About 50 percent of faculty use FaCIT services to engage students

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Professors come to teach and students come to learn, but occasionally something gets lost in the transmission.

The Faculty Center for Innovative Teaching was created to foster the connection between teacher and student by using active learning techniques that tap into students’ critical thinking skills.

“I wanted to up my game in teaching and was interested in podcasting,” said Mike Garver, associate professor of market and hospitality services. “I knew that FaCIT helps the teachers be better at what we do, and Brian Roberts at FaCIT has become my right arm in teaching.”

Instead of lecturing at his class sessions, Garver’s students are able to receive the information on the podcast. He is then able to make case studies for class so it is all hands-on learning.

Pictures and YouTube videos are integrated in the podcasts so students stay entertained.

“Students love the podcasts and clickers,” Garver said. “Students want to interact, think and be challenged. They don’t want to memorize material.”

During Garver’s marketing classes, students use clickers to answer questions projected on the screen. Within seconds, he can see what percentage of the class got the correct answer and if needed, he can go more in-depth on a contentious question.

FaCIT has collaborated with faculty since 2002.

“On average we work with 45 to 50 percent of faculty in a given academic year,” said FaCIT Director Jim Therrell. “Around 500 unique faculty either came to a workshop, conference, contacted us through e-mail or had a classroom observation.”

He said faculty members are not required to partake in the programs that FaCIT has to offer, but in many cases the programs have made a huge difference in student opinion survey scores.

“It doesn’t matter if a teacher thinks they are teaching well, but are the students learning well,” Therrell said. “All of our technology that we teach the faculty is useless unless they are driven by sound pedagogy.”

Najat Yehia, assistant professor of human environmental studies, has learned to use teamwork to drive the critical thinking skills of her classes.

“It’s about the quality of information we give to students, not quantity,” Yehia said. “We need to be connected with the students. Instead of lowering my level of teaching, I try to bring them up by the use of teamwork and active learning.“

Geography Professor Mark Francek saw FaCIT as an avenue for improvement.

“There are always new learning styles and if we can help the students learn better, then let’s do it,” he said.

Francek has been to about 20 programs, workshops and mentorships through FaCIT.