Faculty in science, technology, engineering and mathematics departments are invited to sign up for an ongoing National Science Foundation-funded professional development workshop series offered in the spring. The workshops, which have been attended by 46 faculty from eight departments across campus, introduce participants to instructional practices proven to enhance student learning in various class sizes and levels.

Two sets of workshops on two different but complementary instructional practices will be offered. The goal of these practices is to help faculty develop an active learning environment for students in their classrooms, increasing student engagement and comprehension without having to completely revamp existing lectures notes. Although these practices originated in physics, their effectiveness has been demonstrated throughout the STEM disciplines, and for various class sizes and levels (from introductory to graduate level). More details about each practice is available at http://go.unl.edu/s27c.

Faculty can participate in one or both workshops. Each workshop is offered every other week over lunch (a meal will be provided). In total, the workshop will consist of eight one-hour meetings. Faculty will receive a book and $200 as compensation along with the lunches.

After the first workshop series, 90 percent of participants planned on implementing what they learned, while 94 percent would recommend the series to colleagues.

Registration, which closes Oct. 11, is available at http://go.unl.edu/oge5.

For more information, contact Marilyn Stains at mstains2@unl.edu.