The Teaching Academy's 2001 Summer Institute, held June 4-7 at St. Benedict Center, was both exciting and productive. Our 26 participants spent their four-day retreat taking advantage of the many opportunities to reflect upon their teaching goals, discuss course design and teaching/learning issues with colleagues, and develop classroom and curriculum strategies to design new courses or re-design existing courses.

Participants attended eight large-group presentations conducted by university faculty and academic staff. They spent an equal amount of time relating presentation topics to their own courses in small group discussion sessions. Individual time was also offered to participants to reflect upon their teaching and work on their course projects.

At the close of the Institute, participants were asked to complete two evaluation forms: an anonymous form evaluating various aspects of the Institute, and a signed evaluation of what they had accomplished during the Institute. Judged by either set of evaluations, the second Institute was very successful.

Facility. All but one of the participants felt that having the Institute away from campus was "a good idea." Three participants felt that the Institute would have been better had it included overnight stays; others, however, said that such a format would exclude people with family commitments. The St. Benedict Center was given high marks for atmosphere, and most participants rated it as above average or excellent on "Comfort," "Coffee and Snacks," and "Meals."

Organization. Fifteen participants felt that the combination of large group presentations, small group discussions, and individual time was the right degree of organization; three felt this was too much organization, while three others felt it was not enough. Twenty of the 24 felt that eight large group sessions was about right. A majority felt that five small group sessions were "too many," and that three blocks of individual time were "not enough."

Presentations. There were seven substantive presentations, each 75 or 90 minutes long. Eighteen to 23 of the participants rated four of the seven as valuable or very valuable. Participants rated the presentations on Integrating writing into a course (Brad Hughes), Course development (Jenny Saffran), and Use of class time (John DeLamater) as particularly valuable. Some participants commented that they would have liked small group activities interspersed with some of the presentations.

Evaluation of Individual Accomplishment. Every participant reported that participating in the four-day Institute will favorably impact on his/her teaching. Most participants reported that they reflected on and developed or revised the objectives they are pursuing in one or more of their educational activities (lectures, discussions, laboratory courses). People reported "clarifying my goals," "improving the design of my course," "developing a better sense of what I can accomplish," and "reconceptualizing the role of projects." Many also said that they identified and developed various strategies they could use in working toward their objectives. Participants reported developing specific laboratory, writing, and group projects/assignments they will use in their course. Several participants drafted all or part of a syllabus, in some cases with direct input from another group member or one of the facilitators.

All of the participants commented on how much they learned from the presentations, small group discussions with colleagues and facilitators, conversation, and the library of books and handouts that the Teaching Academy provided. Several commented on the value of meeting in a retreat-setting with colleagues. One person said "Seeing and talking with inspiring teachers in different fields was very valuable."

The Institute facilitated an effort by five faculty to develop a curriculum in agro-ecology. The group made "fantastic progress" in developing a shared understanding of their project. The members of the group agreed that the intensive retreat setting provided by the Summer Institute was essential to this progress.

TASI participants Patricia Flatley Brennan and John Norman look on as Jenny Saffran fields a question during her large group session.

The Institute also facilitated work on one interdisciplinary course, History of Science/ILS 202. Four instructional staff members involved in teaching the course focussed on creating a more unified experience across sections of the course. This team discussed objectives, themes, content, and assignments during the four-day Institute, and made substantial progress.

Especially satisfying are the comments of several participants who felt that the Institute affirmed their personal commitment to teaching and learning, and gave them a sense that their past efforts had been "on track." Two participants said that participation in the Institute gave them renewed confidence in themselves and their teaching activities.

Those who are interested in other TASI evaluation results can also read about TASI 2004, 2003, 2002 or 2000. Site visitors may also access responses to our December 2001 follow-up questionnaireof both 2000 and 2001 TASI alumni in html or pdf.