Twenty-three projects expected to enhance undergraduate education at Penn State through innovative methods have received the support of the Fund for Excellence in Learning and Teaching (FELT) administered by the Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching. The average support for these FELT projects is $4,285, but the actual funding ranges from $1,020 to $10,000 for individual projects.
Selected from a field of 80 program proposals submitted this past year by faculty from across the University in a wide range of disciplines, these 23 teaching and learning projects incorporate a combination of methods to increase educational objectives. A mix of good practices, such as student-faculty contact, communicating high expectations, active learning, collaboration across disciplines and the use of information technology, were submitted during the proposal process.
In addition to the 23 proposals funded, 12 proposals were forwarded to the Center for Academic Computing for support through the Faculty Technology Initiative, which is administered by Education Technology Services. The ETS Advisory Board will recommend the funding for these proposals. Diane Enerson, director of the Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching, said a list of abstracts from funded proposals should be available early this summer to further discussion and planning for enhancing undergraduate learning.
A complete list of supported proposals may be obtained from the Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching, 401 Grange Building, phone (814) 863-2599; or they can be viewed on the Web at http://www.psu.edu/celt.