Discovery Online

Teaching: the art and the science

Pedagogy: the holistic science of education.  For more than 10 years, at least, UND scholars have made a concerted effort to become pedagogical pros. They are at the forefront of a scientific movement to deepen and improve the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) through their research.

No one project exemplifies this movement more

than the Bush Teaching Scholars program, which between 2001 and 2006 trained nearly 40 UND faculty members in SoTL research methods as part of a major Office of Instructional Development grant from the Bush Foundation. Thirty-two of those scholars, representing disparate disciplines, are still at UND today, and all are pictured on the cover of this publication.

Their research and scholarship have resulted in an extensive 13-page bibliography of research publications and presentations. Our cover story features a number of these scholars, such as Renee Mabey (physical therapy) and Jeff Carmichael (biology). We take time to learn about their research, from them, in their own words; and discover why it’s meaningful to the future of teaching and learning — which, by any measure, is the core of the University.

Also in this issue, we will introduce you to Sagini “Jared” Keengwe, a native of Kenya and a prolific researcher in the Department of Teaching and Learning. He’s finding new ways to effectively and appropriately integrate new technology in the classroom and passing on those lessons to UND education students.

Then there’s a story on the Medical School’s Edward Sauter, whose promising research and technology related to early breast cancer detection have garnered a partnership with a private sector company. We take you on a tour of the new “Fuels of the Future” facilty at the Energy & Environmental Research Center. We’ll also explore how three UND scientists — Wayne Seames, Brian Tande and Elena Kubatova — are greening up an entire industry with a new invention.

All this and more in another exceptional issue of UND Discovery!

David Dodds, Editor

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UND Discovery is published by the Office of the Vice President for Research and

Economic Development, with assistance from the Office of University Relations, Peter Johnson, executive associate vice president:  Editor:  David Dodds.  Contributors:  Juan Pedraza, David Dodds, Patrick C. Miller, Peter B. Johnson, Heath Hotzler, Derek Walters, and Joshua Dale.  Principal photography by Jackie Lorentz and Chuck Kimmerle, Office of University Relations.  Contributed photographs:  Page 1 and inside back cover (spacesuit), from Pablo de Leon; Page 7 (classroom scene), from Bruce Farnsworth; Page 19 (Iceland scene), from Nathan Rokke; Page 19, Rhonda Fietzek-DeVries, from herself.  Please send inquiries and comments to the Office of the Vice President for Research and Economic Development, University of North Dakota, 264 Centennial Drive Stop 8367, Grand Forks,ND 58202-8367.  The University of North Dakota is an equal opportunity/affirmative action institution.

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