Learning & Teaching

Iowa State University’s commitment to enhancing student learning and excellent teaching is a central part of its land grant heritage. The strategic plan for 2005-2010 outlines the University’s mission to “create knowledge through world-class scholarship in teaching, research and creative endeavors” and “share knowledge through outstanding undergraduate, graduate, professional and outreach programs.” Iowa State actively pursues continuous improvement in teaching and learning. The institution has published outcomes goals and assessment processes in every college at all levels, and draws on assessment results to inform development of courses and curricula and to inform decisions on budgeting and resource allocation.

This section of the self-study provides an overview of learning outcomes, teaching, the learning environment, and learning resources. Student outcomes assessment programs developed at the University continually improve learning at the undergraduate and graduate levels. Excellence in teaching is valued in each of the University’s colleges, as shown by endowed chairs for excellent teaching, teaching awards at the college and University level, and evaluation of teaching effectiveness in promotion and tenure review. The University supports learning and teaching both through the physical environment with the new Hixson-Lied Student Success Center and the renovated LeBaron Hall Auditorium, and with the virtual environment of the e-Library and other electronic supports for teaching and learning. Some examples of Iowa State’s commitment to providing learning resources and promoting teaching excellence include improvements in honors education and continuing and distance education programs.

The University’s efforts to enhance student learning include several distinctive and progressive initiatives. We have become a nationally recognized leader in Learning Communities. This program’s documented successes include higher academic performance, greater levels of student engagement and satisfaction, and higher retention and graduation rates. In addition, Iowa State is implementing an innovative, four-year communication curriculum for undergraduates, ISUComm, which sets a new standard for communication education.

The University continues to enhance learning environments in an effort to respond to differences in students’ learning styles, promote small group interaction, and implement technology that supports learning. Examples of these efforts include renovation of LeBaron Hall Auditorium to support active learning techniques in a large classroom setting, development of the e-Library, and the use of personal response system technology for real-time student feedback in large classes. Iowa State also continues to develop new environments that support teaching and learning, such as the Hixon-Lied Student Success Building, which will provide services to students in multiple locations, as well as expand support programs.

Recent expansion of the Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching (CELT) offers critical support, programs, and communication to enhance student learning across the institution (e.g., faculty forums, college teaching seminars, consultation). CELT provides the resources teachers need to be scholarly, innovative, and effective in advancing learning. CELT’s collaboration with other initiatives to enhance student learning (e.g., Learning Communities, Student Outcomes Assessment, Academic Success Center, ISUComm), coupled with its additional responsibilities, which include Preparing Future Faculty and Learning Technologies, offers a strong support network that promotes excellence in student learning across the University. In addition, CELT is unique compared to other institutions because one position includes responsibility for enhancing the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) on campus.

Efforts to enhance student learning extend across the state and several University-sponsored, off-campus environments (e.g., 100 county extension offices, five outreach centers and Des Moines Higher Education Collaborative).

To further improve student learning and strengthen teaching across the University, an Associate Provost for Academic Programs position was created in 2004. This new position provides a single, central administrative focus and responsibility for learning and assessment at all levels and for all academic programs regardless of discipline. For the first time ever at Iowa State, teaching and learning enhancement efforts are coordinated by one office. This approach, although relatively new, is enabling more effective, efficient strategic planning and tactical implementation of mechanisms and processes that are intended to increase the quality and outcomes associated with learning at all levels and in all parts of the institution.

The University is making steady but measurable progress toward retention and graduation goals, with recent increases in one-, two-, and three-year retention rates, as well as an increase in the six-year graduation rate.

Mechanisms are in place to identify both broad and targeted initiatives to further improve these very important holistic outcomes of the educational process.

While there are individual examples of a strong and developing culture of assessment across the institution (e.g., Miller Faculty Development, Learning Communities assessment, ISUComm, U.S. Diversity and International Perspectives requirements), continuous improvement must be encouraged. The current focus is to increase the homogeneity of assessment implementation and continuous quality improvement through the initiation, development, and continual refinement of sustainable, systematic, and effective assessment processes. Though already underway, this major effort will need to continue for many years before a satisfactory level of homogeneity and cultural change has been established.

Because of the decentralized, college-based organizational system at Iowa State, the development of a culture of assessment and continuous quality improvement must occur through collaborative processes that strongly partner with the academic colleges. At this time, significant progress has been made with some, but not all, of the academic colleges in this regard. It is important that effective mechanisms be developed to share successes and best practices from early adopters so that others may make accelerated progress. These mechanisms and collaborative sharing approaches are under development, and it will be critical to sustain this ongoing development.

In order to foster excellence in teaching and learning across the University, the institution must examine future needs, challenges, and priorities in the development of learning resources. Recognizing the limited availability of resources, sound planning and allocation strategies will be critical to the development of learning resources. In addition, creative processes that are of high value with reasonable, sustainable levels of investment will need to be developed. These processes must be perceived as valuable and cost effective by all constituencies, or the required cultural change will not occur. Professional development opportunities for faculty and staff continue to be provided to support the development of such processes in continuous academic quality improvement.

Iowa State will continue its efforts to improve teaching and learning. Examples of future initiatives include the following:

• Stronger systematic processes that encourage continuous academic improvement based on outcomes assessment

• Use of the National Survey of Student Engagement for multiple performance indicators relevant to the 2005-2010 Strategic Plan, indicating a commitment to student engagement and a focus on institutional wide outcomes assessment

• Strengthen a university culture that recognizes and rewards both scholarly teaching and the scholarship of teaching and learning

• Use of learning technologies and development of new assessment tools for program improvement (e.g., WebCT surveys, electronic portfolios, in-class polling equipment).

• Increased efforts to disseminate research results and sharing of effective teaching and learning practices that promote change

• Continued renovation of classroom space to meet instructional needs and diverse learning styles

• Continued instructional technology innovations (e.g., extending wireless access, streaming video, videoconferencing, student response systems) and support for effective use (e.g, Instructional Development Services)

• Expansion and improvement to the library’s physical and technological infrastructures to support new modes of learning and teaching