By snoadmin
Cal State Long Beach biological sciences assistant professor Eric Hass-Stapleton brings life to technology and technology to life in his teaching.
Haas-Stapleton received the Cal State University Sony Electronics Faculty Award for Innovative Instruction with Technology on Nov. 13 for making his teaching more technologically accessible to his students.
“What we were really looking for were people who use the technology either to reduce the course cost for students or to use the technology to create an engaging learning environment, or a combination of the two things,” CSU Spokesman Erik Fallis said about the award qualifications.
One of Haas-Stapleton’s teaching methods is audio recording his lectures as study material and monitoring student comprehension with iClickers, which give students the ability to respond to his material. He said that once he asks a question, students can use an iClicker to see if they are comprehending what he has taught for the day.
Haas-Stapleton also uses plasma computer screens to teach his classes.
“Based on this classroom environment, it’s easier to get stuff done and understand [material],” Kelly Cunningham, a senior cellular and molecular biology major, said. “When he draws a picture, it is displayed on each TV and it is easier to understand and look at.”
Eilleen Salas, a senior biology major with an emphasis in zoology, said that she has never experienced a learning setting quite like Hass-Stapleton’s biology classroom.
“I think that because this is so different, it is almost like a fresh feeling and it’s bigger,” Salas said. “I think it helps out a lot when he writes things [through the TV monitors]. If you draw something wrong, you can see what he drew.”
Haas-Stapleton said he believes that he won the award because he was willing to think outside the box to get his students to participate in the classroom, regardless of the class size.
“Being recognized in this way motivates me to take greater strides for trying new technologies to improve student learning at CSULB and make it more fun,” Haas-Stapleton said.
According to Fallis, Haas-Stapleton was awarded a VAIO laptop computer, tablet, camera and other accessories for in-class use. Haas-Stapleton said he plans to record his class sessions with his new camera for students to use as review and will implement new software to engage his students.
As the only biology professor who teaches in the technologically advanced classroom Academic Services room 244, Haas-Stapleton said the classroom design is a big experiment.
“We actually call it an ‘active learning classroom,’ ALC for short,” Director of Faculty Center for Professional Development Terre Allen said via email. “Vice-Provost David Dowell initiated the project and found the funding.”
Haas-Stapleton said he decided to incorporate technology in his teaching to engage his students in what he is teaching, rather than just having them listen to his lectures without knowing whether they grasped the concepts or not.
“I ask my students how they discover processes, and they start to research and share with everyone,” Haas-Stapleton said. “By stimulating students to work together and take personal responsibility for their learning, they can learn from each other … making them more competitive in the job industries.”
