Iowa State University FLC

Owned by Dennis Culver
Last updated: Sept 01, 2011Version comment
1 min read

A group of faculty/staff/students from different departments, colleges, student affairs have been meeting since 2007. The motivation for the group was that many of us were working towards improving the problem-solving skills of our students, but we knew very little of each other's efforts even on the same campus. By meeting regularly, we have not only gained a stronger understanding of the challenges of teaching problem-solving, but we have built a strong, productive network of educators who collaborate on formal and informal projects. 

Approximately 60 faculty are part of this community and 20 regularly attend the meetings. We meet approximately once per month during semester. For more information contact the FLC convenor, Craig Ogilvie cogilvie@iastate.edu

The FLC was started informally, Craig Ogilvie contacted all the colleagues he knew who were focusing on problem-solving education to gauge their interest. This core group invited others that they knew. In addition, before our first meeting, people who had won internal teaching or technology grants were invited. Membership continues to grow by word of mouth.

Current projects

  • Dissemination of problem-solving education using thinkSpace
  • Interdisciplinary problem-solving
  • Problem-framingGrants

Grants

  • Two US NSF grants (over $600,000) that will start in summer 2010 to enhance problem-solving skills of our students.
  • USDA ($400,000)