The Teaching Academy Summer Institute 2002

Summer Institute 2002 was held at Saint Benedict Center on June 3 through June 6, 2002. At the close of the Institute, participants were asked to complete two evaluation forms: an anonymous form evaluating the schedule and various other aspects of the Institute, and a signed evaluation of what they had accomplished during the Institute. Judged by either set of evaluations, the third Institute was very successful.

Evaluation of the Institute.

A three-page form was developed that included questions about the facility, St. Benedicts Center, and every aspect of the Institute program. A summary of these responses offers some highlights of the TASI evaluations.

Facility. All of the participants felt that having the Institute away from campus is "a good idea"; four said "excellent." Two persons felt that the Institute would have been better had it included overnight stays; others, however, said that such a format would have excluded them. St. Benedicts was given high marks for atmosphere, and most participants rated it as above average or excellent on "Comfort," "Snacks," and "Meals."

Above: The 2002 TASI participants gather for a group photo in
front of St. Benedict Center's Chapel.

Below: The Teaching Academy Summer Institute offers participants
a variety of ways to relax and reflect on their teaching practices.

Overall Evaluation.
The overall evaluation section included five True-False items, shown in the table below:

	True	False
I learned new information.	27	0
I spent time reflecting on my teaching.	27	0
My enthusiasm for teaching increased	22	5
I plan to introduce changes in my teaching strategy/courses.	27	0
I will recommend that a colleague apply to participate in Summer Institute 2003.	25	1

Organization. Twenty-six participants felt that the combination of large group presentations, small group discussions, and individual time was the right degree of organization; one felt this was too much organization, while one felt it was not enough. Thus, the overall organization is quite successful. Twenty-four of 28 felt that eight large group sessions was about right. Twenty-five said that four small group sessions were "about right," and 22 felt that four blocks of individual time were "about right."

Presentations.
There were seven substantive presentations, each 75 to 90 minutes long. Twenty-three to 28 of the participants rated all seven as valuable or very valuable; thus, these presentations were uniformly well-received. Participants rated the presentations on Course development (Jenny Saffran), Integrating writing into a course (Brad Hughes), and Instructional technology (Les Howles) 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 or her teaching. Many 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, workshops). People reported "a new understanding of my goals," "reformatted and rearranged my objectives," "developed an outline and a philosophy of how I want to teach," and "rethought assessment

Above: Les Howles conducts a large group session on Instructional Technology

Below: TASI 2002 Staff: (L to R) Craig Gjerde, Sandra Courter (Co-Director), John DeLamater (Director), Charo D'Etcheverry, Mary Jae Paul, and Tony Jacob.

issues, presentation issues." 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 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 "Just what I wanted. I found great people with similar issues and different perspectives."

The Institute facilitated the work of four pairs of persons who are or will be teaching together. All four pairs reported substantial progress in developing a shared understanding of their projects.

Several said that the intensive retreat setting provided by the Summer Institute was essential to this progress.

Especially satisfying were 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." One participant said that, as a result of participation in the Institute, "I have been re-energized and motivated to work at making my teaching better."

Linda McCarroll takes advantage of some individual time with TASI Director John DeLamater.

Those who are interested in other TASI evaluation results can also read about TASI 2004, 2003, 2001, 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.

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