Two Named Carnegie Scholars
Patrick Callahan
NEWS OFFICE STAFF

April 14, 2000


Communication Disorders professor Jane A. Baran and Deirdre A. Royster, assistant professor of sociology, have been named Carnegie Scholars in the Pew National Fellowship Program, a part of the Carnegie Academy for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (CASTL). They are among 40 faculty members chosen nationwide to participate in this year's program.

Mary Deane Sorcinelli, associate provost for Faculty Development and director of the Center For Teaching, says the national award is more than a personal achievement for Baran and Royster. "It also speaks volumes about the quality of teaching and learning at the University," Sorcinelli says. "Both Jane and Deirdre are highly committed teachers who have sought a variety of opportunities to refine and enhance their own teaching. I'm certain that their ability to articulate their goals for student learning and the level of expertise they've gained as teachers is why they stood out in a national field of candidates."

Baran says she will spend her fellowship year working on several technology-based instructional initiatives she began developing last year. These include designing several interactive modules that will allow her audiology students to handle case studies at their own pace, receive immediate feedback on their test assessments and procedures, and have the ability to review case histories to assure mastery of the subject matter.

Royster says she will continue to focus her efforts on studying different learning styles and how teachers can use different types of assignments to reach all students. She says she currently gives students some assignments involving visual media and journals, and some involving experience and service learning, along with more traditional essays and exams. Royster says she plans to study one of her classes in depth to find out how effective this method is in matching each student's preferred learning style.

Baran and Royster will attend a conference for the national scholars in San Jose, Calif., near the Carnegie Foundation offices in Menlo Park June 12-23. CASTL is a major initiative of The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. ants is scheduled for June 13.