Funded Projects
| Project Title | Overview of the Project |
|---|---|
| Digital Re-skilling for Design & Production Christianne Myers Music, Theatre & Dance $500.00 |
As I have continued to work as a professional costume designer, I have observed how quickly digital design practices have become the norm in all areas of theatre design. Costume renderings are now easily developed, shared, refined, and completed digitally. I propose to purchase an iPad Pro and Apple Pencil and during this current school year “take” my own Design Rendering course concurrently with this next cohort. The difference is that I will tackle each assignment digitally, outside of the classroom, and learn what is possible and how future iterations of the syllabus will need to change as more technology is integrated. The tools and technologies available now offer a high degree of detail, are artistically gratifying to use, and are more affordable. I am impressed with the flexible and comprehensive tool selection, as well as the ability to export in a variety of file formats. My first task would be to start sketching, as I did more than 35 years ago when I began people watching and drawing from life. Just as I teach, I will start in black and white, working linearly before advancing to shading, then full color. I plan to maintain a blog, tracking my progress as I discover what is possible in this medium. |
| Exhibition Design field trip to Washington, DC Hannah Smotrich Art & Design Katie Rubin Art & Design $500.00 |
ARTDES 400.003, Exhibition Design, is a new, collaborative, 2D+3D interdisciplinary design studio course. Co-taught by Katie Rubin and Hannah Smotrich and partnering with Maria Cotera, students will create a flexible, traveling exhibit on the work and life experiences of Chicana activist and photographer Nancy de los Santos. The exhibit will be shown first at the Reuther Library at Wayne State. As a key component of the students’ research phase for the project, we will bring them to Washington, DC in mid-September. There, instead of hearing lectures or reading books, students will have the opportunity to be exposed first-hand to a broad range of approaches to exhibition design in a short period of time (and geographic space). Since both instructors have prior design experience and contacts in DC, students will also have the chance to meet and talk with exhibition designers at the Smithsonian and design firms, adding “behind-the-scenes” insight. Before, during and after these experiences, students will be learning how to observe, document and share what they gather from site visits, analysis, conversations and reflection. This material and the inquiry it engenders will form the foundation for all that follows in this studio. Many of our students have not had the opportunity to mine the riches of the Smithsonian museums or had the chance to meet designers in those contexts. |
| Tarot Symbolism, Divination, and Tarot Card reading $500.00 |
Our class, Ancient Magic and Witchcraft, covers the history of Magic in the West but focuses on the Greco-Roman legacy of magic. There are 150 students in the class. One component of the course focuses on Renaissance magic and the use of symbolism taken from Greco-Roman antiquity. We are studying the history of Tarot and the students are making their own tarot deck, based on themes relevant to 21st century students but rooted in Renaissance magic. For example, we thought of creating the "Black Lives Matter" Tarot or the "Climate Change" Tarot. After drawing, designing and printing the decks, students will learn how to do Tarot divination. We will spend a class session on the Diag (Dec. 1) offering readings to anyone and also teaching them about Tarot and about the relevance of the Tarot themes. For this purpose, we need funds to print the decks at printyourowncards.com. The cost is about $12 for each deck and we are trying to bring the costs down for the students. The money will go to printing the decks that we design and create. |
| Developing a workplace writing sample repository for teaching epidemiology students Ella August Public Health $500.00 |
The purpose of this study is to collect and describe the types of writing that professionals with epidemiology degrees use in their workplace. The types of writing that are enacted in a discipline can be a window into the activities, roles, values and context of that discipline. For example, in the field of law, a written legal judicial opinion offers information about the content-- the legal decision made-- but it also provides insight into the role of a judge in wielding this opinion, and the way in which the opinion can be used. A judicial opinion allows us to better understand the legal system’s values about fairness, and provides a sense of how legal professionals communicate, as well as their notion of what counts as legitimate evidence for a particular argument. It also gives us insight into broader systems and processes in that discipline, as well as the context of the writing of and implementing this opinion. Types of disciplinary writing in medicine, law, business, the life sciences, economics, physics, mathematics, computer science, engineering and many other disciplines have been described and analyzed for their connection to a given disciplinary workplace but also to allow their use pedagogically in helping students to gain a deeper understanding of their field of study. continued in project objectives... |
| Using Lego Mindstorms EV3 in ENG 100 Amy Hortop Engineering - Integrative Systems & Design $445.00 |
Many students enter the CoE with previous engineering experience from Project Lead the Way courses or FIRST Robotics experience in high school. In my ENG 100 section of almost 60 students, about a third of those enrolled have had these experiences. I aim to find a way to keep these students engaged and challenged during our design-build-test class project, while not discouraging those with less experience or exposure to engineering. To help blend teams with students having a lot of experience and those very curious, but with minimal engineering experience, I would like to try having a team work with a Lego Mindstorms EV3 kit as part of their design-build-test experience this semester. Projects around the Lego platform might appeal to a mix of engineering disciplines. Those considering Mechanical Engineering may enjoy building physical prototypes quickly, while the large number of students looking to pursue programs in Computer Science or Electrical Engineering could have a chance to easily code and quickly see results. Kits, such as the Lego Mindstorms EV3 afford an opportunity to build first with instructions, where the entire team is at the same level and there is little to no risk of “failure”. continued in Project Objectives |
| Online Resources for Piano Literature Matthew Bengtson Music, Theatre & Dance $500.00 |
I plan to create and curate an online collection of educational materials on piano literature. Video presentations, interviews and performances will be taken at the Duderstadt Digital Media Center (DMC) and hosted on the UM SMTD webspace. They will offer a modern, reliable source of information on the piano repertoire, and will be easily accessible and flexible in their use, in accordance with modern interactive learning styles. By focusing on the special interests of our Piano faculty and in collaborating with the Dance department, these presentations will highlight the integration of academic and performance aspects of art we strive to achieve here at Michigan. These materials will increase the School's international reputation as a locus for research on the piano and its culture. The first set of presentations, on Bartok, Szymanowski, and Chopin's mazurkas, will highlight relationships between art music, folk music, and dance. Our ongoing project on the mazurka genre will be the first of its kind, and will become an important resource for an important 19th century genre that is widely known but little understood. These materials will be of interest to all pianists and pedagogues, and will be highly useful for private piano instruction, and for piano literature, musicology, dance, and Slavic studies courses, among others. |
| Participation in a professional conference on Latin pedagogy Donka Markus LSA $450.00 |
Travel to the 2017 annual convention of the American Classical League (ACL) in Grand Rapids, Michigan June 28-July 1. I will give a paper at a panel that I have organized and preside over two other panels. Keeping abreast of the most recent developments in Latin pedagogy is essential for me, so that my students can benefit from the best practices that exist. Thus, my participation in this professional conference directly impacts every aspect of my teaching and of my students’ learning. |
| Community Based Learning Project on Past and Present Social Movements $500.00 |
I seek funding to support honoraria for social movement activists in southeast Michigan and beyond for my fall 2017 course entitled AAS 262/HST 272: “Modern Civil Rights Era.” This course probes the question: how have activists working for racial justice organized their efforts in the past and present? Through coursework and collaboration with activists from the local area and beyond, students to deepen their understanding of racial justice social movements from World War II towards the present day. In this course, students chart the organizations that have worked for racial equality since World War II and the diverse strategies they employed for change, from litigation and legislation to mass protest, economic self-help and racial separatism. Working in small groups, they will be paired with an activist currently working for racial justice. Over a series of two (1- 1.5 hour) conversational interviews with the activist, students will learn about the challenges and possibilities of activism work, the range of strategies adopted by activists today, and the personal, professional and political journeys that bring activists to their work. Students will then work to produce an end product (issue portfolio, a teach-in, curriculum-design project, or alternative depending on needs of activist) that will support the work of the activist partner. This is an adaptation of an existing successful course (same title). I have redesigned this course to take a community-based learning approach that values community partners as contributors and collaborators, and prioritizes student learning about the past and present through practical engagement with contemporary political issues, movements, and activists. Students are understood as active learners, who bring their own activist experiences and interests to bear on the course material. Through a series of exercises and a final project, students are invited to draw on oral historical accounts, and documentary, archival materials to think about contemporary social movements and issues. The objectives for this course are: 1) Expand students’ knowledge of the history of racial justice movements in the US from World War II towards present times, 2) Draw connections between earlier historical moments and contemporary movements to promote racial equality, 3) Facilitate collaboration and dialogue between students and activists about social movements and strategies for change, 4) Develop and produce an end product (issue portfolio, teach-in, etc) that benefits activist partners and students. This course is supported by the Center for Engaged Academic Learning (CEAL) and the Department of History. |
| Logistics Support for Astro 461, "Ground-Based Observatories" Sally Oey LSA $200.00 |
Astronomy 461, “Ground-Based Observatories” is an immersion course for Astronomy majors and minors that takes place in residence at Kitt Peak National Observatory (KPNO), Arizona for 4 weeks during the Spring term. It is a 3-credit course that fulfils the elective requirement for majors in both Astronomy and Astrophysics, and Interdisciplinary Astronomy, as well as both corresponding minors. Students carry out science projects with the UM telescopes and see first-hand a variety of scientific instruments and facilities. We also consider the sociopolitical landscape and meet with stakeholders of public research facilities. |
| Assessment of faculty inter-rater agreement for grading in the pre-clinical restorative dentistry simulation course- A pilot study Elizabeth Van Tubergen Dentistry Elisabeta Karl Dentistry Kyriaki Marti Dentistry $497.00 |
Faculty calibration in a dental pre-clinical simulation laboratory is a challenge in academic dentistry and is the number one concern for the first year dental student at the University of Michigan School of Dentistry. Our goal is to pilot a study to evaluate inter-rater agreement on class 3 preparations and restorations in the first year clinical foundations course. In order to facilitate this pilot study, we are requesting funds for Drs. Van Tubergen, Karl and Marti to attend an online Faculty Training entitled: "Faculty Calibration: The Next Step”. The course is sponsored by the American Academy for Leadership. This training will allow us to learn the important aspects of planning and implementing a calibration study in our preclinical dental course. Funds will also be used to develop a small pilot study on calibration after the training course. The study will allow us to determine if there are gaps in faculty members inter-rater agreement on grading of students preparations and restorations in the pre-clinical simulation laboratory in order to improve student learning. |
| Video assisted instruction and demonstration of labial salivary gland biopsy Robert Ike Medical School $500.00 |
Labial salivary gland biopsy is a minimally invasive procedure performed at the bedside or clinic to obtain tissue that might support one of several diagnoses, mainly Sjogren's syndrome. Teaching trainees and other interested doctors to do the procedure, and showing students and patients what is involved with the procedure would be enhanced by having a video record of a representative procedure to show such individuals. |
| Data Collection at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History $500.00 |
In order to provide students with the opportunity to collect, analyze and publish robust comparative data sets, students will participate in a “field trip” over spring break (Feb. 27-March 3, 2017) to the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, where they will collect osteometric data from a large sample (1200 individuals) of primate skeletons. Using linear measurements taken with digital calipers, students will be able to collect data at sufficiently large sample sizes to test functional hypotheses that attempt to explain why humans, apes and monkeys evolved distinctive locomotor and dietary adaptations. Through this field trip, students will have the opportunity to 1) work together to generate and analyze primary data and 2) contribute to a collaborative manuscript. |
| Teaching Institute to improve the teaching of Human Development $500.00 |
The proposal is to improve the instructional approach for the Human Development (Psych 250) course that I teach on a yearly basis. This is a large course, enrolling 300 students that include weekly lectures (3 hours) and discussion sections (1 hour) led by four graduate student assistants. In this proposal, I ask for funds to attend a one-day Teaching Institute for instructors in Human Development to be held on April 5, 2017. The Teaching institute is offered bi-annually by the Society for Research in Child Development (SRCD) and is specifically geared to support the teaching in the field of child development, a core component of the Human Development Psych 250 course. The direct outcome of my attending the learning workshop will be improved pedagogical approach for my teaching of the science of child development as pertaining specifically to the Human Development Psych 250 course as well as all aspects of my formal and informal teaching in the field of child development. |
| String Pedagogy at Michigan Music Pre-Conference Michael Hopkins Music, Theatre & Dance $500.00 |
The Michigan Music Conference is an annual event that provides relevant professional development and vibrant musical experiences that support music education for educators and their students. The conference features sessions for in-service and pre-service teachers and professional development clinics. The 2015 attendance included approximately 9,000 teachers, administrators, students, speakers, and guests. I am applying for this grant to help support students from the Department of Music Education to attend an all-day pre-conference session. The session is a 6-hour introduction to the Suzuki Method and Philosophy entitled “Every Child Can! (ECC)” ECC is an introduction to Dr. Suzuki’s philosophy and its application to Suzuki education. The course provides an inspiring, in-depth look at the Suzuki approach to teaching and learning. In addition to exploring the elements of the Suzuki approach and its far-reaching goals, it includes an introduction to learning styles, history of the development of Suzuki education, the role of parents, the importance of Suzuki pedagogical training, and an overview of the SAA’s role in supporting teachers and parents. A fast-paced, engaging and inspiring program, ECC includes video materials and SAA-developed courseware, and provides each participant with useful reference materials (manuals) for later study. For teachers, ECC serves as the first course in the Suzuki Association of the Americas’ Teacher Development Program. |
| New Leaders in African-Centered Social Work (NLACSW) Support and Consultation Mechanism Leslie Hollingsworth Social Work Phylicia Allen Social Work $500.00 |
Aiming to enhance the preparation of graduate social work students for culturally-specific practice in African American communities, the New Leaders in African-Centered Social Work (NLACSW) scholars program began in Fall 2015. The program was opened to any incoming student concentrating in interpersonal, community organization, management of human services, or social policy and evaluation practice who was willing to commit to an arrangement of African-centered courses (five credit hours) as part of their curricular plan, and to complete their field instruction placement in an organization serving a majority African American client population. Participants represent advanced standing, 16-month, and 20-month enrollment arrangements. Recognizing that the students are apt to encounter experiences that may be outside of the classroom structure, and in an effort to strengthen their potential for success, the Support and Consultation Mechanism was instituted. This mechanism will provide knowledge-based practical and social support to participating students. Bi-weekly meetings, held over the lunch hour, will alternate between student-led peer consultation and presentations and discussions by invited expert community practitioners and scholars. Small honoraria will provide minimal compensation for the preparation and participation time of presenters. Refreshments will serve both as a source of community-building and as incentive for students who attend. |
| Guest Artist Series for Music of Africa Class Kwasi Ampene LSA $500.00 |
In order to enhance course content and to add experiential learning modules and activities, I designed the Guest Lecture and Artist Series this fall for my to my lecture class, AAS366 Music of Africa. As performers and cultural bearers, our guests will enrich my class with personal insights and experience of the rich and diverse musical expressions in Africa. The artists will be visiting in September 15/17, November 3, and November12. They are Prof. Mark Stone (multi-percussionist), composer, educator), Bernard Woma (virtuoso xylophonist, founder of the Dagara Music Center in Ghana, and Artistic Director of Saakumu Dance Troup), and Alhaji Pap Susso (Jali, virtuoso Kora player, storyteller and director of Koriya Musa Center for Research in Oral Tradition). |
| Use of Exhibit Museum in teaching EARTH 103, EARTH 125 $500.00 |
In the near future (current schedule: summer-2017), the Exhibit Museum of Natural History will be moving from its current location in Ruthven to the new Biological Sciences Building (BSB; under construction). The Exhibit Museum will be redesigned and many of the items that are currently on display will not be part of the new exhibits. Although the process of designing the new Exhibit Museum is ongoing, these upcoming events will have a significant impact on my teaching of two courses, EARTH 103 (“Dinosaurs and other failures”; enrollments >300) and EARTH 125 (“Extinction and Evolution; enrollments >100). For both courses, I have developed a set of exercises that rely heavily on elements (specimen, dioramas…) that are currently on display in the Exhibit Museum. In EARTH 103, students are expected to complete a self-guided tour focusing on particular exhibits and answer questions related to the latter. This is an important and popular exercise and I fully intend for it to be part of EARTH 103 in the future. In EARTH 125, the use of the Exhibit Museum is even more extensive: anywhere from 3-5 of the discussion sections involve the use of items on exhibit. This project will involve gathering a record (videos, photographs-2D) of all museum exhibits currently used in EARTH 103 and EARTH 125 and exploring the feasibility (money, time…) of capturing these data in 3D to create a Virtual Museum from those exhibits that are to be dismantled and eliminated in the move from Ruthven to BSB. |
| Class Attendance of UMS Shows Anna Fisher LSA $500.00 |
I request CRLT IDF funds to bring twenty students in my seminar, “Bad in a Good Way: The Art of Failure” (RCHUMS 334.9, Winter 2016), to one--and ideally two--of the University Musical Society (UMS) productions this semester. Young Jean Lee and Taylor Mac are part of an important new canon of downtown experimental theater makers that we’ll be exploring on the contemporary politics of value. These plays—of which I’m personally familiar—thematize a divestment from traditional notions of mastery and virtuosity and explore the hidden or counterintuitive creative value to be found in amateurism and deliberately “lo-fi” aesthetics. Attending these plays would enable my students the opportunity to experience live—for many, likely for the first time-- the kind of challenging, contemporary work we’ll be reading about during the semester. Both offer masterclasses in the embrace of failure as a creative and critical strategy for feminist and queer political worldmaking. Following the plays, the students would engage in seminar discussion about them and write a short assignment in which they would reflect on what they saw in relation to the course material. |
| M-Write MSE 220/250 using an I-Pad Pro Rachel Goldman Engineering $500.00 |
For this project, we will design and utilize power-point-based lecture slides which contain key illustrations and diagrams, along with planned blank spaces. The students will receive the slides at the beginning of class, in the form of a double-sided handout (or “packet”). The packet will also be transmitted to the projector wirelessly from an IPad Pro during class. It will therefore be possible to annotate and advance the presentation using the touch-screen while circulating the classroom, thus encouraging note-taking and in-class “writing to learn” exercises by the students. |
| Building Blocks: Propositions Studio Dissemination Jonathan Rule Architecture and Urban Planning $500.00 |
The proposal for the Instructional Development Fund, seeks funding for the dissemination of the research and design work produced by twelve students during the 'Building Blocks' design studio during the Winter 2016 semester. Funding will cover the cost of book printing through the University of Michigan Library Print Services as well as partial travel funding for the faculty member to present the work in Copenhagen, Denmark. |
| Korean Language FanFiction Project Hyun-ju Kim LSA $500.00 |
The purpose of this grant is to fund the printing of an Anthology of FanFiction authored by students in the third year Korean language course. This project, underway this Winter 2016 semester, is motivating third-year Korean language learners to be engaged in writing and simultaneously enhancing the four elements of language learning: speaking, reading, writing (grammar knowledge), and listening. In particular, the element of writing in a second language acquisition is known to be the most challenging for language learners to improve in a set time frame. Within this limited condition, this research-proven project provides the following opportunities to our learners: motivation, authenticity, multimodal literacy, balanced language learning, and real publication. |
