For the first question that asked whether their thinking
about teaching had changed as a result of implementing the
4MAT project, and if so how, a recurrent pattern of responses
revealed a theme characterized by change in faculty conceptions
about teaching and learning. These included new realizations
about the importance of (1) the use of visual and other
creative nonverbal learning activities (professors offered examples
of how they utilized various pictures and images, role
plays, or simulations, and engaged students in building models
using materials to portray course concepts; (2) helping
students make personal connections as a key learning goal
(professors facilitated discussions and associated writing activities
in which their students made personal connections to
identified course concepts; (3) being disciplined in sustaining
the momentum true to the 4MAT model, despite the allure
of simply telling students what they need to know; and (5)
clearly identifying a few powerful anchor concepts (like a
preamble that grabs the reader at the beginning of a book)
upon which to build.