Oberlin College has used the AIRE to introduce more research-like experiences into courses by awarding Curriculum Development Grants and Equipment Grants for teaching. As a result of this at least 20 new curriculum development projects will be initiated. Curriculum Development Awards will be given each year of the AIRE. As of January 2001, awards have been given to faculty from nine different departments, and the curriculum developed will impact courses in the sciences, the social sciences and the humanities (and perhaps even the Conservatory of Music in the future). In numerous cases, communication and collaboration across departments and disciplines has been fostered. IN many cases, these new curricular initiatives will engage students in the study of environmental, economic or social problems in the community. These courses will impact all classes of students, from frosh to seniors. Changes will be made to courses for general audiences and to courses that are for students in a particular major. Within major courses, there will be changes made to courses for majors at both the introductory and advanced levels. Curriculum proposals have included initiatives to change part of a course or to develop a completely new course. Some proposals will incorporate research-like activities into a large lecture course, others into a small lecture/discussion cause and still others will enrich the types of activities in laboratory classes.

1999 Curriculum Development Projects:

2000 Curriculum Development Projects:

Natural Sciences Technology and Teaching Workshop for Faculty, June 5-9, 2000, Oberlin College. Recent developments in technology have enhanced opportunities to increase the amount of investigative and collaborative learning that can occur even in relatively large lecture courses. AIRE and the Oberlin Center for Technologically Enhanced Teaching (OCTET) co-sponsored a workshop for Oberlin College faculty to update them on developments in technology and how these can be used to enhance pedagogy. Some of the topics that were considered were; using technology in large introductory science courses, ways to use technology to enhance collaborative learning, and changes in technology and its effects on pedagogy in science education at Oberlin College. Further information can be found at www.oberlin.edu/OCTET/workshops/LabSciences

2001 Curriculum Development Projects: