The Texas Faculty Development Network (TFDN) has partnered with ELIXR to create
case stories for faculty development in two theme areas, Teaching Assistant Training
and the use of Audience Response Systems.
The MERLOT ELIXR project is intended to develop and test new collaborations amongst
faculty development centers and online resource repositories. The goal is to create
innovative models for the development, sharing and use of discipline-oriented resources
which illustrate exemplary teaching practices and which also support faculty with
exemplary learning objects to help implement those practices with their students.
For more information about the ELIXR Project, please visit
http://elixr.merlot.org/.
Texas Tech University will serve as the theme leader for the Teaching Assistant
Training theme, partnering with the University of Texas at Austin and Texas A&M
University. Texas Christian University and the University of North Texas will serve
as co-theme leaders for the Audience Response Systems theme and will be joined by
the University of Texas at Austin and the University of Texas at San Antonio Health
Sciences Center.
TFDN's structure as an organization of faculty development professionals at colleges
and universities in Texas enables a multiple-institution approach in the production
of case stories. The organization's history of collaboration on multiple projects,
including annual state-wide conferences, allows theme leaders to work easily with
their case story production teams at different universities.
A particular strength with the ELIXR partnership is the diversity of TFDN institutions
involved, resulting in a wide range of case story topics and approaches. TFDN's
initial planning, coordination, theme leader and case stories selection has occurred,
and teams will launch their case story building process in earnest during Spring
Semester 2009. We look forward to contributing a total of 8 case stories and associated
resources to the ELIXR site in 2009 and hope that our partnership with ELIXR will
be the first of many opportunities available to TFDN member institutions.
Updates regarding the progress of the TFDN - ELIXR project will be added to this
site throughout the summer 2009.