Report #2 on Theme I, Issue No. 1: Encouraging Teaching
and Learning
Development of Research on Teaching and Learning
Our strategic plan calls for "Creating a learning
community that supports the discovery and application of
new knowledge about learning processes." Among the
strategies proposed was promoting a university-wide, interdisciplinary
scholarly focus on learning and how it may be improved,
and creating a research institute which would help to formulate
scholarly projects, generate financial and other support,
allocate research funds, and otherwise serve as an advocate
for scholarly attention on learning, learning processes,
and develop avenues for faculty inter-disciplinary discussions
regarding learning and incorporation of innovations into
learning processes.
We began by carrying out a couple of small research projects
and sponsorship of a national conference on "Applying
the Science of Learning," organized by Dr. Diane Halpern,
who is now at Claremont McKenna College, but was Professor
of Psychology at CSUSB at the time of the conference. (See: http://berger.research.claremontmckenna.edu/asl/ ). With Dr. Halpern leaving the university in Fall of 2001,
we authorized the hiring of a faculty member who would develop
a formal institute on learning and serve half/time as director
of the institute as well as teach in the Psychology department.
Dr. James Kaufman, who has a PhD from Yale and who previously
was employed at the Educational Testing Service in New Jersey,
was hired to develop this project. He was able to participate
in the AAHE Summer Academy to get acquainted with campus
administrators and faculty from the Teaching Academy, who
assisted him in developing a draft of the Mission Statement,
Goals and Objectives for the proposed Learning Research
Institute. The final document is under review by the Educational
Policy Committee and Faculty Senate and awaits approval
by the Provost, but the working documents can be seen below:
Mission/Charge for Learning Research Institute (LRI)
Mission: The CSUSB Learning Research Institute will
promote interdisciplinary scholarly focus on teaching and
learning and how it may be improved. The Institute will
help formulate scholarly projects, generate financial and
other support, allocate research funds, and otherwise serve
as an advocate for scholarly attention on learning.
Focus of Activities
Learning Improvement, Experimentation, and Innovation: The Institute promotes better understanding of how people
learn; how they develop as lifelong learners; how they perceive
their learning needs; the factors that affect learning,
and how to create positive contexts for learners with diverse
needs based on local and global research findings.
Research on Teaching/Learning: The Institute will
organize and carry out basic and applied research on teaching
methodologies, techniques and strategies to determine the
best practices, what is most effective in instruction, and
what best facilitates learning in higher education.
Learning Measures: The Institute provides appropriate
methods and measures for assessing the impact of teaching
strategies, learning contexts, and curriculum innovation
on learning outcomes.
Dissemination of Results: The Institute will promote
the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) and assist
faculty in sharing and publishing SoTL results. The Institute
will hold workshops/conferences and publish newsletters
and journal articles on the findings of research on instructional
improvement initiatives both on-campus and elsewhere.
Long-term Goals
The LRI is still developing its charter, seeking approval
by the Faculty Senate, and developing internal and external
advisory bodies and making appointments. In February of
2003, the incipient Institute sponsored bringing to campus
a distinguished guest lecturer, Dr. Csikszentmihalyi, formerly
of the University of Chicago and now at the Drucker School
of Management in Claremont, speaking about the concept of
"Flow" and his research on the nature of creativity.
