Three faculty named Wisconsin Teaching Fellows & Scholars participants

Program members collaborate on effective approaches to student learning   
 

May 28, 2024 - Three University of Wisconsin-River Falls faculty have been selected as 2024-25 Wisconsin Teaching Fellows & Scholars, a recognition of their teaching excellence and their desire to focus on new, innovative approaches to educate students. 

Cera Babb, of Hudson, director of choral activities and assistant professor of music; Abigail Jackson, of St. Paul, Minn., assistant professor of psychological sciences; and Carlos Rojas, of Hudson, assistant professor of Spanish, were chosen for the honor by the Universities of Wisconsin. They are among 26 participants chosen from the UW’s 11 comprehensive universities and UW-Milwaukee. 

Wisconsin Teaching Fellows & Scholars (WTFS) must demonstrate excellent teaching skills and have a curiosity about student learning to be nominated by provosts at their universities and be chosen for the program. The one-year program begins in late May and culminates with a research presentation at the annual Spring Conference on Teaching and Learning in April 2025. 

Babb’s project will investigate the impact of using tuning forks in a choral setting and whether they could provide students with more control over their music. Jackson will evaluate different learning assessment techniques that are the best measure of student learning, while Rojas will study the intersection between language acquisition and technology and the effects of language classroom interaction in the creation of social networks and community belonging.

Through WTFS, participants collaborate with other exceptional teachers from across the Universities of Wisconsin and from across various disciplines. They will discuss effective evidence-based teaching and learning approaches while also being guided through research focused on improving student learning.

Research on the WTFS program shows that it enables participants to move from a focus on teaching to a focus on student learning. This happens through a supportive peer network and under the direction and guidance of two co-directors who work for the Office of Professional and Instructional Development (OPID). OPID supports the UW’s 13 Centers for Teaching and Learning to foster a culture of teaching and learning excellence in Wisconsin.

The WTFS program is “the most valuable teaching development program available to UWRF instructors at this time,” said Cyndi Kernahan, professor of psychological sciences at UWRF and director of the UWRF Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning. By working with instructors who come from a variety of disciplinary backgrounds, career stages, and university types, participants can better examine student learning and develop improved practices to ensure their students learning, Kernahan said. 

“The collaboration the participants enjoy allows for networking and idea sharing that often results in truly innovative new teaching practices and research collaborations that often lead to both presentations and publications,” she said.

Headshots:
Babb
Jackson
Rojas