Course
The Project Athena Course is used to prepare future faculty in Library and Information Studies (LIS). Throughout the course, students are encouraged to develop dynamic leadership and communication skills; familiarize themselves with emergent technologies for delivering online courses; and to question the status quo, particularly in the area of academic scholarship and publishing.
To round out their training, Athena Fellows are exposed to best practices in the area of: course development, assessment and evaluation, grant writing and communication skills. Finally, during the semester students will discuss a number of topics that are currently being debated in the field of LIS, including diversity and inclusion, ethics and professionalism, recruitment and retention.
Course Objectives
The goal of Project Athena is to provide a solid foundation that will enable Participants in the course to:
- Create effective learning environments, both virtual and face-to-face;
- Develop the skills necessary for achieving success as an LIS faculty member
- Acquire information about the teaching and learning process, faculty roles, and service opportunities at the Partner and Sponsor schools;
- Gain a realistic perspective on the state of the LIS professoriate; and
- Examine their fit with a teaching career in higher education.
Course Deliverables
At the conclusion of the course, students will have developed the following deliverables: (i) a web log that traces their learning experiences throughout the course; (ii) a syllabus for offering a new undergraduate or graduate course in the field of LIS; and (iii) a proposal that can be submitted to a granting agency and is designed to create a new curriculum or conduct state-of-the-art research in the field of LIS.