Rutgers faculty use OAT Program awards to provide more individualized learning experiences for their students. For instance, award recipient Ines Rauschenbach, assistant teaching professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology at the School of Environmental and Biological Sciences, plans to replace the generic lab experiments that would be included in a traditionally published lab manual for her introduction to microbiology course with inquiry-based lessons that she designs herself and delivers to students for free via iPads.
"Inquiry-based lessons are more effective because the students are working hands-on and learning how to critically think," noted Rauschenbach. "Between buying a book for the course, buying a lab manual, buying goggles, buying a lab coat—it's a lot of money, it adds up. If we can provide these resources not only that we have prepared, but that are free, it adds value to the course and shows that we care."