Natalie Rivera, mathematics faculty at Estrella Mountain Community College, was one of six Maricopa faculty members chosen to participate in next year's Maricopa Institute for Learning (MIL) Fellowship Program.
Academic year 2008-2009 will mark the 10th anniversary of the program which was designed for residential faculty in any discipline who are interested in examining significant issues in their teaching fields and contributing to the scholarship of teaching and learning through classroom research projects. Participants are also welcomed to a community of scholars that will engage in conversations about the scholarship of learning and teaching.
The program supports the Fellows with time and resources to conduct their research and provides them varied opportunities to engage in scholarly thought, reflection, and dialogue about effective teaching and learning practices. This is a one-year commitment with release time and special professional development opportunities.
Natalie plans to improve student learning by incorporating strategies that will create student engagement through effective studying outside of the classroom. She intends to develop the student skills of students enrolled in an Introductory Algebra course through the use of Skype, Jing, Yugma, and a Wacom Digital Tablet. Her focus will be to engage students outside of the classroom through the integration of technology. This approach will require using materials that are not commonly implemented as instructional tools.The MIL is sponsored and coordinated by the Maricopa Center for Learning and Instruction (MCLI) at the Maricopa Community Colleges.