My Role as Primary Investigator

Explain what you will do during this experience. If you have a Co-PI, introduce/explain that role as well. *If you have a Co-PI, you can share these Google tabs--no need to create a duplicate.

Later, you can return to this area to comment on obstacles, opportunities, and outcomes--then link to your December Progress report and Final Report.

Reflection on the experience

Explain what you learned/valued during this experience.

Several aspects of this experience were valuable and educational for me, as well as the students. 

As an instructor, this grant experience really pushed me to re-think the outputs, outcomes, and assignment format  for this course. In many ways, Art History Survey courses are taught in a standard way that has changed very little in the last century. This is especially true of the "museum" or "analysis" assignment. Making use of the ePortfolio really helped me to refigure the assignment in a way that provided for clear, manageable parts that included visual components designed for clarity of instruction. 

I learned a lot about the ways I conceived of the assignment's utility, both for the course material, as well as extended applications of it in life and work situations. Pedagogically, it was helpful to think through the assignment as I was planing it, using a bit of "design think" to establish areas where the students might have difficulty in content and mechanics.

The students also learned a fair bit, especially about themselves. Anecdotally, many of the students were rather indifferent to the training session provided. Yet, a significant portion of the class had extraordinary difficulty following the basic instructions (provided verbally, textually, and visually) for part 1 of the assignment. This proved to be helpful, as I could help guide them toward success early in the semester. In contrast to a singular assignment, this gave them ample opportunity to turn their early failures into success. Above all, the use of ePortfolios seemed to give them an opportunity to creatively approach the assignment within the general boundsaries of requirements. Many were successful in this sense and their output make it clear that they both enjoyed and developed their understanding of art historical analysis as the semester proceeded. 

One thing I will certainly take away is a reminder of the changing nature and method of academic outputs students are accustomed to and are consistently forced to adopt. It is helpful as an instructor to go through that process as well. 

Certificate of Completion

Dissemination

Grant recipients have been asked to...

1. Present at a Faculty Learning Community (FLC) or Community of Practice (COP) Zoom for the Grant

2. Share aspects of their work with peers [department chairs, program cohorts/faculty, department faculty meeting]

3. Response to a Call for Proposals (CFP) or Consider presenting or publishing locally, nationally, or internationally [optional]

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