Invitation
Update on QEP's FACT Institute (August 10th)
Update on the QEP's 4th Annual Faculty Approaches to Critical Thinking (FACT) Institute, which will be held at the JAC on August 10th
Dear Colleagues:
Great news! We will be able to hold the QEP's 4thAnnual FACT Institute in person this year. As I mentioned in previous messages, the event will be held on Wednesday, August 10th, from 9:00-3:00. We have reserved space in the Main Event Room of the Jackson Avenue Center. More information about the event, including the RSVP link and the schedule, is below.
The FACT Institute is an important part of the University of Mississippi’s ThinkForward Quality Enhancement Plan. This workshop is the fourth 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.
The theme for the 2022 FACT Institute is "Using Inclusive Teaching Practices to Improve Critical Thinking in the Classroom." Centering our work on this topic allows us to explore productive intersections between our university's investment in enhancing students' critical thinking skills and our ongoing efforts to develop more inclusive pedagogies and learning environments.
This year's FACT Institute will feature a keynote and workshop from Dr. Chavella Pittman, Professor of Sociology at Dominican University and a highly regarded expert on inclusive teaching practices, as well as a panel of UM faculty who will discuss the redesign projects they completed using funding from QEP grants.
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 2023. 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 2021-22 academic year, 15 colleagues from 8 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 2022 FACT Institute here:https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSepw4fucT4z-k9F1F5qDRy7mba3TUC3DyKCglKvxM1nZCcsSw/viewform
Schedule for the FACT Institute
8:30-9:30 Breakfast and registration
9:30-10:00 Updates on the progress of the QEP
10:00-11:30 Panel of faculty discussing their course redesigns that were funded by the QEP
11:30-11:45 Break
11:45-1:00 Lunch and Keynote address from Dr. Chavella Pittman, "Modeling Critical Thinking for Students via Inclusive Teaching"
1:00-1:15 Break
1:15-2:30 Workshop by Dr. Chavella Pittman on enhancing critical thinking through inclusive teaching practices
2:30-3:00 Applying for QEP funding
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to send them to Joah Eyler at jreyler@olemiss.edu. Thanks very much!