Sloan Teaching Excellence Lecture:  Dr. Susannah Feldman, Award Recipient 2002. 
        Sept. 24, 3:30 pm, Smith Hall

     ABOUT  IACT - OUR GOALS AND SERVICES


MISSION

 Over the last thirty years the fields of education, psychology, and the neurosciences have produced research informing us about how learning occurs.   IACT's operating premise is that a restructuring of current educational paradigms through the application of such knowledge to classroom practice will result in measurable gains in student learning.  Our mission is to support faculty committed to change, both through making research in the science of learning accessible and supporting its classroom implementation and assessment.





STRUCTURE

Founded in 2001, the Institute is an initiative of the Office of Academic Affairs of Towson University, which is providing funding for three years.  During this period we will begin requesting economic support from both government agencies and the private sector.  IACT operates via the following administrative entities:

TU Faculty Directors:  A Director and two Associate Directors, appointed by the Office of Academic Affairs;
Advisory Board: (1) An external invited Board, consisting of  researchers in neuroscience and education from other institutions; and (2) an internal Steering Committee of TU faculty, responsible for day-to-day operations.
Affiliate Faculty: Member of the TU academic community with interest and/or expertise in disciplines central to developing and testing theories of learning;
Teaching/Learning Scholars: Faculty supported by IACT small-grants, who are exploring strategies that promote student learning.
Community Representatives:  Individuals with engaged in the advancement of teaching and learning. 

SERVICES
Teaching Enhancement:  IACT offers workshops targeted to specific faculty requests for strategies which facilitate teaching/learning, as well as private, confidential consultations with Affiliate Faculty.
Public Presentations:  IACT organizes and annual Symposium featuring the research of both IACT members and national contributors to learning-related disciplines.  IACT Affiliate Faculty are available for presentations on topics germane to teaching/learning theory.
Library: IACT is in the process of building and cataloging a library on the nature of learning and the scholarship of teaching and learning.  The collection, consisting of CDs and videos, as well as written materials, is housed in the IACT office, Administration 210. Contact the IACT office to browse and check out items.
Grants: IACT mini-grants are available for Towson faculty to support Teaching/Learning scholars' initiatives. To apply for a grant, download an application from the Grants page,  or contact the IACT office for a grant application form.  Special projects that are not covered directly by Faculty Development Grants should be referred to the attention of the IACT director. 
Community: One of IACT's goals is to provide a think tank for the application of neuroscience research to teaching by promoting academic-private sector partnerships in the application of cognitive research to enhance learning.  To propose a private sector project, please send a letter of intent describing the project to the IACT director.