Many congratulations to our 2023 awardees for the first round of SoTL Linkage Grants!
Breaking Barriers in Health Professions – Fostering Accessible and Inclusive Health Professions Higher Education
Investigators: Tal Jarus (PI), S. Zaman, S. Barnes, L. Hershler, L. Stephens, E. Katzman, S. Kamenetsky, B. Beagan, I. Epstein, A. Yee, C. Krekoski, M. Pearson, G. Parhar, & T. Edelist
Health and human service (HHS) professions educational programs have low representation of students living with disabilities. Barriers include stigma, discriminatory program design, lack of support, and oppressive interactions. Evidence suggests educators lack understanding of those barriers. Through this SoLT Linkage grant we will disseminate knowledge from a few projects with students and educators across 10 HHS professions, focusing on how to make HHS education more accessible, and how to best support educators and students.
A Multidisciplinary Examination of LLM-Based Tutoring Chatbots’ Effectiveness and Influence
Investigators: Dongwook Yoon (PI), J. Zhu, F. Götz, V. Shwartz, & S. Khan
This research project will explore and enhance the role of AI in higher education. The team is developing smart chatbots for personalized tutoring, while tackling challenges such as misinformation and overreliance. By studying impacts on learning outcomes and teacher-student interactions, they strive to create ethical, effective AI tools for a more interactive, inclusive educational future.
Alternative Grading in Higher Education
Investigators: Celeste Leander (PI), J. Beasley-Murray, J. Bullard, J. Graves, M. Graves, S. Jhangiani, F. Moosvi, D. Oliver, P. Pickell, & G. Toti
The purpose of this project is to synthesise the experiences and impacts of Alternative Grading systems in a variety of courses spanning multiple departments, disciplines, and contexts. Our primary goal is to report on implementation details and student perspectives, though an important stretch goal is to understand how these systems impact learning. If your course has implemented some form of Alternative Grading, We’d love to hear from you!
Mixed-methods Investigation of Student Experiences and Behaviors during Group Work in Science Courses
Investigators: Anka Lekhi (PI), M. Allen, G. Rieger, O. Ola, M. Coles, & R. Holmes
This project is aimed at investigating the experiences of students who may face barriers to participate in group work via a mixed methods investigation into student experiences of various formats of group work in Science courses. Observations of group work activities will be conducted as well as, one-on-one pre/post interviews to understand student behaviors, reflections, and group interactions. Ultimately, we hope to gain insights on how to make the practice of group work more inclusive for vulnerable students.