by Alex Corbitt

The IDEA Center, a place for other teachers to learn and communicate with others, is now taking applications for grants to help support faculty who would like to improve their classes this semester.

The goal of the IDEA center, located on Georgia Avenue is to allow professors to meet with other teachers and discuss issues within the classroom and within their teaching methods for the sake of improvement and innovation.

“My hope is that more and more students’ learning are impacted by what faculty are doing at The IDEA Center,” Dr. Kathleen Lowney, coordinator of the center’s activities, said.

The center is also there to help teachers relax and focus, with a kitchen and comfortable living room.

“We also offer writing groups, where faculty who want to establish a writing routine can get together to share what they have written and receive feedback from peers,” Lowney said.

“Other faculty use the IDEA Center as a quiet place to write or to grade.

“We also fund about 10-15 Pedagogical Innovation Grants each year, whereby a faculty member wants to do a teaching innovation, applies for the grant, and then does a scholarly review of literature on it during the summer, then implements the innovation during the fall semester, and evaluates it during the spring semester.”

The IDEA Center is also confidential, and anyone who uses their services is guaranteed their privacy. To sign up, teachers can go to http://www.valdosta.edu/academics/ideacenter/our-services.php and click on the picture of the center to be taken to the registration page.