Information for Faculty
The W’s QEP, “Think Outside the Books: Cultivating Intellectual Curiosity,” aims to improve student learning by creating a campus culture supportive of intellectual curiosity, both in and out of the classroom, through the use of active learning, problem-based learning, and inquiry-based learning (APIL—pronounced “apple”). The point of the QEP is to transform education from something students get to something they do. The QEP goals will be achieved through the introduction of APIL strategies and pedagogies into the academic majors and UN 101 (Introduction to College Life), as well as through activities outside the classroom. Faculty can participate in the QEP in a variety of ways, including becoming an APIL Specialist, applying for a teaching innovation grant to support APIL strategies, and engaging in workshops and conversations about student learning across campus.
An intellectually curious MUW student will be able to:
- Develop relevant and valid research questions.
- Effectively pursue answers and solutions to her/his own questions, problems, scenarios, or lines of inquiry.
- Produce and author knowledge by exploring open-ended questions, problems, scenarios, or lines of inquiry.
Projected Benefits to Students:
- Further development of the “personalized learning environment” for which MUW is known. The QEP will encourage increased faculty-student and peer contact outside the classroom and encourage more interaction within the classroom.
- Increased opportunity to engage in undergraduate research.
- Increased opportunity to engage in internships.
- Increased development of problem-solving, critical thinking, and communication skills.
- Increased participation in discussions that focus on self-reflection and the personal nature of learning.
Projected Benefits for Faculty:
- Increased support for our focus on teaching, specifically learning about new pedagogies and promoting techniques that work at MUW.
- Increased availability of funds to support innovative teaching and taking students out of the classroom.
- Recognition for innovative teaching.
- Increased opportunity for faculty mentorship and peer teaching observations.
- Increased opportunity for professional development and networking with colleagues.
- Increased academic engagement on the part of students.
- Improved campus environment that better supports the intellectual pursuits of our community.
How will we know if it is successful?
The success of the QEP will be assessed by several methods, including locally-developed measures, such as student focus groups and discipline-specific gateway and capstone courses, and national measures, such as the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) and the Collegiate Learning Assessment Plus (CLA+).
Learn more about the QEP: