Eastern is working toward being one of the top schools at integrative education in the nation.

“One of the goals of Eastern Illinois University is to be the best in the nation in the integrated academic and personal development of students,” said Mildred Pearson, the director of faculty development

A panel titled Engaging Students Through Integrated Teaching and Learning will take place at noon today in the Charleston/Mattoon Room of the Martin Luther King Jr. Union.

Jon Oliver, Jonathon Kirk, Jackie Frank and Angela Anthony will be panelists at the presentation.

The four Eastern professors, along with other Eastern faculty, attended an integrative learning conference in Atlanta in Oct. 8, 2009.

The professors plan to talk about what they learned at the conference, which concerns the process of helping students understand concepts and how ideas are connected.

While the teachers are from different areas of study, their selection was not random.

Provost Blair Lord and Dan Nadler, the vice president of academic affairs chose two faculty members from each college to attend the conference.

“At EIU, in order to encourage all students to draw connections between ideas and experiences, we intentionally generate multiple perspectives across colleges and disciplines to create a supportive learning environment,” Pearson said.

She said one of Eastern’s goals is to be the best in the nation in integrated academic and personal development of students.Integrative learning, as defined by the department of academic affairs, encourages students to explore and find out who they want to be.

“Integrative Learning encourages students to explore and determine who they want to be and what they want to do with their lives. (providing) environments, opportunities and activities that enable students to connect,” according to the definition from the department of academic affairs.”

While faculty and staff are encouraged to attend the panel, Oliver, who teaches kinesiology and sports studies, has found new ways to improve his own teaching methods.

“I learned that the instructional strategies that I have employed during the first seven and a half years at EIU may not be the most effective in helping students make connections between theory and practice,” Oliver said.

The four themes of the conference Oliver and his colleagues attended were purpose, design, reality check and assessment.

These refer to connecting information through integrative learning, what things help make these connections, what kind of school or community programs will help do this and how campuses are improving and keeping track of integrative learning.

“Attending the conference helped open my eyes to the fact that I need to do a better job of helping students make these connections, as well as promoting student reflection of the learning experience,” Oliver said.

Reflection is one of the characteristics of integrative learning as well as intentionality, metacognition, problem-solving, collaboration and engagement.

“This is a major institutional initiative,” said Pearson who referenced the university’s integrative learning.

The panel is directed toward college instruction. Elementary and high school teachers can attend, but the event is not specifically designed for education majors.

“The focus here is to promote integrative thinkers, who can see connections in seemingly disparate information, and draw on a wide range of knowledge to make decisions,” Pearson said.

Integrative learners are those who can adapt the skills learned in one situation to problems encountered in another. Oliver has used what he learned to improve how he performs in the classroom.

“I think I am becoming a better instructor because I am now more purposefully evaluating each learning activity on my course outlines to make sure they foster integrative student learning, and that there is a connective and reflective element to each,” Oliver said.

Oliver said he thinks every faculty member should regularly review their teaching methods, looking for ways to promote integrative learning.

James Roedl can be reached at 581-7942 or at jmroedl@eiu.edu.