National Science Foundation Award for the Integration of Research and Education
			Project Description   A. Nature, History, and Scope of Efforts to Integrate Research in Science Teaching at Oberlin Oberlin combines a distinguished undergraduate college of arts and sciences (1997-98 enrollment 2,508 students, 18l full-time faculty) with a leading music conservatory (1997-98 enrollment 594 students, 64 full-time faculty). Oberlin's science programs attract many majors: in the 1996-97 graduating class of 626 (college of arts and sciences) 26% were natural sciences majors (biology, biochemistry, biopsychology, chemistry, computer science, geology, mathematics, neuroscience, or physics), and 12% were majors in economics, environmental studies, or psychology. That year, 26 natural sciences courses for general audiences served 1,558 students. The percentage of women and minorities in the above-mentioned fields is consistent with or higher than their representation within the student body overall: 59% of 1996-97 majors in these fields were women (1996-97 female enrollment: 58%), and 27% were minority (1996-97 minority enrollment: 21%).   1. The nature of Oberlin's commitment to the integration of research and teaching: Teaching and learning at Oberlin are held to the highest standard of academic excellence, reflecting the College's mission -- providing students with rigorous academic grounding in their chosen disciplines in preparation for advanced study, while fostering broad intellectual growth and individual creativity, cultivating global perspectives on contemporary issues, facilitating community awareness and social responsibility, and developing keen analytical capabilities. Oberlin is dedicated to serving a culturally, economically, geographically and ethnically diverse group of students. Interaction with students from different backgrounds and experiences fosters the effective, concerned participation in the larger society characteristic of Oberlin graduates. In 1977, Oberlin's mission statement was amended to include: "Oberlin's faculty is dedicated to combining effective undergraduate instruction with productive scholarship and artistry. Members of the faculty are highly skilled and professional, well-grounded in their chosen discipline; yet they characteristically have interests that extend beyond their own specialization. The College seeks to recognize and encourage teaching of unusually high caliber, and scholarly and other creative activities are considered essential to continued teaching excellence. Thus, active research, scholarship, artistry, and/or performance are expected of each faculty member."1 Emphasis on faculty excellence in both teaching and research at Oberlin dates from the late 19th century. Since the 1970s it has guided the institution in faculty personnel actions. Faculty act on the view that effective teaching requires student involvement in active programs of research. Thus, Oberlin's vision and practice stress strong faculty-student collaboration, a laboratory-rich curriculum, and a sense of community among students and faculty. Since 1980, Oberlin's understanding of laboratory-rich curricula and effective classroom teaching has changed, increasingly shifting from lectures and set laboratory exercises to direct engagement of students in gathering and analyzing information. Some techniques in use are interactive problem solving, computer modeling, experience with data collection and analysis in field research, and student design and implementation of entire experiments. In all cases, student learning is enhanced through active inquiry. Oberlin science faculty also recognize the importance of integrating discovery-based learning into introductory science classes and offerings for non-majors.   2. A history of Oberlin's recent efforts to integrate inquiry-rich learning into the classroom: Oberlin's convictions about effective science education formed largely during the late 1980s and early 1990s, and implementation of the new vision has progressed steadily since then. Federal funding for science education decreased in the 1980s, and nationally, student interest in the sciences declined steeply. In 1985 and 1986, Oberlin's president S. Frederick Starr convened two conferences on the future of science at liberal arts colleges, attended by the presidents of 50 liberal arts colleges. The meetings' goals were to assess the state of scientific teaching and research at the participating institutions; to demonstrate the national significance of science teaching at these colleges; to estimate the resources needed to preserve and enhance science programs; and to suggest means of attracting such resources. The published reports of the conferences2 demonstrated that the "Oberlin 50" colleges ranked at or near the top of all U.S. institutions of higher education in the quality of science education and the number of graduates who earned doctorates. The reports drew national attention to the role that leading liberal arts colleges play in producing scientists. By the late 1980s, Oberlin science faculty were examining a variety of new ideas about teaching. In 1988, with encouragement from Oberlin's president, chemistry and mathematics professors invited Uri Treisman for a well-attended informal seminar on active learning. His ideas sparked efforts in both departments to develop workshops for struggling students. The workshops promoted collaborative and active learning and presented challenging rather than remedial exercises. In 1989, a grant from the Charles Dana Foundation enabled mathematics faculty to develop workshops with the Dana Center for Innovation in Mathematics Education. Internal funds allowed chemistry faculty to develop a pioneering introductory-level laboratory workshop using inquiry-based exercises. The success of these early ventures helped obtain support from the BP America Foundation for a program to recruit and retain minority science students. Now funded by the College, the program features a two-week, pre-orientation program of discovery-based laboratory work and non-traditional problem solving led by faculty from Biology, Chemistry, Computer Science, Mathematics, Neuroscience and Physics. The BP America grant also provided continuing support for the chemistry and mathematics workshops. Throughout this recent history of reform, Oberlin has been closely involved with Project Kaleidoscope (PKAL). Chemistry professor Norman Craig was a member of PKAL's initial advisory/action committee, Director of Sponsored Programs David Love has consulted extensively for PKAL, and a number of faculty are PKAL Faculty for the 21st Century. The College hosted a PKAL neuroscience conference in June, 1998. PKAL has agreed to collaborate with Oberlin in disseminating information on the AIRE project, should the College be selected for the program. Oberlin science departments are committed to discovery-rich approaches to teaching. With early encouragement from the administration, and both internal and external funding, innovative courses have been introduced in the ten departments considered in this proposal: biology, chemistry, computer science, economics, environmental studies, geology, mathematics, neuroscience, physics, and psychology. Four departments have completely restructured their core courses. In addition, a high proportion of faculty are incorporating inquiry-rich exercises or approaches as new components of current offerings. The ferment in science teaching at Oberlin has been captured in a description in the 1998 Physics Department Profile1 written by Oberlin physicists for the accreditation report for the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools (NCACS): "In the 1988 self-study the department stated that 'there have been very few changes in our teaching methods.' What a difference a decade makes! Faculty in the department are experimenting with seminar formats, computer tools for instruction, oral presentations by students, essay questions and oral exams, hands-on experiential teaching, practical experience in engineering-type situations, qualitative laboratory exercises, and computer analysis of data. On the other hand changes are made only in response to a perceived difficulty or in order to make a specific improvement. We do not pursue change for its own sake. It is exhilarating to teach and to learn in such an environment." The need to involve students more actively in their own learning has in this way become interwoven and incorporated into the fabric of teaching science at Oberlin College.   3. Student-faculty collaborative research - cornerstone of Oberlin's integration efforts: Collaborative student-faculty research has taken a progressively larger role in the education of science majors at Oberlin over the past fifteen years. Oberlin grants honors degrees only to student researchers. In consultation with a faculty mentor, every honors student develops a research project that is often in the area of the mentor's research. At the end of the year, each honors student writes and defends a thesis and presents a public research talk. Many other students carry out faculty-mentored research through private reading or independent research courses. In 1985, the Dana Foundation supported a three-year, innovative program of paid research and teaching assistantships for Oberlin students. Evaluation, discussed in C 2, indicated that collaboration with faculty profoundly and positively affected students. Since that time, Oberlin has placed special emphasis on allocating operating funds and securing outside grants for academic year and summer research assistantships for students. These programs have supported research activities ranging from publishable work in applied mathematics and low-energy nuclear physics to geological, chemical, and archeological work at a field site in Italy. Research positions are advertised widely. According to a 1998 survey of graduating seniors in the ten departments, 76% (80 out of 105 respondents) report having conducted science research at Oberlin. Students are major contributors to faculty research, and over the past ten years, over 190 publications in the sciences have included more than 250 students or recent alumni as co-authors. The importance of involving students as assistants in curriculum development projects is illustrated by the response of a senior to the survey cited above:   "...important for me was my work with the DRAGN project. This was an NSF-funded project that aimed to revamp the core freshman and sophomore computer-science sequences through the use of technology in the classroom. In particular, we (myself, 3 faculty members, and a few other students who were part of the project for a short period) worked on building an on-line curriculum for use in the laboratory classes. I developed almost half of that on-line material, tutored for a number of the classes... This was an enormously valuable experience - probably the most valuable academic experience of my Oberlin College career."   January Term requires students to explore topics beyond the regular Oberlin curriculum, through participation in on- or off-campus independent work, community outreach, or small-group projects. This four-week period presents excellent opportunities for discovery-rich activities. Recent group projects have included a 1998 geology field study of volcanoes in Indonesia; a 1998 health care seminar, in which students attended talks on medical history, ethics and research and worked in medical research laboratories or health care delivery organizations; and a 1996 seminar on environmental design that was critical to the development of the College's innovative environmental studies center. In January 1997, approximately 8% of the Oberlin Arts and Sciences students worked with science faculty on faculty-led projects. About 26% of 1998 graduates majoring in the ten departments reported having engaged in off-campus research projects during January Term, while 36% undertook on-campus January Term research. Table 1 provides a departmental breakdown of students involved in credit-bearing or paid research with faculty in 1996-97, sorted by academic year and summer, and January Term: (Table is not available in this Oberlin Online version of the proposal.--Ed) 4. Integration of research into courses and laboratories - realizing the vision: The incorporation of research and research training activities into courses and laboratories is an important part of natural and social sciences education at Oberlin, and it helps prepare students intellectually for both independent and collaborative faculty-student research. Overall, 94% of faculty in the ten departments are using elements that integrate research-like activities into laboratories and courses; in six of the departments all faculty are doing so and in each of the other four all but one. Many departments emphasize integration in introductory courses, to engage both majors and non-majors in active learning at early stages of their careers. Students in Biology, Chemistry, Computer Science, Neuroscience and Psychology introductory core courses design some of their own basic experiments. Inclusion of discovery-based learning exercises in the Elementary Physics laboratory required establishment of a computer laboratory, as did incorporation of inquiry-based activities at all levels in biology, chemistry, and psychology. Electricity, Magnetism, Optics, Waves is currently being modified to incorporate problem-based approach small group discussions. Geology students work with natural geological examples as frequently as possible. After encountering natural materials or processes, they are asked to formulate hypotheses about the phenomena they observed. This exploratory approach pervades all levels of the geology curriculum, including laboratories and field trips in introductory courses. All introductory statistics courses and a number of calculus sections use exploratory and inquiry-based methods. In keeping with the Environmental Studies Program's emphasis on experiential learning, six of the introductory science courses designed for students interested in environmental issues contain discovery-rich activities. Research projects become more demanding and complex in intermediate and advanced courses. As Table 2 suggests, most intermediate and advanced courses incorporate significant inquiry-based projects. All ten departments contain innovative courses. For exmple, in biology, visualization of complex relationships in specialized areas such as ecology and evolutionary biology are explored using computers. At the most advanced level, students taking Nucleic Acids and Molecular Genetics or Biochemistry have carried out preliminary research that may be pursued further. In computer science, advanced courses are heavily project-based, with three of the four requiring capstone research projects. Advanced geology students in Structural Geology and Igneous and Metamorphic Petrology must integrate their own observations with library research. In economics, active learning has been fully incorporated at the intermediate and advanced levels: twenty-nine courses use a variety of approaches, including spreadsheets for modeling and data analysis, interactive use of the Internet, and role playing. Students in Money, Credit and Banking use computer simulation software to manage commercial banks competing within a market, while students taking Welfare Economics and Paradoxes of Cooperation must develop and carry out experiments or research projects. Through an upper-level course, private reading courses, and a January Term project, about 250 students participated directly in planning the Environmental Studies Center. They have conducted research and applied work on ecological design, energy efficiency, application of renewable energy technologies, materials use, ecological landscaping, and wastewater purification. Once the building is complete, student researchers will help assess and monitor its energy efficiency and its working landscape, which is part of the heating/cooling system. Twelve intermediate and advanced mathematics courses include interactive and inquiry-based activities. Inquiry-rich computer exercises are part of Chaos and Fractals: An Introduction, a mathematics core course that also attracts a large audience of non-majors. All neuroscience courses include elements of discovery-rich teaching, and each course has an associated laboratory course that is heavily inquiry-based. All physics majors are required to take intermediate and advanced laboratories in which they design and carry out their own research projects. Psychology majors must take two research methods courses as well as two of eight possible laboratory courses in psychology or neuroscience; all of these courses involve integrated experiences in collecting and analyzing data. Of 1997 psychology graduates, 93% carried out independent research projects with faculty or completed semester-long individual or group projects in one of the laboratory courses. Science literacy courses are an integral part of the College's mission. Oberlin students must earn at least nine credit hours in the natural sciences and mathematics division. Oberlin's science courses for general audiences engage students directly with data and scientific processes in a variety of ways. Psychology and the Arts examines artistic behavior by exploring the biological and psychological foundations of sensory processes, perception, cognition, motivation, and emotion through research-like computer projects that draw on the rich collections of the College's art museum. Students taking Principles of Solar Energy examine the use and movement of energy in actual structures. Twelve topical courses, including Origins and Treatment of Cancer and The Strange World of Quantum Mechanics, involve students in reviewing current research literature and applications. Field trips emphasizing discovery-based activities are important in Chemistry and the Environment and geology courses for non-majors. In 1996-97, over half of the general audience science courses included discovery-rich activities. The number of non-major courses incorporating research-like activities continues to increase. Einstein and Relativity, The Strange World of Quantum Mechanics, and Introductory Astronomy are all currently being reorganized to enhance active learning.   5. Partnerships and outreach To expand research opportunities for students and to encourage faculty interaction with colleagues outside the College, Oberlin in 1988 joined with Duke University and six colleges in Ohio and the Carolinas to form the Carolinas-Ohio Science Education Network (COSEN). With funding from the Pew Charitable Trusts, COSEN from 1988-98 provided field research opportunities to 21 Oberlin students and supported four student research projects annually. Now maintained primarily by the member institutions, COSEN continues to be especially useful for women and minority science students, and four Oberlin students have received COSEN research placements in the past two years. Through contacts provided by departments or the Office of Career Services, many students take part in off-campus paid, unpaid, or credit-bearing internships designed to help them apply knowledge and skills and explore career possibilities. Laboratories, hospitals, companies, field stations, and local, state, and national government agencies all have served as internship hosts. Recent placements include the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute, Living Technologies, Inc., the National Institutes of Health, and The President's Council of Economic Advisors. Other off-campus opportunities result from faculty collaboration with external research groups. Students of physics professor Robert Warner, for example, have worked at Notre Dame, Groningen, Osaka, Uppsala or Michigan State Universities. Oberlin has a strong commitment to community outreach. An outstanding interdisciplinary effort in Environmental Studies initiated a Remedial Action Plan to restore the heavily polluted Black River Watershed. Since 1992, an annual seminar (Introduction to the Black River Watershed) and research and January Term projects have mobilized over 100 students to work with community organizations and undertake biological, chemical and economic research; river monitoring; and public education. Issues explored have ranged from landscape ecology, community ecology, population genetics, and water chemistry to historical, geological, climate, political, and economic research. This multi-pronged effort by Oberlin students and faculty has been essential in remediation of the watershed. Findings from collaborative student-faculty research on population genetics, for example, were entered as evidence in a court case that found a development project to be unsound. The watershed project has involved students in work with local, national and international organizations, such as the International Joint Commission, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Orion Society, the Lorain County Soil and Water Conservation District, the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, the Lorain County Health Department, and the USX/KOBE Steel Company. K-12 education also interests many Oberlin students, and a significant number of graduates teach during their professional lives. Teaching opportunities include: 1) Oberlin's Howard Hughes Medical Institute grant, which enables science students to work in local elementary and secondary school classrooms; 2) a mathematics education course that includes curriculum development and teaching at Oberlin High School; 3) tutoring in many subjects through a practicum offered by the African American Studies Department; 4) the Watershed Education Project, which places Oberlin students in local schools to help increase awareness of the Black River's role in the local ecosystem; and 5) "Brain Days" for local grade and high school students that has been developed and run by all six neuroscience faculty and 10 - 12 students. Sixteen Oberlin science majors took part in the Hughes Outreach Program in 1997-98. The students were placed in K-4 classrooms in four different school districts within Lorain County, and they were responsible for helping develop and implement science teaching projects proposed by the public school teachers. Given the age of the children involved, projects must be discovery-based, and the Oberlin students gained valuable experience in designing and piloting active-learning exercises. About 17 students enroll in the mathematics education course, which is taught in alternate years. Students explore current reform movements in mathematics and K-12 education, developments in mathematics assessment, and career possibilities within the field. Undergraduates observe and assist in classrooms; near the end of the semester, each college student works with three or four high school students on interactive mathematics projects, such as statistical calculations of basketball shots. In 1997-98, 15 students enrolled in the two-semester course sequence Introduction to Watershed Education and Practicum in Environmental Education. Every fall, students are introduced to interdisciplinary watershed education through hands-on projects -- piloted in local classrooms -- that build understanding of the dynamics of the Black River Watershed and its environmental challenges. In the spring, students apply their knowledge by working intensively with a teacher in a local middle or secondary school classroom to develop projects centered on the watershed.   B. Oberlin College Commitments and Investments in the Effort to Integrate Research and Teaching Oberlin's external support and internal funding for student research assistantships demonstrate its serious commitment to collaborative student-faculty research. The 1985-89 Dana Foundation project that broadly introduced research and teaching assistantships at Oberlin had total funding of $600,000, including matching funds. Since then, Oberlin has received external grants totaling $2,313,684 for 455 student research assistantships, some of which also provide student travel funds and research materials. These funding agencies include the Howard Hughes Medical Institute ($647,084), BP America ($136,500), the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation ($550,000), the Ford-Mellon program ($252,500), the McGregor Fund ($150,000, including institutional match), and the Ronald E. McNair Post-Baccalaureate Achievement Program at the Department of Education ($577,600). Most individual faculty research grants have included funding for student assistants. To strengthen efforts in this area, Oberlin in 1995 established the Office of Undergraduate Research to administer student assistantship programs. With the goal of providing research opportunities to all qualified students, the College's upcoming capital campaign calls for the creation of a $3 million endowed fund for student-faculty research to yield $150,000 annually for assistantships. Effective faculty research programs and curriculum development support are essential for successful integration of research and education. Oberlin has a number of internal programs to encourage faculty research and curricular innovation. In addition to generous start-up funds and pre-tenure research leaves, all faculty are entitled to one-semester sabbatical leaves every seven years of service, and reimbursement for two professional meetings each year. Students often accompany faculty to these meetings. Faculty also may apply for Research Status, which releases six faculty each year from teaching responsibilities to pursue research while receiving full pay and benefits and a research allowance. Since 1990, 12 faculty from the natural and 3 from the relevant social science disciplines have been awarded Research Status. In addition, internal grants of up to $5,000 are awarded on a competitive basis for supplies, travel, curriculum development, and research assistance. A fully staffed Sponsored Programs Office helps faculty seeking research and instrumentation grants from external sources. Since 1990, Oberlin has received 229 external awards for research, instrumentation, curriculum development and facilities in the natural and social sciences, for a total value of $10,843,560. The College is committed to meeting science departments' needs for instrumentation and guarantees matching for all NSF equipment awards. An endowed scientific equipment fund yields about $49,000 per year, and the upcoming capital campaign calls for a $3 million endowed fund for equipment renewal, as well as a $2.5 million endowed fund to support interdisciplinary curriculum development. Further support for innovation in teaching is available through the Oberlin Center for Technologically Enhanced Teaching, established in 1997 with a grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Designed to help all faculty increase technological proficiency and use, the Center offers stipends for curriculum development as well as January Term and summer faculty workshops. Another valuable research and educational tool will be the Environmental Studies Center, scheduled for occupancy in fall 1999. With innovative standards for energy and water use, the Center will be a model for sustainable design and development, and a rich resource for student research. Field experience is particularly important in discovery-rich curricula in biology, geology, environmental studies, and archeology. To support these efforts, Oberlin owns a number of permanent field study sites. Students will have additional research opportunities at the College farm to be established east of the city of Oberlin. The farm will enable Oberlin students to develop practical experience in sustainable agriculture, conservation biology, and general management. Oberlin's most significant commitment to excellence in science education and research is the $65 million science facilities project scheduled for completion by 2002. As at many other campuses, Oberlin's major science facilities were built in the 1960s, and they reflect an earlier era of science pedagogy that stressed lecture format and large laboratories. The new science facilities -- designed over two years with the intensive involvement of the science faculty -- will allow us to conduct nearly three times as many research projects involving students, use shared facilities and equipment much more efficiently, incorporate many new teaching methods at all levels of the curriculum, including the extensive use of computer technology, and promote the open community of scientists essential for both science education and education in the liberal arts.   C. Documentation of Past Efforts   1. Institution-wide assessment of efforts to integrate research and education: Oberlin has devoted considerable thought and effort to assessment as part of its accreditation reviews by the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools (NCACS). Oberlin's most recent Self-Study Report1 was submitted in January, 1998. The College is in the third year of a four-year plan to implement student outcome assessment at the departmental level. The NCACS evaluation team, examining materials provided by the College's Office of Institutional Research (OIR), Assessment Committee, and department and program chairs, found faculty at Oberlin unusually open to assessment. At Oberlin, a reasoned, grassroots approach established consensus about central goals for specialized and general education. Assessment was also linked to the departmental review process established in 1969, which calls for departments to be reviewed every eight years, with approximately six departments undergoing review annually. The result is a strong model for assessment that provides a high level of accountability. The student outcome goals identified in 1994-95 at the start of the four-year project reconfirmed Oberlin's mission to help students develop: a) proficiency in a discipline; b) the ability to formulate and present an argument, through effective writing; c) the ability to formulate and present an argument, through quantitative and analytical reasoning; d) the ability to integrate knowledge across disciplinary boundaries; and e) appreciation of the varieties in disciplinary perspectives, and cultural, linguistic, gender, and ethnic perspectives. In studying specific outcomes, OIR draws on a broad range of survey materials, including outcomes-measures developed locally, and data from Oberlin's participation in assessments by organizations such as the Consortium on Financing of Higher Education (COFHE), the American Council on Education, and the Higher Education Research Institute. These quantitative data are important to assessment, especially when used in conjunction with other methods, such as on-campus questionnaires, focus groups, and consultants' reports. Ross Peacock, Director of Institutional Research, has used the COFHE Senior Survey for the classes of 1994 and 1996 to evaluate the achievement of Oberlin's objectives.3 Seventy percent of all Oberlin graduates (66% of mathematics and science majors) indicated that they participated in independent study or research for credit, compared with 49% of all alumni from comparable highly selective colleges and universities. In an alumni survey administered in 1996 to the class of 1991, 71% of Oberlin graduates in all fields were involved in independent study/faculty research projects (66% for Oberlin math and science majors), while at six peer institutions the overall participation rate was 62%. The College also uses objective measures of long-term performance. Among undergraduate (Carnegie College I) institutions, Oberlin is the leading producer of graduates who go on to receive the Ph.D. Data from the National Science Foundation (NSF) CASPAR System show that from 1966-96, Oberlin graduates ranked first in total number of Ph.D.s received in all academic fields (3,106); in science and engineering including medical and other life science fields (1,763); in science and engineering excluding medically related fields (1,738); and in the social sciences (527). (In addition, Oberlin ranked second in the number of education doctorates received, with 292.) According to NSF data for 1986-96, Oberlin remains first in number of doctorates in all fields, in science and engineering, and in the life sciences. In total doctorates received (68), and total doctorates received in science and engineering including (32) and excluding (31) the medical and other life sciences, more Oberlin African American graduates received doctorates than did African American graduates from any other four-year, private institution except Morehouse (239) or Spelman (284) Colleges. The medical school acceptance rates for Oberlin students are significantly higher than the national average. From 1990-97, 108 Oberlin undergraduates applied to medical school, of whom 59% were accepted. During the same period, 306 Oberlin alumni applied to medical school, of whom 58% were accepted. The national medical school acceptance rate for this period was 44%. The Office of Alumni Records tracks the career patterns of alumni. The most recent data (October 1996) indicate that 18% of Oberlin alumni work in higher education; 13% in the health professions; 13% in business and commerce; 9% in public service; 8% in music performance; and 7% in K-12 education. Smaller but statistically relevant numbers of alumni work in law, communications, the arts, computer science, and other fields. As at all colleges and universities, data on the activities of alumni are inevitably incomplete, but Oberlin has found that involvement of faculty at the departmental level can play a critical role in tracking graduates. Chemistry serves as the model in this respect. For thirteen years, the department has published annual reports describing activities for the year and profiling the careers of majors in their fifteenth reunion year. In this way, Chemistry has compiled educational and professional information for approximately 270 graduates representing the classes of 1971-82. Of this group, 35% earned the Ph.D. in chemistry or a related field, 34% received the M.D., 13% have no advanced degree, 10% have a masters degree, and the remainder earned other advanced degrees, such as the J.D. In terms of careers, 35% are employed in industry, 23% work in private or group medical practices, 19% are physicians at a university, 11% are in academia, and the remainder pursued other careers. The data convincingly show that the department has been successful in preparing students for advanced academic work and meaningful careers. To gather updated, comprehensive data on alumni and the impacts of an Oberlin science education, the College is undertaking a survey of the approximately 6,000 science majors who graduated between 1952 and 1998. The project is being directed by the co-chairs of committee on the new science facilities, Associate Vice President for Research and Development David Love, and Associate Professor of Chemistry Albert Matlin. The survey is being carried out in conjunction with the Offices of Alumni Records, Institutional Research, and Sponsored Programs.   2. Institution-wide assessment of student-faculty research and teaching assistantships: Oberlin's most systematic institution-wide assessment of the integration of research and teaching was its comprehensive study of the Dana program. From fall 1985 to spring 1989, the program provided 400 (302 unduplicated) teaching and research assistantships to students receiving financial aid. The project increased meaningful work experiences for students, strengthened student-faculty collaboration, and increased faculty productivity. Overall, 26% of the assistantships were in the natural sciences and 25% in the social sciences. The program was administered and evaluated by David Love, who was then Associate Provost. The Dana Foundation provided evaluation questionnaires for both students and faculty. Because students had to return the evaluation questionnaire before receiving final payment, the rate of return was 96%. Overall, 52% of students reported that the experience affirmed their choice of major, while 14% changed their career goals as a result of the research experience. In addition, 86% agreed or strongly agreed that the assistantship was well-suited to their academic interests; 75% believed the experience would help them achieve their career goals; and 86% found the job intellectually challenging or stimulating. Responses by faculty revealed that 51% of faculty found assistants' impact on the quality and quantity of professional research to be most or very significant, and 62% noticed an increase in the research productivity of faculty colleagues. When comparing faculty-student research collaboration at Oberlin before and after the Dana program, 8% of faculty characterized joint research as highly organized prior to the project, while 42% of faculty believed it was highly organized after the program. In addition, 47% reported that the collaboration resulted in publications, and 86% believed that the program had a significant impact on the quality of teaching and learning at Oberlin. Most importantly, 81% agreed or agreed strongly that student participants had become academically stronger and more motivated than comparable non-participants, and 99% thought that the program should be continued. As part of the comprehensive survey of science alumni described in C 1, all 1998 graduating seniors who majored in the ten departments were surveyed, and this portion of the study is already available. Of the 217 graduates surveyed, 105 (48%) responded. Of these, 78% engaged in a research project with a faculty member during January Term or on- or off-campus at some point during their undergraduate years. This figure rises to 86% when course-related research projects are included. Among the respondents, 78 included comments, all of which were favorable. Overall, 28% of the respondents considered research experience an invaluable part of their education; 47% found the experience valuable, 24% described the experience as rewarding or fun, and 29% believed the experience would be critical to their future careers.   3. Assessment at the departmental level of efforts to integrate research and education: Formal assessment procedures depend upon individual departments and faculty and the work of the Educational Plans and Policies Committee, which carries out formal review of each department every eight years. Faculty are required to gather student evaluations of every course. The anonymous evaluations are read after the end of the semester. Faculty are expected to use course evaluations to assess the effectiveness of new curricular ventures. Student evaluations helped strengthen an advanced chemical information course that has become important in the curriculum. Taught jointly since 1993 by chemistry professor Robert Thompson and science librarian Alison Ricker, the course gives students an overview of print and electronic sources of information in chemistry and addresses publication, current awareness, and assessment of information. Students complete weekly assignments and prepare a literature review of a selected chemistry topic. Early criticism centered on what students perceived as "busy work." In response, problem sets were redesigned to emphasize research on the students' projects. Library staff report that students who have taken the course have greater confidence and facility in using information resources. The course, described in the Journal of Chemical Education,4 is readily transferable to other institutions and is a model for information literacy at Oberlin. In 1992, Professor James Walsh developed for Calculus I and Calculus II a sequence of four computer labs through which students are introduced to discrete dynamical systems and led to a new view of the derivative and sequences. The labs are exploratory in nature: students conduct computer-based "mathematical experiments" and prepare their results in report format. When the exercises were introduced, students were asked to evaluate the module. The overwhelming majority found the exercises useful and enjoyable, and felt they benefited from discovering the results themselves and using the computer laboratory to do mathematics. Walsh has continued to use the modules in both courses, and has contributed an article on the exercises to the electronic proceedings of the Seventh Annual International Conference on Technology in Collegiate Mathematics.5 Computer science faculty Rhys Price Jones and Richard M. Salter, who received an NSF CISE grant to create new curricula for sophomore-level courses, thoroughly documented their integration efforts. With Dr. Fritz Ruehr of Willamette University, Jones and Salter developed a series of Web-based laboratories that help students recognize interconnections among theory, practice and analysis, a process that has produced striking improvements in clarity and style of student-written programs. The visually oriented, investigative approach, although more rigorous, has helped women and minority students feel less intimidated in the laboratory, because they control the pace and texture of their learning. A comparison of aggregated scores from Oberlin course evaluations taken before and after the curricular changes showed significant improvement. While categories measuring academic rigor remained fairly constant, averaged responses to "Interest Stimulated" rose from 3.6 in 1993 to 4.4 in 1996. Additional evaluation tools were developed to measure changes in student attitudes towards the concepts the new laboratories were designed to teach, and students were polled before and after the first semester of the new course. The results indicate a growing appreciation for formal methods of verification and analytical techniques, and demonstrate a significant improvement in the sophomore curriculum. The faculty presented their work at two national meetings in 1996 and coordinated a session at the 1997 SIGCSE meeting.6   D. Evidence of Achievements 1. Institution-wide assessment of efforts to integrate research and education: Institution-wide measures of student outcomes necessarily focus on attainment of general skills and the success of alumni, as defined in terms of Oberlin's mission. Internal and multi-institutional surveys administered to Oberlin seniors and recent alumni suggest that these groups believe Oberlin is accomplishing the goals established for student outcomes during the assessment process. That both internal and peer institution studies found 66% of Oberlin mathematics and science majors had undertaken research demonstrates the success of the College's efforts to integrate research and teaching. The survey of 1998 seniors suggests that this percentage is increasing. A comparison of GRE Subject Test scores from 1992-93 to 1996-97 demonstrates that the strength of Oberlin's science programs has remained high over the past five years. The five-year mean scores, by field, for Oberlin students and students at peer institutions are given in Table 3.   (Table not availiable for this Oberlin Online version of the proposal.--Ed.) Data on Ph.D. attainment of alumni from the NSF CASPAR System demonstrate that Oberlin has maintained a level of excellence throughout the 20th century, while the success of the College's commitment to academic excellence and diversity is underscored by the attainment of its African American alumni.   2. Institution-wide assessment of student-faculty research and teaching assistantships: The comprehensive evaluation of the Dana program clearly demonstrates the impact the project had in 1986 and 1987 on strengthening faculty commitment to student-faculty collaboration. Students reported gaining insights about connections between theory and practice; improving their communication and research skills; and increasing their understanding of academic careers. The program also benefited faculty research and curriculum development, since it encouraged faculty to articulate research plans and provided them with research colleagues since the research areas of faculty members seldom overlap. These findings were confirmed by a national study by Scannell and Simpson7 of all the programs sponsored by the Dana Foundation. Dana evaluation data can be compared with results of the 1998 pilot survey of science graduates although the surveys were very different. That all comments in 1998 were favorable and that 86% of the respondents experienced what they consider to be a significant research experience suggests that efforts to integrate research and education, while not complete, are successful. Student comments indicate the value students place on experiential learning. As a biochemistry major noted: "I have done research every year since freshman year. And I consider it absolutely vital to my education and my performance during college. I think I have been lucky in having the opportunities to do research in various fields." A computer science and psychology major wrote: "The research that I engaged in was for a laboratory in Cognitive Psychology. It involved coming up with a question, forming a hypothesis, designing how to test it and then running an experiment to test the hypothesis. It was quite useful in finding out how research is supposed to work."   3. Assessment at the departmental level of efforts to integrate research and education: The Assessment Committee chose to develop a department-based process in which each department formulates its teaching and learning goals and identifies measures for the outcomes. This method has proven effective in helping faculty explore outcomes of and approaches to their work. Departments are sharing methods and instruments, creating opportunities for comparison. With the project only in its third year, not all departments have begun the process. The final departments -- including some of the natural sciences -- will launch assessment efforts in 1998-99. Departmental assessments of psychology, biology, and geology already have yielded useful information about Oberlin's research integration. In the psychology survey of alumni from the classes of 1993-97, 75% of respondents reported that their independent research was excellent preparation for graduate school. On an ascending scale of 1 to 5, 88% gave laboratory courses ratings of 4 or 5 for effectiveness, and 83% agreed (rating 4) or strongly agreed (rating 5) that laboratory courses offered good preparation for evaluation of scientific information about behavior. The detailed biology survey asks graduating seniors to rate the effectiveness of individual courses and the overall program, and several questions address the integration of research and teaching. On an ascending scale of 1 to 7, 71% of seniors gave ratings of 5 to 7 when asked whether the biology major helped them learn to design experiments to test hypotheses. In addition, 74% gave responses of 5 to 7 when asked whether the major contributed to their understanding of the relationship of biology to problems of social, cultural, and intellectual concern. In the geology senior survey, all eleven respondents (of 12 majors) agreed that the core curriculum provided a comprehensive understanding of earth science. However, the seniors found the two upper-level courses that require the greatest degree of student independence to be extremely challenging. As a result faculty are devoting increased time to inquiry-based, experimental activities at the introductory and intermediate levels, in preparation for advanced, independent work. Students' comments underscored the importance of research-like activities: "I really enjoy talking about data gathered on a field trip and analyzing it later in class. Field trips have been very important for me," and "[Most important to me was] A renewed interest in science I lost through all the bad teachers I had in high school. As a child I always was interested in the earth and how it could sustain species for so long. I see now how diverse the major is and it is great that the department faculty is so approachable." Student evaluations also play an important role in the ongoing development of individual courses. Additional components were added, for example, to a laboratory exercise in the introductory Organismal Biology Laboratory. Initially, students observed their own respiration, lung capacity, pulse rate, and blood pressure in an experiment which received lukewarm evaluations. The following year, inquiry-based exercises emphasizing structure-function correlations and a demonstration specimen of bovine lungs and hearts were incorporated in the experiment, increasing the effectiveness of the laboratory experience. In another biology course, the advanced-level Cell Physiology Research, students design and pursue a semester-long research project. Students who took the course the first time it was offered suggested that future classes work in two- to four-person teams, rather than alone. The change was incorporated in spring 1998, and students this year made much greater progress in their research. As a result, participants in the 1998 course felt a greater sense of accomplishment about their research, and they recognized the benefits -- and potential challenges -- of working as a research team. Student evaluations also provide valuable positive feedback on the integration of research and teaching. The neuroscience course Laboratory Methods in Neuroendocrinology is centered on four experiments designed by class participants after careful discussion of experiment design and analysis. In their laboratory exercises, students explore the relationship between hormones and reproductive behavior in rats; the use of immunocytochemistry to determine the location of neurohormones; and the use of radioimmunoassays to determine stress hormone levels. For the final experiments, students break into two- to four-person groups to design, run, analyze, and write up an experiment. Student evaluations of the laboratory course are uniformly strong. Of the 17 students responding who took the class in 1997 and 1995, all felt the course helped them learn scientific techniques, and 100% gave ratings of 4 or 5 to this question on an ascending scale of 1 to 5. In addition, 88% felt the course increased their ability to think, write, or discuss science.   E. Plans to Advance Institutional Goals of Integration of Research and Education Use of Award Funds Oberlin College proposes: (a) to extend and more fully institutionalize initiatives that integrate discovery-rich learning into courses at all levels of the curriculum for both majors and general audiences; (b) to promote discussion and improve faculty communication about curriculum development; (c) to broaden evaluation efforts; and (d) to help other institutions achieve greater integration of research and education. Approximately $198,000 in AIRE funding will be designated for new curriculum development efforts, $235,000 for evaluation and dissemination, and $67,000 for academic and public outreach activities. To carry out this multifaceted effort, Oberlin will establish the Committee for Integrating Research and Teaching (CIRT), to be appointed by the Dean of the College and chaired by Dr. Janice Thornton, the AIRE co-principal investigator, who will direct the project. Four natural scientists and two social scientists will serve with Professor Thornton on CIRT, along with a representative of the Educational Plans and Policies Committee. CIRT's goals will be to increase the number and quality of opportunities for students to engage in research-like experiences as a part of science education, and to institutionalize active learning at all curricular levels. Inquiry-rich learning will be offered to an expanded audience of students, including non-majors. Over the three-year project, CIRT will support 20 new curricular efforts, and encourage communication and collaboration among existing initiatives in over ten departments. Assessment of Oberlin's student research programs clearly demonstrate the benefits to students of joining theory and practical experience. CIRT will bring important aspects of Oberlin's mission to bear on efforts to integrate active learning fully into the natural and social science curricula. In order to facilitate community awareness and social responsibility, faculty will be encouraged to develop course modules that involve students in applications of science that are important in the surrounding community. Modules will focus on environmental, economic, and social issues which students can explore meaningfully using inquiry-based approaches.   1. Plans to promote discussion and improve communication about curriculum development issues In spring 1998, as part of long-range planning, the College Faculty created the Committee on Teaching (COT) to support curricular improvement. In fall 1998, CIRT and COT will facilitate a year-long conversation across campus about innovations that promote active learning, by:   o organizing a series of workshops and demonstrations by faculty incorporating discovery-based approaches, at which inquiry-based learning will be discussed; o bringing nationally known educators to Oberlin to offer new perspectives and models; o encouraging faculty to integrate discovery-based approaches into components of current courses and to share their curricular developments with discussion groups for input; o disseminating materials and information about other resources (websites or teaching centers) on the integration of research and teaching; and o providing guidance and support to faculty beginning to incorporate discovery-based learning into their teaching through classroom observations.   These efforts will be widely interdisciplinary, involving faculty from all divisions of the College. COT will provide a venue for regular discussions about teaching methodology, learning outcomes, and particular learning situations. Open discussion among participants will be encouraged to promote coherence and dissemination of lessons drawn from experience. CIRT will work closely with COT in these efforts, as well as offer new faculty workshops designed to help faculty just joining Oberlin explore ways to integrate research-like activities into their teaching. AIRE funding would provide approximately $3,000 in support for outside speakers, while the cost of workshop supplies, printed materials, and videotaping of classroom observations will be covered by the College.   2. Plans to strengthen current efforts and initiate new projects to integrate research and education: Oberlin believes that students who plan careers in science or will use the tools of science in other fields should engage in research-like activities early in their academic careers. At the same time, the College places high priority on giving non-scientists a better understanding of scientific processes and the principles on which scientific knowledge is founded. CIRT will therefore coordinate and support the development of discovery-rich and research-based components, giving preference to new offerings or significant revisions of existing courses that:   o contain discrete modules that can be exported to other institutions with minimal changes; o engage large numbers of students at the introductory level; o introduce active learning into those intermediate- and upper-level courses in which it has been difficult to do so; o are interdisciplinary; o contain truly innovative ideas by virtue of the mechanisms proposed; o involve students as curriculum development assistants; and o engage students in the study of specific environmental, economic, or social problems in the community, or give students opportunities to experience public school teaching.   Innovative model projects in any of the natural or social sciences will be eligible for support. To promote information sharing across departments and challenge the tendency to do course development independently, faculty carrying out CIRT curriculum development during the summers will be encouraged to meet weekly during the month of July to discuss approaches and difficulties. Addressing practical issues with sophisticated tools and analyses is a particularly effective way of teaching introductory science and helping non-majors understand the relevance of science. In problem-oriented intermediate and advanced courses, students develop more complex skills, and their work can have important practical applications. Community education efforts and research on pollution carried out by environmental studies majors, for example, helped lead the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency to begin remedial clean up of the local watershed. Similarly, student involvement in local classrooms can strengthen science in area schools while giving undergraduates opportunities to participate in curriculum development and science teaching,. Already identified are 14 new and current curriculum development initiatives that integrate research and education. The proposed projects would affect all levels of the curriculum and include courses for general audiences and for majors. A number of the courses are expected to be directly linked, sharing some of the same reading and activities, to expose students to techniques and perspectives from multiple disciplines. The courses identified include Environmental Geology, Physical Geology, Groundwater Hydrogeology, Environmental Mathematics, two sections of Calculus, Principles of Solar Energy, Plant Ecology, Introduction to the Black River Watershed, Introduction to Watershed Education, Environmental Economics, Economics of the Urban Environment, Economics of Land, Location, and the Environment, and Seminar on Environmental and Resource Economics. Oberlin's community and county offer many case studies that allow undergraduates to move beyond the isolation of the classroom and apply scientific research skills in real-life contexts. These opportunities enable students to join theory and practice as they work on economic, environmental, and social problems facing the community. A mixture of small industrial cities and rural communities, Lorain County has over 270,000 residents. The town of Oberlin has a population of approximately 8,000. The county is a diverse community, with 8% (24% in the town of Oberlin) and 6% of residents of African-American and Hispanic origin, respectively. With a median family income of $28,900, over 10% of the county's population live below the poverty level (26% in the town of Oberlin). Almost 25% of area adults did not complete high school, and only 15% of county residents over the age of 25 have obtained a bachelor or associate's degree. These economic and educational problems are compounded by increasing urban sprawl from Cleveland, poor resource-use policies and loss of agricultural land, and pollution. School and community outreach are coordinated by the College's Center for Service and Learning, which provides the necessary administrative infrastructure. A number of the proposed projects directly relate to existing or planned College outreach initiatives, readily supporting student involvement in the community. Descriptions of the outreach programs follow, along with examples of related discovery-based modules:   (1) The Environmental Studies Center as a laboratory and demonstration site: Students will examine the Center's technical design and daily operations and the principles of solar energy utilization, solid waste disposal via living machines, and the functioning of "green" landscapes. Environmental studies modules (biology, chemistry, and physics) will apply. Discovery-based approaches will include geological studies of the constructed wetlands that will make up part of the Center's heating/cooling system, and collecting and analyzing data from energy flow and environmental monitoring equipment in the building. Students will also research and analyze upgrade options for systems in the Center as new technologies are introduced. (2) Work in the public schools: Students will help develop and present innovative mathematics and science curricula in local school classrooms. Working with children requires the development of exploratory science projects that is, in itself, a form of discovery-based learning. Modules on watershed education or in any of sciences could be relevant. (3) Comprehensive land use assessment of the region, employing Geographic Information System (GIS) mapping: In addition to GIS mapping of physical, geological, and biological features, students will develop overlays that plot zoning, housing, per capita income, and existing and planned infrastructure (flood and sanitary sewage collection systems) for city and county planning agencies. Proposed modules in biology, chemistry, economics, environmental studies, and geology would be relevant. (4) Planning the College farm: The farm will give Oberlin students experience in sustainable agriculture and conservation biology. Inquiry-based activities in biology, chemistry, economics, environmental studies, and geology courses listed above will include geological testing of the site (studying soil moisture, ground water flow rates, and water table height, for example); designing and conducting water-quality testing (collaborative effort involving chemistry and geology); economic analysis of the process of establishing and operating a sustainable agriculture project; and an ecological and environmental analysis of the site using a global positioning system (GPS) unit, surveying instruments, and GIS software. (5) Space planning and economic analysis for Oberlin: Problems faced by the city of Oberlin and adjacent rural areas include preservation of open space, renewal of degraded areas, urban sprawl and downtown renewal. The multidisciplinary project will focus on creating a comprehensive database and developing strategies to address economic, political, cultural, and resource issues. Using GIS equipment, students will also carry out accurate mapping and computer analysis of economic, development, and land-use patterns. (6) Audits of resource use efficiency: Economics and physics students will monitor and analyze energy, water, solid waste, emissions, and food production and recreation land use. Planned inquiry-based activities include computer modeling and thermal imaging to calculate building energy use and economic analyses.   CIRT will also encourage the development of innovative modules not related to the outreach projects listed above. In particular, emphasis will be placed on expanding the number of general audience courses that incorporate inquiry-based approaches. Examples of proposed projects include:   o Introduction of a series of hands-on classroom activities to the neuroscience general audience course Mind, Brain, and Behavior: The activities will give students direct classroom experiences illustrating fundamental ways in which the brain processes information and conscious awareness is distorted. Experiments illustrating distortions in perception, time, and logic will be emphasized. o The Brain: An Introduction to Neuroscience and Human Neurobiology: These courses of 40 to 100 students do not include a laboratory component. Faculty plan to develop research and problem based exercises that can be used in a large classroom. o Incorporation of laboratory exercises into two sections of Introduction to Western Art and Archaeology: Students will employ a range of scientific techniques used in archaeometrical analysis of archaeological materials and art objects to reconstruct the history of Egyptian, Greek and Roman objects and the people who made them. o Development of a research-like laboratory for Psychology and the Arts: The group projects that all students currently complete will be recast into pilot experiments requiring data collection and analysis, presentation, and discussion of results. To assist in this effort, each four- to six-student group will be paired with an upper-level psychology major who will serve as research coordinator. This will give humanities students a "research-like" experience, deepening their understanding of the actual conduct of scientific research, and will give psychology majors experience in supervising research teams.   New modules of research-like activities will also be introduced in intermediate and advanced courses for majors. Sweeping modifications to Vertebrate Structure and Evolution are proposed. Textbooks and laboratory guides for comparative vertebrate morphology are still structured around a laboratory format used in the 1940s, and the introduction of inquiry-based activities has proven challenging. The revised course will engage students in thinking like scientists, by having them integrate concepts and material learned in the first half of the course with diverse pieces of information, using biological, paleontological, anthropological, and neuroscientific sources from the library, the Internet, and electronic mail communications with scientists. Computer simulations will also be introduced. The course will then be structured as a series of discussions involving the entire class, like researchers presenting and discussing ideas at a scientific symposium. The proposed curriculum development projects will have an important impact on the integration of research and education at Oberlin, and can offer potential models for other colleges. Curriculum development proposals will be evaluated by CIRT. AIRE funding will be used to support at least 20 projects over the three-year period. Approximately $140,000 will be designated for curriculum development stipends (including benefits); $41,000 for equipment; $5,000 for supplies, and $9,000 for student assistants. CIRT will seek funding from internal and external sources to support additional projects integrating research and teaching.   F. Plans to Gather and Disseminate Information to the Academic Community 1. Plans to formalize evaluation efforts As described above, Oberlin has in place effective plans for student outcome assessment. To date, however, evaluation of particular curricular developments has depended on the initiative of faculty and the context of the project. Successful infusion of active-learning approaches throughout the curriculum requires systematic data collection and assessment of curricular changes. Therefore, the College proposes to use AIRE award funds to support a three-year pilot project to institutionalize mechanisms for evaluating curricular innovations and developments. During the three years, Oberlin faculty and administration will be able to assess the value and most effective use of both curricular methodologies and evaluation techniques. The project director and the College's Director of Institutional Research will hire and work with a full-time evaluation professional, who will be responsible for evaluating inquiry-based curricula in over ten departments, creating and maintaining the project's website, and helping coordinate CIRT logistics. S/he will also oversee a number of undergraduate interns who will assist with the project while learning about assessment. The evaluation team will work closely with the curriculum-development team (CIRT) to create a meaningful evaluation plan. Development of the evaluation plan, activities, and products will be guided by the following major principles.   o A formative perspective will dominate evaluation activities and be used to identify and develop relevant indicators for improving curricular activities; o Evaluation will be an integral part of curriculum development activities, to ensure that these efforts provide the most useful information. Pre-, intermediate and post-tests will often be required in order to achieve confidence that the curricular innovations have made a difference to outcomes; o The evaluation team will be expected to use many different approaches (including detailed qualitative research) to achieve improved understanding of CIRT's impact on macro (institutional) and micro (individual) outcomes; and o Every effort will be made to use and adapt existing sources of evaluation data, such as student course evaluations. o The efficacy and impact of different program components (e.g., participation at scientific meetings, community outreach) on student sub-populations (e.g., women, minority, first-generation) will be compared. The administration and faculty believe that evaluating discovery-rich learning in ten departments will be an ambitious but viable undertaking,. The most appropriate evaluation methods will likely vary by discipline and type of innovation, so mixed methods will be required. Clearly, studying the process of change in so many diverse fields will require a person with sufficient training, and the College plans to hire a Ph.D.-level professional. AIRE funding would be used to provide salary and benefits for the evaluator, released time for the project director, and salary for the undergraduate interns, for total personnel costs of approximately $230,000 over the three years. Limited funding (approximately $15,000) would also used for materials and supplies.   2. Plans to disseminate information to the academic community Project Kaleidoscope has agreed to collaborate with Oberlin in disseminating data, models, and assessment information to the broader academic community, and the evaluation team will therefore work closely with the PKAL national office. The CIRT Director and the evaluation professional will establish a website to which all participating faculty will contribute. In addition, participating faculty will be encouraged to present their curriculum development projects at regional and national meetings, and to submit articles to professional journals. The evaluation professional and the Director of Institutional Research may also present findings at professional meetings or workshops.   G. Plans to Conduct Outreach Activities Professor Thornton and CIRT will be responsible for outreach activities designed to make Oberlin a more visible model in the academic community and a source of relevant information for the general public.   1. Plans to provide other academic institutions with useful models and approaches: Outreach will be designed to assist other liberal arts colleges in strengthening the integration of research and education. Particular emphasis will be placed on outreach to the significant number of colleges in northern Ohio, the 25 institutional members of the Great Lakes Colleges Association (GLCA) or the Associated Colleges of the Midwest (ACM), and the other members of COSEN. Professor Thornton will organize four workshops, two each in the second and third years of the project. To help build long-term relationships among faculty both within and among institutions, the workshops will be interdisciplinary and designed to promote information sharing through demonstrations and discussions. Videotapes of the workshops will be disseminated. Oberlin faculty will be encouraged to present pedagogical result at national and regional workshops and meetings. Limited AIRE funding will be used to support this travel, as required beyond support already available from the Office of the Dean. CIRT Director Jan Thornton and other faculty will travel to other institutions, assisting their efforts to integrate research and education more effectively and will organize workshops at professional meetings.. Approximately $47,000 in AIRE funding will be designated for the four dissemination workshops; travel for both dissemination and outreach is estimated at approximately $12,000.   2. Raising public awareness of the value to society of integrating research and education in science: Oberlin is keenly aware of the importance of increasing communication between the academic community and the wider public. This need was a guiding principles in planning the new Environmental Studies Center as a demonstration site for sustainable development. As part of AIRE, a series of five workshops that highlight Oberlin students' participation in discovery-rich activities and experiential learning will be held at the Center to familiarize the public, developers, community leaders, and others with integration efforts undertaken by Oberlin students and faculty. Possible topics include the economic and environmental benefits of auditing private residences for sustainability; the importance to the community of the Geographic Information System mapping project; in-service workshops on environmental education for public school teachers; reports on the Center as a laboratory and demonstration site; and an economic, political, and sociological analysis of the Oberlin environment. CIRT will produce and disseminate videotapes of the workshops. Plans are currently underway to make a documentary film about the design of the Environmental Center and the unique role Oberlin students played in this process. Approximately $5,000 in AIRE funding will be used for the public workshops. Support for the film will be raised separately. References Cited     1. 1998, Oberlin College, North Central Association of Colleges and Schools Self Study Report , Lasser, C. and R. Pierce, eds., Appendix I, page 53.   2. 1985, Davis-Van Atta, David and Sam C. Carrier, Educating America's Scientists: The Role of the Research Colleges, Oberlin College, 1985; and 1987, Carrier, Sam C. and David Davis-Van Atta, Maintaining America's Scientific Productivity, The Necessity of the Liberal Arts Colleges, Oberlin College.   3. 1998, Peacock, Ross, "Reflections and Experiences of Seniors and Recent Alumni: Integrating Survey Results into the Assessment Process," Oberlin College, Institutional Research Web site (http://peacock.adm.oberlin.edu/www/documents/surveys_assess.html).   4. 1998, Ricker, Alison Scott and Robert Q. Thompson, "Teaching Chemistry Information in a Liberal Arts Curriculum," Journal of Chemical Education, submitted.   5. 1998, Walsh, James A., "Iteration in First Semester Calculus," Electronic Proceedings of the Seventh Annual International Conference on Technology in Collegiate Mathematics, contributed paper: 7-SA5 (http://archives.math.utk.edu/ICTCM).   6. 1996, Price Jones, Rhys, K. Fritz Ruehe, and Richard M. Salter, "Web-based laboratories enhance formal methods in the introductory curriculum," In Proceedings of the 1996 Annual Symposium of the ACM Special Interest Group in Computer Science Education, February, 1996. 1996, Price Jones, Rhys, K. Fritz Ruehe, and Richard M. Salter, "Enhancement of the introductory computer science curriculum." In Proceedings of the 1996 IEEE Frontiers in Education Conference, November 1996.   7. 1996, Scannell, James and Kathleen Simpson, Shaping the College Experience Outside the Classroom, The University of Rochester Press, pp 89-123.