Daily Pioneer News

PLATTEVILLE - University of Wisconsin-Platteville professor Lisa Riedle believes that people can learn a lot from each other, and she will have the opportunity to share ideas with other professors from around the UW System in her appointment as a 2004-2005 Wisconsin Teaching Scholar.

Riedle, a professor of civil and environmental engineering, is looking forward to the opportunity.

"I'm excited to learn from others. I'm kind of curious what's next," she said.

As a scholar, Riedle will attend UW Office of Professional and Instructional Development events and complete a classroom research project. Riedle wants to bring together students from different fields of study.

"I would like to find ways to make cross-disciplinary groups and do collaborative projects with different disciplines," she said. "Usually, things don't happen because of one individual, but because of a team of individuals."

Riedle said students and faculty tend to get segregated by their disciplines, and she would like to see more collaborative learning that crosses those boundaries.

"There's so much we can do together," she said.

Originally from Whitebear Lake, Minn., Riedle attended UWP as an undergraduate and earned a bachelor's degree in mining engineering. She completed master's and doctoral degrees in engineering at the University of Alabama before returning to teach at UWP. She now lives in Platteville with her three-year-old daughter Allison.

Riedle, who also serves as the assistant dean of the College of Engineering, Math and Science, has been a faculty member at UWP for 14 years.

Sam Owusu-Ababio, civil engineering program coordinator, said Riedle has found success coordinating the senior capstone design project. Civil engineering students nearing graduation form teams to meet with and assist individuals and groups in the private sector. In the past students have drafted a design for a subdivision near Dickeyville, have formulated plans to rehabilitate Highway 81 and devised ways to decrease traffic flow around Platteville High School and Middle School, for example.

"What fascinates me is her ability to assemble these projects in a timely manner and to the satisfaction of the clients," Owusu-Ababio said. "I believe her effectiveness as an instructor is attributed to her outstanding organization and communication skills."

In her appointment as a Wisconsin Teaching Scholar, Riedle hopes to learn some aspects of how other professors in the UW System facilitate learning, and bring some of those educational techniques back to UWP.

"What I really enjoy is listening, learning, seeing what everyone else is trying and seeing if there's a way to incorporate any of their thoughts and ideas into the activities that I do," Riedle said.

"We are always looking for new ideas, new ways of doing things," Owusu-Ababio said.

Wisconsin Teaching Scholars are selected among veteran UW System faculty and staff. Instructors who display strong potential to become outstanding instructors are eligible to be selected.