Discovery-oriented laboratories and exercises encourage students to learn for themselves, and a team of teachers from the basic disciplines works with a common group of students using an integrated curriculum. According to the evaluation, Discovery students in the Staten Island school performed significantly better than the non- participating students in math and science, and earned higher grade point averages. Students in the Brooklyn school showed no differences in performance. In 25 of 28 participating departments of agriculture, natural resources, and arts and sciences, faculty generated and adopted written plans and strategies for documenting, evaluating and rewarding teaching. Ten additional departments joined this effort after funding ended, for a total of 36 units currently engaged in changing the status of undergraduate teaching.
Most measures reveal statistically significant improvements in the climate for teaching.
By institutional policy, outstanding achievements in teaching and research are now being rewarded equally. Faculty whose students made significant learning gains obtained support for professional development activities such as travel or equipment purchases. Increasing Access to Advanced Mathematics. Mathematics Department faculty experimented with greatly reducing the requirements for certain advanced courses to make them available to non-majors. The creation of a Laboratory in Mathematical Experimentation and group problem solving strategies are key elements in the project's success.