| NSF
Grant approved for IU Northwest
The Special Retention Programs office is excited to
announce that IU Northwest will be receiving an NSF
grant, the Louis Stokes Alliances for Minority Participants
or LSamp, a program aimed at strengthening minority
participation in science, technology, engineering and
math. The Indiana Lsamp is a collaboration of eight
university campuses including IUN, IUPUI, Indiana University
Bloomington, Purdue University Lafayette, Purdue University
Calumet, Purdue North Central, Indiana State University
and Ball State University . While the Indiana project
has been in existence since 2003, IU Northwest will
be part of Phase II, a five year commitment from NSF.
IU Northwest will begin with two new summer programs,
Summer Transition to College and Summer Research Project.
The Transition to College will focus on creating a
cohort of math and science majors and providing them
with experienced mentors from those majors. These students
will participate in summer workshops and other activities,
including networking opportunities with faculty in
the Science and Math disciplines. More supplemental
instruction leaders and tutors will be available for
these courses.
The summer research project will pair students with
a faculty mentor in their field to develop and pursue
a research project. Students participating in this
aspect of the grant will receive a stipend and the
opportunity to present their original research at a
conference, through grant funding.
The LSamp will be administered through SRP and includes
collaboration with other IU Northwest departments,
specifically the Occupational Development Program and
Multi-cultural Affairs.
SI leaders attend Texas Conference (Written
by David Whitlock, Sociology major and SI leader)
When offered the opportunity to attend Texas A & M's
3 rd Regional Conference on Supplemental Instruction
with SI leader Jaclyn Hac and Cathy Hall, I leapt at
the chance. As an experienced SI leader who has weathered
just about every problem imaginable (and a few that
aren't even on the books) while conducting my study
sessions, I figured it would give me a great opportunity
to network with leaders and coordinators from a diverse
pool of campus settings and program designs. I also
figured that diversity would expose me to a great number
of insights, ideas, and solutions that I could bring
home and share with my fellow leaders at IU Northwest.
My initial suspicions were correct, and I've found
my head buzzing with wonderful ideas that I am anxious
to share with others in the upcoming training session.
From theoretical discussions on Bloom's Taxonomy,
the purpose and plasticity of the SI model (as well
as variations on the theme), and a crash course in
different learning styles to down-to-earth strategies
for improving attendance, training leaders, and actualizing
the goals of any particular program, the presentations
and conversations I was exposed to will undoubtedly
manifest themselves in the form of tangible solutions
to former problems. I was able to interact with leaders
and coordinators of programs both large and small,
old and new. It was from many of the larger, more experienced
programs that I was able to gain theoretical guidance
and insight with which I can more confidently approach
the mission of our program, but it was from conversations
with individuals from smaller, less-experienced programs
that I was able to learn in true, reciprocal, SI fashion.
In sharing what I've already learned with others, I
was able to not only help them, but to also have my
own ideas refined and returned to me anew.
The “collaborative learning” format of the conference
should lend itself rather easily to the implementation
of similar techniques in future sessions, and the diversity
of conference participants has exposed me to an abundance
of ideas for tackling the diversity of learning styles
and situations among the student body of IU Northwest.
I have returned home with an enhanced perspective,
renewed self-confidence, and more clearly-defined goals.
I anticipate a fresh approach to SI leader training
from the perspective of an experienced SI leader to
be one of the many positive outcomes of my attendance
at the 3 rd Regional Conference on Supplemental Instruction.
This conference experience has enhanced my perspective
not only as an individual, but, more importantly, as
a member of the Supplemental Instruction team at IU
Northwest. |
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