Sociology professor Tom Gershick and Sociology graduate student Lana Berardi are in the process of conducting qualitative interviews with about 20 Illinois State University instructors and faculty members investigating their perceptions of student engagement and how engagement can be enhanced to improve teaching and learning. We have already begun dissemination of some of this work both internal and external to Illinois State University. This is distributed on-campus to over 2,000 people and to teaching centers around the nation via a newsletter exchange. Furthermore, we have begun internal presentations of some of the research, including at our Teaching-Learning Symposium held annually in October. The conference is free and open to all faculty, staff, and students at ISU and nearby institutions.
Participation is limited.
Finally, the research teams are writing articles for submission to national, peer-reviewed higher education or teaching journals. Currently, supported by the Illinois State University Foundation and the Center for the Advancement of Teaching, we are conducting four research projects related to the topic of student engagement. A brief article on the results of this study appeared in the October 2000 issue of our newsletter, the CATalyst. Third, Sociology professor, Tom Gershick and Sociology graduate student, Lana Berardi, are in the process of conducting qualitative interviews with about 20 ISU instructors and faculty members investigating their perceptions of student engagement and how engagement can be enhanced to improve teaching and learning. This is distributed on-campus to over 2,000 people and to teaching centers around the nation via a newsletter exchange.