In 2023, ThinqStudio received the prestigious Provost’s Award, recognizing our commitment to advancing innovative pedagogical practices among Instructional, Research, and Creative Faculty (IRC Faculty). The funds from this award went to support scholarly work among IRC Faculty who are former Thinq Faculty Fellows, and here are summaries of the creative ways our colleagues used their funds.
Cameron Blevins
I have been using the funds to pay for subscriptions to Generative AI tools (the paid versions of OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Anthropic’s Claude). This has helped me experiment with their different capabilities for a variety of tasks. I actually just wrote a post “A Large Language Model Walks Into an Archive...” that details using ChatGPT specifically for primary source transcription and interpretation.
Robin Brandehoff
I am working with a small group of Asian American doctoral students to explore how our identities have influenced and impacted our student and faculty journeys in the SEHD through the lens of AsianCrit. These funds have been used to purchase books and resources that will support our collaborative learning and research process.
Lori Elliott
I am utilizing the funds to continue building a video library of interviews with ThinqStudio Fellows sharing their innovative teaching practices. This was the focus of my ThinqStudio Fellowship this year. Once created, I upload the videos into our shared faculty SEHD Canvas space focused on teaching practices and resources, which is managed by the Digital Teaching and Learning Committee.
Julia C. Kantor
Along with a couple of my colleagues, I am planning a 2nd annual "Teachers as Policy Actors Forum" where we bring together PK-12 teachers, Colorado policy experts and lawmakers, and community members to talk education policy and learn from one another. Last year, the Forum was funded by the President's Teaching Scholars Timmerhaus Fund, but this year we are likely going to need to tap into our PD funds to support it. We're excited about getting to continue this with our teachers from ASPIRE to Teach and the SEHD!
Andrea Laser
I used the funds to attend the Teacher Education Division (TED) of the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC). The conference is a great opportunity to connect with other teacher educators, especially in the special education space. I co-presented with a colleague from UMass Boston about incorporating the DEC (Division for Early Childhood) Recommended Practices into coursework and field-based experiences.
Vivian Shyu
I've used these funds to help build my skills, familiarity, and knowledge in the arena of "AI in Higher Education." These funds have given me access to higher levels of AI platform access and books on the subject. Already, I have increased my level of engagement with these tools in my classes and feel better equipped to guide and instruct my students in the efficacious and ethical application of these powerful tools. Hopefully, my Thinq colleague Dennis DeBay and I will be continuing our scholarly work in this area with other faculty from across the campus and from disparate disciplines to effectively usher these tools into our courses while maintaining the principles and standards of our pedagogy