Details

Below is a FAQ-style arrangement of details you may find useful in considering to apply for this workshop. Please don't hesitate to contact Beth at (bsimon@cs.ucsd.edu) with any questions you don't find answered here.

Logistics

• When and where is the workshop?
• What costs am I responsible for?
• Can I stay after the workshop to visit San Diego?
• What will I be doing at the workshop?
• Who are "we"?

Benefits

• Do I really get a Tablet PC?
• Do my students need a Tablet PC?
• Do my students need internet access in class?
• I'm at a minority-serving institution or a community college -- what about me?
• What sorts of publications do you expect from this work?

• What do I need to do before the workshop?
• What do I need to do after the workshop?
• Will I get to meet and engage with others from other STEM disciplines who really believe in active learning?

Logistics

When and where is the workshop?
The workshop begins Wednesday July 9 with a social hour and dinner at 5pm in San Diego (La Jolla), California. The workshop ends Friday July 11, 10pm. The workshop will be held on the campus of UCSD. Housing within walking distance will be provided for Wed, Thurs, and Fri nights. Meals will be provided from dinner on Wednesday through dinner on Friday. You must be able to attend the entire workshop from Wed 5pm to Friday 10pm. This is critical for the group experience.

What costs am I responsible for?
Participants are responsible for their travel to San Diego (and from the airport to the hotel). The program will cover food and lodging for Wed July 9 5pm through Sat mornign July 12 (no breakfast that morning). Additionally, the grant amount for the Tablet PC may not quite meet your needs -- we expect that many people will want to get a supplement of a few hundred dollars from their institution to purchase a Tablet PC that meets their needs. NOTE: HP TFT applicants will not be granted money to purchase a Tablet PC.

Can I stay after the workshop to visit San Diego?
We certainly hope so. That's why we plan to end Friday night. We'll be happy to recommend fun activities for you and/or your family for the weekend after. Or, if you want to, come out for July 4th the weekend before. There's lot's to do...

What will I be doing at the workshop?
We have a fun-filled set of plans for our two day workshop that we'll finess based on participant backgrounds and interests. Our main goals are that of interdisciplinary sharing around the theme of active learning, getting participants comfortable using Ubiquitous Presenter -- our technology-enabled active learning system, and preparing and sharing research ideas for us to pursue collectively in the following year. Note that we will be asking you to purchase your Tablet, get to know it, and install software at least 4 weeks before the workshop. There will be a series of required activities for you to complete to prepare before the workshop. Make sure that you will have time to devote to this. It makes for a better workshop for all.

Additionally, we'll provide some background sessions on both active learning literature and our approach to educational research -- specifically multi-institutional educational research. We'll also become familiar with any technological solutions we'll need to sharing information and staying in contact over the next year. We hope to spend a lot of time brainstorming, sharing, exchanging information, and developing ideas and working relationships.

So, yes, we'll work hard. That said, we'll run our workshop in an "active" fashion, and be sure to have time to enjoy the weather and some good food.

Who are "we"?
We are:

• Beth Simon, Lecturer with Potential for Security of Employment (education-oriented tenure-track for those not conversant in University of California-speak),
  Computer Science and Engineering,
  University of California, San Diego
• Ed Price, Assistant Professor,
  Physics,
  California State University, San Marcos
• Bill Griswold, Professor,
  Computer Science and Engineering,
  University of California, San Diego

Benefits

Do I really get a Tablet PC?
Yes, sort of. You will receive a grant for $1600 to be used toward travel to the workshop and the purchase of a high-end Tablet PC. The level of Tablet PC that fulfills most faculty's needs are around $2200. We expect applicants to obtain the support and "buy-in" of their department, dean, or school to support the remainder of the costs of Tablet PC purchase and travel to the workshop.

Do my students need a Tablet PC?
NO. Don't worry if there are no Tablets at your institution. Students engaging in active learning in class need a web enabled device (web browser) or cell phone. Please contact Beth if you have more questions.

Do my students need internet access in class?
YES. But maybe not 100% of them. Students engaging in active learning in class need a web enabled device (web browser) or cell phone. And they need web access (wired or wireless) in class. Please contact Beth if you have more questions.

I'm at a minority-serving institution or a community college -- what about me?
Up to two applicants from minority-serving institutions or community colleges will be awarded an extra $600 (total $2200) to cover the complete costs of purchase of a Tablet PC. While we still encourage team-applications from these institutions, applicants from these institutions will be considered very strongly -- regardless of whether any other applicant from their school is applying. We also encourage team applications from institutions in the same city -- from teams including community-college or minority-serving institution members.

What sorts of publications do you expect from this work?
We expect to produce a number of different types of publications from this work -- in part based on the interests of the participants. Some ideas we've had are:

• A multi-institutional, multi-disciplinary study of the impact of active learning (using our Tablet PC system) on student approaches to learning and student valuation of various class activities. This would probably involve not only a quantitative study (imagine pre- and post- test surveys on your classes and comparative classes not using active learning) and qualitative studies (involving interviews with students to understand their change in valuation of learning and how it occurs in the classroom). Other options certainly exist. Phenomenography, , etc...
• A cross-disciplinary report and analysis on active learning techniques across STEM disciplines. How do activities used in engineering classes differ from those used in physics, from math, from computer science, from biology?
• One or several single-discipline reports on the types of answers expressed by students in a class or discipline and how do these answers fit commonly understood misconceptions, what new misconceptions do they illuminate.
• A report on the barriers (institutional and personal) of bringing new teaching technology or pedagogy into the classroom. It all sounds very nice in a summer workshop, but what really happens when educators, with the best of intentions, try to make change in their classrooms. What can future efforts (and institutions) do to support faculty in efforts to improve their teaching?
• Other ideas are welcome!

What do I need to do before the workshop?
We will have limited time together at the workshop, and we identified a set of things at last years' workshop for you to accomplish before to make our time most effective. A full list will be provided upon acceptance, but to give you an idea:

• Secure funding and purchase a Tablet PC.
• Participate in active electronic communication methods (at least 4 before we meet) that will engage you with:
  • Becoming familiar with the Tablet PC and installing our freely available software (UP).
  • Reading a few background papers on active learning and one on UP.
  • Recommending a paper you know of on active learning in your discipline.
  • Identifying at least 2 classes you will teach during 2007-2008 using active learning.
  • Submitting (and hopefully get accepted) an IRB (Institutional Review Board) application at your school for basic UP study.

• Secure (final) IRB approval for research on use of UP with active learning at your institution.
• Teach at least 2 classes with extensive use of active learning with UP.
• Complete on-line reports (2 a term) on the active learning exercises you develop.
• Complete on-line surveys on your experience as an instructor engaging new technology to improve teaching.
• Survey and possibly interview students in these classes based on proposed research projects.
• Participate actively (yes, we'll be making a schedule) in wiki-based commentary reporting on your efforts and giving feedback to others.
• Give at least one presentation to your institution's faculty (through a center for teaching or other venue) on the use of UP.
• Possibly attend professional conferences to network with others or report on results from use of UP.

Will I get to meet and engage with others from other STEM disciplines who really believe in active learning?
YES!