Three UTSA students win Martinello Prize for Inquiry

(Oct. 11, 2002)--Three students who completed the Modes of Inquiry course during the 2001-2002 academic year were awarded the Martinello Prize for Inquiry, dedicated to Marietta and Guisippantonio Martinello, the grandparents of Marian Martinello, professor emerita. Each of the students received a cash prize of $100 and was invited to post his or her respective paper with those of winners from the previous academic year at the Pathway for Inquiry Web site.

The winners are Janelle Ackerman, Irma Cecilia Villalobos and Isaac Rehberg. The runners-up are Suzy Westfall and Rebekah Ownby. The winners were chosen through a blind review of nominated papers by a panel of judges including faculty and students. The judges were: Mary Ellen Jacobs, Macleta Clark, Carmen Fies and Sativa Rassmussen, 2001 finalist.

The UTSA interdisciplinary studies course, Modes of Inquiry Across the Fields of Study, was developed by a team of faculty members from diverse disciplines working with Professor Marian Martinello in 1987, and first offered in 1990. "Modes," as students refer to it, is a required course in the UTSA education program, and shares its curriculum goals with the community colleges in the area. A central focus of the course is to help students develop critical thinking skills.

The course takes each student on a journey of exploration and discovery with extensive student participation as part of its structure. Students choose topics of personal interest and are led to discoveries using methodologies employed by researchers. The students keep a project notebook of findings, develop an inquiry plan and research their topics using a wide variety of resources.

Going beyond a conventional research paper, the process is a detective-like inquiry process. Class members learn what to ask, and how to use the answers to ask more refined questions. The ultimate question might be, "How does this process help me understand the world I live in, and how can I be part of this world as a thinking human being?"

Martinello Prize for Inquiry Web page

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