At the kickoff event of this year's Enriching Scholarship conference, Vice Provost James Hilton awarded the 2015 Provost's Teaching Innovation Prize (TIP) to five outstanding teaching projects here at the University of Michigan. As Hilton explained, TIP "recognizes the creation of engaging and authentic experiences that fully tap the rich resources of U-M’s residential setting."

This year's projects all emphasized that "learning is often about doing." Hilton remarked, "From community and campus engagement to the application of new technology tools, these winning projects challenge students to actively apply what they’re learning to real situations that can be much messier than those described in textbooks. In the process, students learn to collaborate and think critically, often across disciplinary boundaries."

This year's winning projects include:

• "Calculus in the Commons: Bringing Math to Life," by Jill Halpern, Lecturer IV in Mathematics and the Comprehensive Studies Program, LSA
• "Teaching Medical Reasoning with EMG Whiz," by Zachary London, Associate Professor of Neurology, Medical School
• "Generating Multidiscipinary Synergies Across Community Engaged Courses," led by Richard Norton, Associate Professor of Urban Planning, Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning 
• "Teaching Teamwork and Interprofessional Practice in Healthcare," led by Burgunda Sweet, Clinical Professor of Pharmacy
• "Re-Connecting Hopi Seeds: Creating Virtual Dialogues with a Source Community," by Lisa Young, Lecturer IV in Anthropology, LSA

You can find full descriptions of these projects, including PDFs of their posters featured at the awards ceremony, on our Teaching Innovation Prize winners page.