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APIL Specialists

 MUW's QEP, "Think Outside the Books: Cultivating Intellectual Curiosity," will offer a unique opportunity for faculty to interact and engage in cross-disciplinary discussions about improving active, problem-based, and inquiry-based learning strategies across campus. A group of dedicated faculty known as APIL Specialists will be at the heart of this discussion. APIL is a short-hand term created for the QEP that stands for active learning, problem-based learning, and inquiry-based learning strategies, which are key to creating the intellectual change we want to create at MUW. Over the next three years each college will select several APIL specialists from among its faculty to help lead the adoption and spread of pedagogical change across campus. The application deadline for Spring 2017 APIL Specialists is October 10, 2016.

Learn more about the benefits and expectations of an APIL Specialist position, the support services available, and the application process. View a list of current and past APIL Specialists here. To learn more about APIL pedagogies and how they fit into the wider QEP, download the full QEP Plan here.

Current and Past APIL Specialists

  • College of Education & Human Sciences: Dr. Holleen Krogh and Ms. Ashley Matthews
  • College of Arts & Sciences: Dr. Kristi DiClemente
  • College of Business and Professional Studies: Ms. Ashley Chisolm and Mr. Thomas Haffey
  • College of Nursing and Speech-Language Pathology: Mr. Russell King
  • College of Arts & Sciences: Dr. Nora Corrigan and Dr. Amy Pardo
  • College of Education & Human Sciences: Dr. Chrystal Hodges and Dr. Royal Toy

Benefits

  • Designation as an APIL Specialist
  • One 3-5 credit course release from your regular teaching load during your active APIL Specialist semester (includes funds for adjunct pay to cover the course release at no cost to your department)
  • Teaching consultation and support services from a variety of campus offices and workshop opportunities
  • An enjoyable chance to reflect on your teaching practices, try something new, and work closely with colleagues

 

Expectations

APIL Specialists are expected to:

  • Be open to learning new ways of engaging students in the learning process
  • Implement or expand existing APIL-style pedagogical techniques in at least one class during their active semester
  • Research and read materials on the scholarship of teaching and learning in order to help develop new teaching strategies
  • Attend and actively participate in faculty development workshops on campus in the semesters before, during, and after their active APIL semester
  • Share and discuss teaching experiences with their colleagues
  • Be open to participating in classroom observations
  • Share with their colleagues the pedagogical changes they made in their course(s) as a result of their time as an APIL Specialist through formal workshop sand informal conversations
  • Share with their colleagues through formal workshops and informal conversations the challenges and set-backs encountered while trying to implement AIL strategies in their course(s), and the course-corrections or ad hoc solutions attempted
  • Mentor colleagues who wish to implement APIL strategies in their own classes, both in your own college and across campus

Support Services

APIL Specialists will receive consultation and support from a variety of offices on campus. These include the Center for Teaching & Learning, the QEP Team, the Faculty Development subcommittee of the QEP Team, and the Provost's office. Faculty development workshops will also be offered during the fall and spring semesters which should be of help to APIL Specialists. Grant monies available to all MUW faculty for pedagogical development, including traveling to conferences or workshops, purchasing software and classroom supplies, or traveling off campus with students, are also available to APIL Specialists through the regular application process. The grant committee will give special attention to applications from incoming APIL Specialists who intend to use grant funds to support their work during their active semester.

Application Process

There will be two rotations of APIL Specialists through each college between Fall 2015 and Spring 2018. The next rotation of APIL Specialists through the university will be:

  • Fall 2017: College of Business & Professional Studies and College of Nursing & Health Sciences
  • Spring 2017: College of Arts, Sciences, and Education

If you are interested in applying to be an APIL Specialist for your college, please submit a letter of application, proposed APIL course strategy, and C.V. to your dean. The letter should include your reason for applying and a discussion of your teaching philosophy. The proposed course strategy should explain in which course(s) you will focus on introducing or expanding APIL strategies, which strategies you have chosen to  implement at this point, and why changing this course will have an impact on student learning and intellectual engagement.

The application deadline for Fall 2017 APIL Specialists is June 1, 2017.