IDIA
Initiative for the Development of Academic Innovation
Iniciativa para el Desarrollo de la Innovación Académica
Linking Education and Innovation
Customized Programs, Measurable Results
What we do
Who we are
IDIA creates multi-phased programs designed to foster longlasting change in the culture of teaching and innovation at
universities throughout Latin America and the Caribbean. Our
programs are designed based on experience working with
numerous institutions and in consultation with experts from
leading universities such as Harvard University, MIT, Brown
University, Olin College, and Carnegie Mellon University.
IDIA is an initiative of LASPAU, a nonprofit organization
affiliated with Harvard University, whose mission is to improve
quality and foster innovation in higher education. LASPAU’s
greatest contribution in its 45-year history has been the
strengthening of hundreds of universities, research centers,
and corporations throughout Latin America and the Caribbean
and through the training of some 20,000 individuals. Through
the IDIA initiative, LASPAU directly connects participating
universities to an extensive global network of knowledge,
expertise and best practices in teaching and learning. We
partner with a variety of institutions in the United States as
well as throughout Latin America and the Caribbean.
Our main areas of expertise include:
•
Student-centered and effective
teaching practices
•
Outcomes-based curriculum design
•
Approaches to student learning
assessment
Who we work with
•
Promotion of science, technology,
and innovation through alliances
between the education, business,
and public sectors
•
Teaching approaches for
strengthening student learning
in STEM (Science, Technology,
Engineering and Mathematics) fields
IDIA has created programs for a variety of institutions in
the past, including public and private universities in Latin
America and Europe, government institutions such as the U.S.
Department of State and Ministries of Education in numerous
Latin American countries and private foundations such as the
Goldman Sachs 10,000 Women Initiative.
LASPAU
Academic and Professional Programs for the Americas | Affiliated with Harvard University
Program Design
Our program design is guided by the following principles:
• Participants must not only acquire new knowledge but also
apply the knowledge to their practice
• Individual and group reflection are necessary for the
assimilation of new knowledge
• Institutional decision makers should be active participants in all
aspects of the program
• The creation of strategies to sustain change efforts, both at
the individual and institutional levels, is crucial for long-lasting
change and is a key part of each IDIA program
• Program monitoring and evaluation is essential for measuring
and reporting results and identifying ongoing needs
Program Cycle
IDIA works closely with partner organizations in all stages of the program cycle:
Needs Assessment: IDIA works with the partner organizations to collect data and
other information that indicate institutional needs and priorities.
Needs
Assessment
Development: Based on the needs assessment, IDIA designs a customized program
that is reviewed with the partner organization.
Implementation: IDIA puts the approved program design into action and
introduces the program to participants. IDIA provides an agenda and preparatory
materials to all participants for any seminars included in the program.
Program
Follow-up
Program
Development
Assessment: IDIA measures changes in participants’ knowledge, attitudes, and
practice with respect to the program topics, as well as institution-level changes.
Program
Assessment
Follow-up: IDIA engages in follow-up activities with the partner institution to
ensure the sustainability of the initiative and to use the assessment results to
identify areas of future improvement.
Seminars
IDIA’s seminars are an integral
part of our overall programs. We
Sample Schedule for a 3-Day Seminar (seminar length varies based on institutional needs)
Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
Group & Individual Reflection on
Teaching & Learning
Group & Individual Reflection on
Teaching & Learning
Session 3
Team Based Learning
Session 7
Teaching Critical Thinking
Welcome Session
Session 4
Peer Instruction
Session 8
Evaluating Student Learning
Session 1
Principles of Effective University
Teaching & Learning
Session 5
Course Design Based on Student
Learning Outcomes
Session 9
Strategies for Institutionalizing
Efforts towards Teaching &
Learning Improvement
Session 2
Case Discussion on Teaching &
Learning
Session 6
Classroom Observations
conduct highly interactive seminars
that utilize a range of teaching
methodologies including case
studies, collaborative learning,
classroom observations, projectbased learning, peer instruction
and micro-teaching sessions.
Welcome Dinner
IDIA
Program
Implementation
Recent Programs
Student-Centered and Effective Teaching Practices
Program on Effective Teaching and Learning, Universidad de Costa Rica
The Universidad de Costa Rica (UCR) is the oldest and largest public university in Costa Rica serving
approximately 39,000 students annually. In 2010, IDIA created a program to strengthen the university’s
existing efforts toward teaching improvement. IDIA staff worked closely with UCR to design and implement
a multi-phased program for a group of 16 professors which spanned 8 months. In the preparatory phase,
LASPAU provided readings and exercises to participating professors and asked them to select a course they
currently taught in which to apply the knowledge gained during the IDIA program. They then took part
in a 5-day program on the Harvard University campus that combined interactive sessions led by teaching
and learning experts with group and individual reflections and class observations. Participants had the
opportunity to learn about and discuss several student-centered teaching methods and student learning
assessment strategies. After the 5-day program, LASPAU continued to support participants in their efforts
to redesign their courses and build a culture of teaching innovation at UCR. Throughout the program, each
professor piloted the new pedagogical methods and strategies at UCR in the course they selected at the
beginning of the program.
Seminar sessions included:
• Question and Case‐Based Teaching
• What the Best College Teachers Do: A Reflection on Active Learning
• Developing Interactive Teaching Methods
• Motivation and Self‐Direction in an Interdisciplinary, Project‐Based Course
Strengthening Student Learning in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and
Mathematics) Fields
Fulbright Workshop on Effective University Teaching in STEM Fields, U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and
Cultural Affairs
The Fulbright Workshop on Effective University Teaching in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) Fields offered
participants practical and interactive sessions led by faculty experienced with effective university teaching in STEM fields. The
main objectives of the program were to provide participants the opportunity to reflect on their teaching philosophy, examine
leading practices in STEM fields at the university level and provide a conceptual framework to facilitate the process of pedagogical
improvement including specific tools and techniques that could be readily applied and incorporated into their classrooms.
Seminar sessions included:
• Teaching in STEM Fields
• Peer Instruction
• Problem Solving in STEM Teaching
• Student Learning Assessment
Promotion of Science, Technology, and Innovation through Alliances between the
Education, Business, and Public Sectors
Innovation, Science, and Technology Seminar, Foro de Presidentes, Colombia
Foro de Presidentes is an organization composed of business leaders and highlevel professionals in Colombia. The group has a strategic focus on the alliances
between the business, academic and public sectors at the national level. IDIA
worked closely with Foro de Presidentes, as well as in collaboration with the
MIT-Harvard Club of Colombia and the Colombia Fulbright Commission, to
organize a timely and relevant seminar that brought together leading executives,
university administrators and government officials. The goal of the seminar was
to fortify efforts by the business, government and academic sectors in Colombia
to promote an environment where innovation, science and technology are the
leading forces driving Colombia´s competitiveness. Participants shared ideas with
experts and examined cases where academia effectively interacts with industry
and government. Participants ended the seminar with the creation of a concrete
short-term action plan to be implemented upon their return to Colombia.
Seminar sessions included:
• Educating the Innovators of the 21st Century • Rapid Prototyping and the Economics of Innovation
• Trends in Business School Education
• From Lab to Market: Best Practices in Technology Transfer
• Pathways to Innovation: University-Industry Synergies
• Case Discussion: Organizing for Competitiveness
Linking Education and Innovation
IDIA
Initiative for the Development of Academic Innovation
Iniciativa para el Desarrollo de la Innovación Académica
Testimonials
IDIA programs have benefited thousands of individuals and improved teaching and learning at numerous institutions. Achieving lasting and
measurable results are a key part of IDIA’s program design and feedback from university leaders, seminar participants and their students is
gathered on an ongoing basis.
“I will change the way I teach and the way I design the activities in my class. I now know how to apply
these methodologies in order to convert my students into lifelong learners.”
Participant, Effective University Teaching in STEM fields
“I have incorporated into my teaching methodology valuable techniques such as Collaborative Learning
and Team‐based Learning which strengthen and improve my teaching skills.”
Participant, Program for Innovation in Education
“I have modified my way of teaching and I constantly evaluate the success of the methodology being
used. I try to have the student be more participatory in the development of his or her learning.”
Participant, 10,000 Women Faculty Development Program
“In this substantive seminar, I learned that assimilation is key for learning; as educators we need to
leave behind the practice of simply transferring information to students.”
Participant, Program on Innovation in Teaching
Faculty Partners
Through its programs, IDIA brings together experts from leading universities in
the U.S. and abroad. Recent seminars have included:
Terry Aladjem
Executive Director, Derek Bok Center,
Harvard University
Susan Ambrose
Associate Provost for Education,
Director of the Eberly Center for
Teaching Excellence, and Teaching
Professor in the Department of
History, Carnegie Mellon University
Kenneth Bain
Vice Provost for University Learning
and Teaching, Director, Research
Academy for University Learning,
and Professor of History, Montclair
University
Lori Breslow
Director, Teaching and Learning
Laboratory, Massachusetts Institute
of Technology
Jennifer Craig
Lecturer, Program in Writing and
the Humanities/Department of
Aeronautics and Astronautics,
Massachusetts Institute of
Technology
James Honan
Senior Lecturer on Education,
Harvard Graduate School of
Education
Gregory Light
Director , Searle Center for Teaching
Excellence and Associate Professor,
School of Education and Social
Policy, Northwestern University
Eric Mazur
Area Dean of Applied Physics,
Balkanski Professor of Physics and
Applied Physics, Department of
Physics, Harvard University
Find out more
For more information about how IDIA can partner with your institution, please contact:
Angelica Natera, Associate Director for Academic Innovation, LASPAU
[email protected]
www.laspau.harvard.edu/idia
Janet Rankin
Associate Director for Teaching
Initiatives, Teaching and Learning
Laboratory, Massachusetts Institute
of Technology
Lynn Stein
Professor of Computer Science and
Engineering, Olin College
Kathy Takayama
Director, Sheridan Center for
Teaching and Learning, Brown
University