Jackson College Faculty Recognized

Jackson College recognized Dr. Geri Jacobs and Payge Hodapp as recipients of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) Award, which honors faculty who systematically study their own teaching practices, examine their impact on student learning, and share what they discover so others can benefit. SoTL is especially important because it moves innovative teaching beyond an individual classroom, turning practice into evidence that can strengthen teaching and learning across disciplines and institutions. Dr. Jacobs explored intentional AI integration in ENG 132: Writing and Research, including AI literacy, rhetorical analysis, critical thinking, and reflection, while Hodapp investigated AI in the nontechnical HPF 160: Wellness course by developing custom AI applications to support personal wellness, reflection, and behavior change. Both transformed their classroom innovations into case studies and shared their work with fellow educators through presentations at Jackson College, the TRENDS in Occupational Studies Conference, and nationally at the League for Innovation in the Community College Conference. Their work demonstrates the full impact of SoTL by taking innovation from the classroom, studying its effectiveness, and sharing those findings with the broader higher education community.