Improving Teaching and Learning

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Imagery for Critical Thinking: A Pedagogical Approach for Engineering and Science Students

Cohort
2022
Fellow(s)

Most science and engineering courses are founded on abstract mathematical and/or analytical theories/concepts. Though the abstract concepts are essential to describe underlying scientific and engineering principles, the teaching pedagogy largely misses out on the utilization of imagery. We expect our students to master the subject we teach, but rarely do we provide them with the necessary tools to synthesize their acquired knowledge. Innovation gets stifled in the maze of abstract theories.

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Enhancing Assessment Practices in Large Physics Courses

Cohort
2022
Fellow(s)

Large introductory physics courses at UT Austin typically rely on multiple-choice exams due to logistical constraints, including high enrollments and limited teaching assistant (TA) support. While recent instructional reforms have focused on student-centered pedagogies, assessment practices have lagged behind, limiting the alignment between how students are taught and how their learning is evaluated.

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COLA Interdisciplinary Program Instructors' Community of Practice

Cohort
2022
Fellow(s)

This project organized a community of practice for instructors in the Liberal Arts Honors program in the College of Liberal Arts. This community of practice held regular meetings during the academic year to discussion teaching practices, hear from guest speakers, and to share ideas on topics that relate to program goals, student engagement and wellness, pedagogy, and promoting effective student learning.

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Erica "EG" Gionfriddo

Current Fellow
Theatre and Dance
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College of Fine Arts
Initiative Focus
Curriculum (Re)design
Faculty Communication
Improving Teaching and Learning

Erica Gionfriddo is a dance artist, educator and somatic researcher who believes in the intelligent body each of us occupies. They are co-founder of ARCOS Dance (arcosdance.com), whose ongoing inquiry probes the intersection of technology and humanity through rigorous interdisciplinary experimentation. ARCOS’ recent work has focused on “hacking” consumer technologies, or repurposing them outside of their intended uses, into performance and developing an embodied cyborgian movement language.

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Andrew Dell'Antonio

Current Fellow
Music
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College of Fine Arts
Initiative Focus
Curriculum (Re)design
Faculty Communication
Improving Teaching and Learning

Andrew Dell’Antonio (he/him/his) specializes in musical repertories of early modern Europe, with a focus on seventeenth-century Italy. His research interests include musical historiography, reception history, and disability studies.

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Angela Beasley

Current Fellow
Computer Science
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College of Natural Sciences
Initiative Focus
Improving Teaching and Learning

Angie Beasley is an Associate Professor of Instruction in the Computer Science department at UT, where she teaches Data Mining. Prior to teaching, Angie worked for 15 years as a software engineer on projects for the US Navy, including submarine sonar systems, periscope systems, unmanned underwater vehicles, radar systems, and radio and satellite communication systems. Angie received her MS in Computer Science with a concentration in Machine Learning from The George Washington University and her BS in Computer Science from The University of Texas at Austin.

 

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Krishna Kumar

Current Fellow
Civil, Architectural, and Environmental Engineering
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Cockrell School of Engineering
Initiative Focus
Experiential Learning
Improving Teaching and Learning

Krishna Kumar is an Associate Professor in the Civil, Architecture, and Environmental Engineering at the University of Texas at Austin. Krishna’s work involves developing exascale micro and macro-scale numerical methods for modeling natural hazards. Krishna also develops Scientific Machine Learning algorithms: Graph Network Simulators and Differentiable programming to accelerate numerical methods and solve optimization, design, and inverse problems.

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Julia Campbell

Current Fellow
Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences
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Moody College of Communication
Initiative Focus
Graduate Student Education
Improving Teaching and Learning
Student Success

Dr. Julia Campbell is a clinical audiologist and auditory neuroscientist who specializes in cortical plasticity in auditory disorders such as hearing loss and tinnitus. She serves as the Audiology Graduate Program Director and Audiology Discipline and Training Coordinator for the ACT LEND program. She currently instructs audiology graduate students in clinical training, pediatric audiology, and medical audiology.
 

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Samy Ayoub

Current Fellow
Middle Eastern Studies
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College of Liberal Arts
Initiative Focus
Experiential Learning
Improving Teaching and Learning
Headshot of Carlos Torres-Verdin.

Carlos Torres-Verdín

Current Fellow
Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering
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Cockrell School of Engineering
Initiative Focus
Assessment
Improving Teaching and Learning

Carlos Torres-Verdín received a M.Sc. degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin, and a Ph.D. degree in Engineering Geoscience from the University of California at Berkeley in 1991. During 1991-1997, he held the position of Research Scientist with Schlumberger-Doll Research. From 1997-1999, he was Reservoir Specialist and Technology Champion with YPF (Buenos Aires, Argentina).

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