Faculty members throughout higher education are being asked to become better researchers of their own practices—whether it be in disciplinary context, teaching, or other areas of (faculty) performance. Since scholarly effort is a component of most faculty members’ tenure, promotion, and merit systems, it is important that individuals receive credit for additional research that is not published in discipline journals.

In response to these increasing research demands, this institute focuses on helping faculty members further develop their scholarly efforts, as it pertains to their role as an educator. Participants will gain a greater sense of confidence and professionalism with respect to researching about the scholarship of teaching and learning.

This event provides an excellent opportunity to network with faculty committed to their professional performance, especially as it pertains to teaching and learning in the classroom.

Between 20 and 40 faculty members from various institutions across the country are expected to attend. Those attending will bring years of experience and expertise with advancing the practices of teaching and learning. Specific areas of interest and expertise include: mentoring, student-centered learning, student success (increasing performance of the "at-risk" students), instructional design, effective use of technology, assessment, and evaluation.

As a result, there will be many opportunities for participants to collaborate in grant writing, the writing of papers, and sponsoring collaborative research.