HILT Announces Fall 2015 Spark Grants
2015 Spark Grant (Fall)
Bottom-up pedagogy
Awardees: Jon Hanson and Jacob Lipton (HLS)
Summary: Awardees will develop, expand, and improve a new approach to legal education (and higher education generally) that is more problem-oriented, team-driven, and experiential than are traditional and conventional pedagogical methods. Read more about Bottom-up pedagogy.
Bridging education research and practice using online learning modules
Awardee: Marshall Thomas (HMS), Selen Turkay (CADM-VPAL), and Michael Parker (HMS)
Summary: Awardees will explore the best-performing sequences of instructional materials in both controlled studies and in the context of real online courses. Read more about Bridging education research and practice using online learning modules.
Embodied learning investigation
Awardee: Irwin Shapiro and Anna Yermakova (FAS)
Summary: Awardees will investigate whether embodied class exercises, relevant to the material being taught, yield greater understanding and retention of this material compared to teaching that relies solely on demonstrations. Read more about Embodied learning investigation.
Understanding how hackathon methodology drive participatory design pedagogy
Awardees: Marcus Mello and Lindsay Woodson (GSD)
Summary: Awardees will explore the “hackathon” as a participatory learning and engagement strategy to bring together members of the Harvard community and beyond. Read more about Understanding how hackathon methodology drive participatory design pedagogy.
Analyzing long-term retention of information in science gateway course
Awardees: Susanne Jakob and William Anderson (FAS)
Summary: Awardees will administer a survey to Harvard College graduates to analyze the long-term retention of the concepts and abilities taught in a gateway science course. Read more about Analyzing long-term retention of information in science gateway course.
Elective in primary care medicine and teaching
Awardees: Kristen Goodell (HMS), Barbara Ogur (HMS-CHA), Sara Fazio (HMS-BIDMC), Barbara Gottlieb (HSPH/HMS-BWH), Valeria Pazo (HMS-BWH), Colleen Farrell (HMS), and Lydia Flier (HMS)
Summary: Awardees will pilot an advanced elective in primary care medicine and teaching, where senior medical students tutor junior medical students in clinical skills, with assessment of its benefits to both students enrolled in the elective and the junior students they tutor. Read more about Elective in primary care medicine and teaching.
Leveraging teaching fellow potential and scaling-up high-intensity experiential learning
Awardees: Erin Baumann, Carolyn Wood, and Allison Pingree (HKS)
Summary: Awardees will conduct and analyze the data of faculty interviews to surface best practices in teaching team management, with particular attention to the role of teaching fellows in the development of high-intensity experiential learning environments. Read more about Leveraging teaching fellow potential and scaling-up high-intensity experiential learning.