An ISU program is helping teachers to be more effective in the classroom.

Project LEA/RN is an ongoing program which enables faculty, graduate students and staff to “delve into research about learning and teaching strategies,” said Barbara Licklider, associate professor at education student services. The name stands for Learning Enhancement Action/Resource Network.

Participants in the program meet in groups of 18-25 people for two hours every two weeks, Licklider said. The groups discuss topics ranging from lesson planning to cooperative learning.

Groups are the network part of Project LEA/RN, because it is “how community gets developed and formed,” she said. Participants can try new things and get feedback from colleagues. In order to implement the ideas learned in the sessions, Licklider said faculty members are given lesson planning and reading assignments at each meeting.

“It’s pretty labor intensive on the faculty’s part,” she said.

In addition to the group discussions and planning, Licklider said each faculty member is also paired with a learning partner. Partners observe each other in the classroom to “engage in conversations and reflection and to think deeply about what he or she did,” she said.

Suzanne Hendrich, associate dean of family and consumer sciences for undergraduate programs and educational technology, is a Project LEA/RN participant and said the groups helped her be at a more personal level with another program participant and explore other areas she’s interested in. “It’s pretty interesting, too, to go into someone’s class and see what they’re dealing with and how they approach it,” Hendrich said.

Participants also have the opportunity to attend workshops held during breaks, Licklider said, which discuss topics such as active learning, facilitator training, classroom-based research and learning theory.

The program was developed in 1994 by Licklider, Judy Vance, associate professor of mechanical engineering, Jon Van Gerpen, professor of mechanical engineering, and Howard Shapiro, vice provost for undergraduate programs, to help faculty better serve students.

Since then, the program has reached 400 ISU faculty, graduate students and staff, 120 community college instructors and 200 faculty from other four-year institutions.

The program is housed in the College of Education Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies, Licklider said. It is primarily funded by the College of Engineering, with additional support from the colleges of Education, Veterinary Medicine and Design, she said.

Licklider said coordinating the program has been rewarding for her. “It’s been so refreshing to see sincere caring and deep commitment for students and for learning and teaching,” she said.