit its new website.
WSU faculty are incorporating technology and using innovative teaching techniques to improve student retention and success. An increasing number of professors are “flipping” their classes, employing active-learning techniques, even in large classes, and incorporating academic skills development into their curriculum. Four major course redesign grants in introductory STEM courses and 12 mini-grants helped catalyze this work. Through an ongoing series of faculty-led workshops and working with new technology specialists available through the Global Campus, instructors can learn from their colleagues and share their success stories.
The Provost’s Office has also made several new technology tools available to assist instructors. Included in this group are a new learning management system (Blackboard), an originality-checking tool (TurnitIn), a course evaluation tool (eXplorance Blue), and a campus-wide survey tool (Qualtrics).
Another great development for faculty was the addition of student photos in zzusis class rosters. Instructors are now able to put faces with names more quickly, which can increase engagement and, ultimately, student success.
We are looking forward to building on the inaugural Calculated Success program, held in August of 2014. This two-week summer session is centered on a two-credit math course that sets students up to perform well in their first math class at WSU. The course was specifically designed to smooth all aspects of the first-year students’ transition to college, and participants did improve their mastery of math. They also said they had a good time.
If you haven’t visited the Technology Test Kitchen, make time this week to visit Room 150 in Holland Library and check it out. This is the final week of this pilot program, which is helping faculty members explore, and become comfortable with, incorporating technology into their classrooms.
This week (April 27-May 1) features presentations and workshops on 3-D printing. Past topics covered in the Technology Test Kitchen include: Virtual and Augmented Reality, Video Production and Lecture Capture, Quick Response Systems and Mobile Devices, Wireless Presentation and Video Production. The Technology Test Kitchen webpage includes archived videos and extra resources from the program.
You’ll find much more information about the Cougar PAWS initiative, including a full report on our progress, on our website.