Invitation

The FACT Institute is an important part of the University of Mississippi’s ThinkForward Quality Enhancement Plan. This workshop is the third in an annual series of summer workshops dedicated to exploring the role of critical thinking in higher education, our university, and our classrooms. The FACT Institute plays a critical role in strengthening our approaches to teaching for critical thinking.

During the event opportunities for upcoming grants for enhancing critical thinking pedagogy will be introduced. In particular, attendees of the FACT Institute will be eligible to submit a proposal for a FACT grant, which provides $4000 for individuals (more for departmental teams) to redesign a lower-division course or courses they will be teaching in Spring 2022. Redesigns should include, but are not limited to, course outcomes, assignments, and teaching methods, with an eye toward revising these elements to enhance critical thinking. Participants must attend the FACT Institute in order to be eligible for this opportunity.

During the 2020-21 academic year, 24 colleagues from 10 different departments across the university received FACT grants, either as individuals or part of departmental teams, to redesign courses to enhance critical thinking.

RSVP for the 2021 FACT Institute here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSebqsVC0c35oFtq3xDq_3RApm73dtaXuOPbcS7UAHZer-f36Q/viewform     

Schedule:

10:00 Overview of the QEP

• Elements of the Program, including Grant Programs
• Assessment Components
• Where We Are Now

10:30 Keynote Address by Dr. Sarah Birrell Ivory (faculty at the University of Edinburgh and author of Becoming a Critical Thinker): "Becoming a Critical Thinker: An Educator's Role in a Student's Transition" 

11:45 Break

12:00 Panel of Previous QEP Grant Awardees with Q&A

1:30 Discussion of Grant Programs and Brainstorming Session for Proposal Development

2:15 Wrap Up