Colleagues with classroom assessment mini-grants will report on assessment projects in progress this semester. They will each focus on an assessment strategy or tool they developed for a particular course and what results they have achieved at this point. Presenters will be Judy Amburgey (Chemistry), Mary Bader ( Religious Studies), Simon Gray (Mathematics & Computer Science), Kent Kille (Political Science ) and Amyaz Moledina (Economics).

3. TEACHING MATTERS MEETS FRIDAY, April 23
GEOWALL: Virtual Reality for the Classroom
Robert Varga & Josh Michaels ('05)
Scovel 116

One of the great classroom challenges in teaching is enabling students to visualize two-dimensional data (e.g. textbook pictures, 35mm slides, blackboard illustrations) that are inherently three-dimensional and spatial in nature. In the geosciences, for example, students are often called upon to imagine the three-dimensional character of faults or subterranean earthquake information, while in chemistry and biology, students are asked to visualize three dimensional chemical compounds or life-forms. Three-dimensional, spatial thinking ability is also of value in many other fields, including the arts, where students must imagine the three-dimensionality of sculpture or architecture.