Teaching-as-Research (TAR) Seminar
Teaching-as-Research (TAR), or the reflective use of research methods to improve teaching and student learning, is at the heart of CIRTL. In this 1-credit spring seminar, participants learn to become reflective teacher-scholars by asking questions about student learning and developing a small classroom research project. See some of the excellent questions our past TAR participants have been asking below (or check out the full archive of projects here) and get inspired to create your own! Right now, the course is only offered in the spring semester.
Interested students must either have their Associate Level certification or equivalent knowledge to take this seminar. You do not need to be actively teaching a course, but you must be willing to work with a faculty member on a project.
If you're interested in participating in the Teaching-as-Research Seminar, currently offered each spring as an IA699 independent study (1-credit), contact course instructors Byron Hempel (byronhempel@arizona.edu) or Kristin Winet (kwinet@arizona.edu).
Featured UArizona TAR Projects
Discovering Math On Their Own
Do students in a basic math course learn effectively if they are taught to discover the math principles on their own? -Sean Zhu, Mathematics
Evolution & Pre-Med Students
Does the use of medically-relevant examples in learning activities improve comprehension of concepts in evolutionary biology for pre-med students? -Geoffrey Finch, Ecology & Evolutionary Biology
Do Online Exams in Immunology Help or Hurt?
What are students’ sentiments of weekly online tests, and how does changing exam format from traditional exams impact their understanding of immune system physiology? - Keila Espinoza, Physiology
Student Perception & Performance in the "Jigsaw" Classroom: Learning the Anatomy of the Digestive System
What if we take charge of our learning and apply "the protégé effect: when we teach, we learn" (the Roman philosopher Seneca) to understand anatomy of the digestive system? - Maša Miščević, Neuroscience
Course DEI Statements & Sense of Belonging
Do course-level DEI statements in a general education psychology course affect sense of belonging? - Faqryza Ab Latif, Educational Psychology
Engineering Students & Study Habits
What are the study habits employed and course materials used by students in the environmental engineering course ‘CHEE 476/576’ to learn and synthesize the theory? - Joanna Joseph, Systems & Industrial Engineering
Weekly Written Reflections and Course Grade Improvement
During a 7-Week COMM 300 course, do students demonstrate mastery of content through an increase in whole-course-grade averages when they complete weekly personal low stakes reflection assignments on various communication theories compared to a previous semester of the course? -Heather Gahler, Communications