{"322611":{"#nid":"322611","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Georgia Tech joins new consortium to strengthen learning, teaching","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp class=\u0022release\u0022\u003EThe Georgia Institute of Technology is among a dozen institutions invited to create a new consortium to promote teaching practices that help undergraduate engineering students reflect on their experiences.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022release\u0022\u003EThe Consortium to Promote Reflection in Engineering Education (CPREE) is supported through a $4.4 million grant from The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust. The group will focus on first- and second-year undergraduates who want to be engineers. The goal is to enhance students\u2019 ability to learn, help a greater percentage complete their degrees, and ultimately foster a larger, more diverse and better-trained workforce.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022release\u0022\u003E\u201cGiven what we know about the important role that reflective practice plays in the development of effective engineers, there is great opportunity to expand the use of reflective practice in teaching and learning within the College of Engineering and beyond,\u201d Dean Gary S. May said. \u201cThis works hand in hand with Georgia Tech\u2019s commitment to developing effective practitioners who excel in complex problem solving and design.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022release\u0022\u003EReflection \u2013 giving meaning to prior experiences and determining how that meaning will guide future actions \u2013 has long been recognized as important in higher education.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022release\u0022\u003E\u201cReflection is important for achieving deep and enduring learning and remains crucial for problem solving and professional development,\u201d said Esther Jordan, assistant director for programming for Georgia Tech\u2019s Center for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning (CETL) and Georgia Tech\u2019s lead on this project. \u201cWe expect there is great need for teaching enrichment in this area, and CETL is uniquely positioned to lead this charge.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022release\u0022\u003EGeorgia Tech and others in the consortium will each receive $200,000 over two academic years to fund a principal investigator and other colleagues to carry out the work. Tools and practices developed throughout this initiative will be shared with engineering programs nationwide.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022release\u0022\u003EThe 12-school consortium will involve nearly 250 educators who will collect data on 18,000 student experiences. The consortium\u2019s member institutions each bring a distinct perspective on engineering instruction and great enthusiasm for expanding their focus on reflection, organizers said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022release\u0022\u003E\u201cThe Trust is delighted to support such a diverse group of schools in this effort to increase our nation\u2019s engineering capacity,\u201d said Ryan Kelsey, program officer for higher education at the Helmsley Charitable Trust. \u201cHelping first- and second-year students reflect on what it means to be an engineer as they learn foundational concepts is a very promising strategy for attracting and retaining a larger and more diverse future engineering workforce.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022release\u0022\u003EThe consortium is led by the University of Washington\u2019s Center for Learning and Teaching.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EOther involved schools are: Arizona State University, Polytechnic School, Mesa, Arizona; Bellevue College in Bellevue, Washington; California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, California; Clarkson University in Potsdam, New York; Green River Community College in Auburn, Washington; Highline College in Des Moines, Iowa; Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology in Terre Haute, Indiana; Seattle Central College in Seattle; Seattle University in Seattle; Stanford University in Palo Alto, California; and the University of Washington.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"Collaborative effort designed to increase country\u2019s engineering capacity"}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp class=\u0022release\u0022\u003EThe goal is to enhance students\u2019 ability to learn, help a greater percentage complete their degrees, and ultimately foster a larger, more diverse and better-trained workforce.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"This work emphasizes the importance of reflection -- giving meaning to prior experiences and determining how that meaning will guide future actions."}],"uid":"27918","created_gmt":"2014-09-08 12:26:00","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:17:04","author":"Laura Diamond","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2014-09-08T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2014-09-08T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"259761":{"id":"259761","type":"image","title":"GT logo","body":null,"created":"1449243977","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:46:17","changed":"1475894943","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:49:03","alt":"GT logo","file":{"fid":"198332","name":"gt_logo_3.gif","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/gt_logo_3_0.gif","image_full_path":"http:\/\/tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/gt_logo_3_0.gif","mime":"image\/gif","size":6087,"path_740":"http:\/\/tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/gt_logo_3_0.gif?itok=BWPDPKmT"}}},"media_ids":["259761"],"groups":[{"id":"1214","name":"News Room"}],"categories":[{"id":"129","name":"Institute and Campus"},{"id":"145","name":"Engineering"}],"keywords":[{"id":"13286","name":"Center for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning"},{"id":"1601","name":"CETL"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"71871","name":"Campus and Community"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ELaura Diamond\u0026nbsp;\u003Cbr \/\u003EGeorgia Tech Media Relations\u003Cbr \/\u003E404-894-6016\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["laura.diamond@comm.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}