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Along For The Journey: Graduate Student Perceptions Of Research, Alissa Droog, Kari D. Weaver, Frances Brady

Faculty Peer-Reviewed Publications

Graduate student identities and personal lives are heavily tied to their experiences of research, and many struggle to find, understand, and use information for research purposes. Using a drawing exercise rooted in visual research methods combined with semi-structured interviews, a research team in the United States and Canada explored graduate student perceptions of research with 19 participants. Thematic analysis identified six themes: research is abstract; research is an odyssey; social support makes or breaks the student experience; research is an emotional continuum; interplay between identity/values; information is problematic. The study has implications for how librarians support graduate student research.

How Do Graduate Students Approach College Teaching? Influences Of Professional Development, Teaching Assistantships, And Big Five Personality Traits, Elizabeth S. Che, Patricia J. Brooks, Anna M. Schwartz, Ethlyn S. Saltzman, Ronald C. Whiteman

Publications and Research

Introduction: Graduate students engage in college teaching with varied attitudes and approaches. Their teaching practices may be influenced by professional development experiences related to pedagogy, and their personality traits.

Methods: Through an online survey of graduate students teaching undergraduate courses (N = 109, 69.7% women, M age = 30 years, 59% psychology), we examined whether self-reported participation in professional development related to pedagogy, teaching assistantship (TA) experience, academic discipline (psychology vs. other), and Big Five personality traits were associated with variation in teaching practices.

Results: Participation in professional development correlated positively with years of undergraduate teaching experience and with …

Assessing Graduate Student Needs And Structures Of Support At Virginia Commonwealth University, Trisha Saunders, Kiama Anthony Bishop, Herbert Hill Iii, Tameka Fitzgerald Burroughs

Doctor of Education Capstones

The purpose of this multi-case study was to explore how the institutional landscape is designed to support graduate student success at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU), a large, public, urban, R1 research university. The study included review of existing literature on the various factors that contribute to or limit graduate student success at institutions across the country. A major aim of this study was to collect qualitative data from participants with a key stake in this issue, including enrolled graduate students, and faculty/staff supporting graduate (master’s and doctoral) programs at VCU. Participants included 39 graduate students and 23 institutional stakeholders. All …

Unpacking The Graduate Student Research Experience: Findings From A Drawing-Based Interview Study, Alissa Droog, Frances Brady, Kari D. Weaver

Faculty Peer-Reviewed Publications

What do graduate students think research is? How do they come to be scholars and how can we as information professionals better support their needs?

Using a drawing exercise rooted in visual research methods (Hartel, 2017; Doucette & Hoffman, 2019; Bryans & Mavin, 2006), a cross-institutional research team in the United States and Canada explore these questions through an interview-based study of graduate student perceptions of research.

At present, the existing body of knowledge examining student perceptions of research strongly focuses on undergraduates (Griffioen, 2019; Insua et al., 2018), leaving a critical gap in theory and pedagogy needed to support …

Professional Development For Early Career Dber Scholars Through In-Person And Virtual Career Panel Workshops, Miranda M. Chen Musgrove, Elizabeth Genné-Bacon, Kelsey Gray, Ashley B. Heim, Anupriya Karippadath, Rita Margarida Magalhães, Brie Tripp, Anna J. Zelaya

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

In discipline-based education research (DBER), early career scholars, such as graduate students and postdoctoral researchers, observe a slew of possible career pathways. Yet, there is a lack of opportunities to learn about such pathways, particularly when transitioning from traditional science, technology, engineering, or math (STEM) disciplinary training into a DBER position. Thus, the DBER Scholars-in-Training Professional Development subcommittee was created within the Society for the Advancement of Biology Education Research (SABER) community to develop a collection of workshops that would serve the greatest professional development needs of early career scholars entering DBER. Through a series of surveys disseminated over multiple …

A Degree Of Difference: Haylee Cook Among Ouachita's First Master's Cohort In Aba, Felley Lawson, Ouachita News Bureau

Press Releases

A couple years out of college, Haylee Cook knew her calling. She just didn’t know what it was called. After Cook earned a degree in psychology from Henderson State University, she and her husband, Matthew, a 2014 Ouachita graduate, left Arkadelphia so that he could pursue family ministry at a church in Alabama. When the couple’s daughter, Leland, was born, “I had zero motivation for graduate school,” Cook said. “I wanted to be the best mom I could be, and support Matthew in his ministry.”

Dr. Julyse Horr: A Scientist-Practitioner Led By Faith, Kiki Schleiff Cherry, Ouachita News Bureau

Press Releases

Dr. Julyse Migan-Gandonou Horr, Ouachita’s new director of applied behavior analysis, credits her faith with bringing her to where she is today. “I can look back now and see how God was guiding me every step of the way,” said Horr (pronounced “haw”). “In each chapter of my life, he put the right people in place at just the right time.”

In Search Of Silver Linings: Strategies For Preparing Future Faculty During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Tazin Daniels, Elizabeth Bailey, Anoff Nicholas Cobblah

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

In this article, we describe our experience as a racially and disciplinarily diverse, relatively junior program team who embraced the opportunity to transform a 20-year-old professional development seminar for graduate students into a remote offering in response to COVID-19. Our efforts to support our participants and champion an institutional move toward equitable and effective virtual programming are situated alongside the psychological tolls of remote work, a global health crisis, and ongoing racial violence across the United States. We recount our experience using, as a helpful metaphor, Lewin’s change model, which describes the process of “unfreezing,” “changing,” and “refreezing” long-standing assumptions …

Beyond Instructional Development: An Exploration Of Using Formal Pedagogy Training To Benefit Perceived Quality Of Life And Sense Of Community In Graduate Students, Matthew Mahavongtrakul, Ashley Hooper, Daniel Mann, Brian Sato

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

The Association of American Colleges and Universities calls for improvements in teaching preparation in graduate programs as a transferable skill for future faculty. However, the amount of institutional and faculty support for these programs is limited. For the relatively few programs that exist, rarely do they have their outcomes assessed in a data-driven manner. This is disconcerting considering that participation in professional development can improve work-life balance, and graduate students often work long hours, suffer from mental health issues, and face increasing career competition. In this case study, we explore how two teaching development programs impacted pedagogical knowledge, perceived quality …

Reaching Out Handbook, Boise State University

Rebuilding the Launchpad: Serving Students During Covid Resource Library

The Reaching Out Handbook has been created for the purpose of providing you with information about Counseling Services, about other campus resources, and how to most effectively assist individuals in distress.

Our goal is to help you recognize some of the symptoms of individual distress, as well as provide some specific options for intervention and for referral to campus resources. We are available to assist you with problem situations and to consult with you on whether to intervene with a particular individual and when to refer.

Guidelines are offered but each individual will need to consider what is appropriate in …

Applying The Rasch Model To Evaluate The Self-Directed Online Learning Scale (Sdols) For Graduate Students, Hongwei Yang, Jian Su, Kelly D. Bradley

Educational Policy Studies and Evaluation Faculty Publications

With the rapid growth of online learning and the increased attention paid to student attrition in online programs, much research has been aimed at studying the effectiveness of online education to improve students’ online learning experience and student retention. Utilizing the online learning literature as a multi-faceted theoretical framework, the study developed and employed a new survey instrument. The Self-Directed Online Learning Scale (SDOLS) was used to examine graduate student perceptions of effectiveness of online learning environments as demonstrated by their ability to take charge of their own learning, and to identify key factors in instructional design for effective improvements. …

Librarians In Dissertation Deposit: Infusing An Institutional Ritual With Scholarly Communication Instruction, Roxanne Shirazi, Jill Cirasella

Publications and Research

Most doctoral students are required to produce a dissertation that makes an original contribution to their field of study in order to fulfill their degree requirements. The scholarly nature of this requirement informs how students and faculty approach doctoral research, but universities often treat the dissertations themselves merely as student records, not scholarly contributions. Librarians, however, are uniquely situated to work with graduate students as emerging participants in the scholarly communication ecosystem and help them prepare their dissertations for an outside audience. Librarians have the expertise to advise students with questions regarding copyright, licensing, fair use, and authors’ rights, as …

#Realcollege During The Pandemic: New Evidence On Basic Needs Insecurity And Student Well-Being, Sara Goldrick-Rab, Vanessa Coca, Gregory Kienzl, Carrie R. Welton, Sonja Dahl, Sarah Magnelia, Sarah Magnelia

Rebuilding the Launchpad: Serving Students During Covid Resource Library

In March 2020, the coronavirus pandemic struck American higher education. Colleges closed campuses, students lost jobs, and emergency resources failed to meet the demands caused by the crisis. This report examines the pandemic’s impact on students, from their basic needs security to their well-being, as indicated by employment status, academic engagement, and mental health.

Fdst 880p: Food Proteins - A Peer Review Of Teaching Project, Benchmark Portfolio, Kaustav Majumder

UNL Faculty Course Portfolios

FDST 880P: Food Proteins, is a course designed only for the graduate students for the department of food science and technology. The course work provides the opportunity to dwell deep into the fundamental chemistry, protein structures and functions to understand the physiochemical and biochemicals factors that govern the functionality and biological activity of the food proteins and proteins-derived peptides. For each of the course objectives, I describe how and why I organize the course, as well as how my pedagogical choices encourage the student learning and engagement. Collect and analyze the data on students' performance and progress during the semester …

Rehabilitation Services News, Georgia Southern University

Rehabilitation Sciences, Department of - News (2018-2023)

• CSDS Graduate Students Present on Age-Related Hearing Loss

Employing A Community Of Inquiry Framework To Understand Graduate Students' Perceptions Of Supports In Asynchronous Online Courses Focused On Assessment, Jessica Rueter, Frank Dykes, Stephanie Masters

Education Faculty Publications and Presentations

As universities increase the number of online course offerings, the quality of programs is often called into question. In many instances, student input is not solicited when devising online course offerings and faculty often lack the training needed to devise a supportive online learning environment. The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine the supports that graduate students experience in an online graduate program focused on assessment practices for students with disabilities. The community of inquiry framework was used to examine the combination of social, teaching and cognitive presence. Findings from the study suggest that establishing and maintaining a …

Mnsu Graduate Student Handbook, Caroline Kinskey, Cody Schulte, Gregory Lee, Carrie Lewis Miller

Graduate Studies Publications

Online copy of the 2019 Graduate Student Handbook for Minnesota State University, Mankato.

Every effort has been made to make this document accurate as of the date of publication; however all policies, procedures, and fees are subject to change at any time by appropriate action of the faculty, the university administration, the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities Board, or by the Minnesota Legislature.

Advising Experiences Among First-Year International Doctoral Students, Nina Marijanović, Jungmin Lee

Educational Policy Studies and Evaluation Faculty Publications

The purpose of this qualitative study was to understand how international graduate students in their first-year of doctoral study selected their faculty advisor and how this selection process influenced their advising relationship. Our results found that a majority of students in our sample were assigned to an interim advisor and most reported a positive advising experience. However, disquieting patterns emerged from the data: low frequency of advisor-advisee interaction, occurrences of mismatching between advisor-advisee, and an unknowingness of how to engage with one’s faculty advisor. Our study adds to the literature focusing on international students by shedding a light on nuanced …

The Student Experience: Engaging In Cultural And Economic Shifts In Higher Education, Danielle Palombi

Publications and Scholarship

This research essay explores culture and economics as dynamics of VUCA (volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous) and their relationship to the invigoration of the student experience in higher education. The way in which academic institutions critically engage in the student experience is arguably essential for thriving in a VUCA world because its function as a cultural differentiator in the competing higher education marketplace, the response it provides to changing student demographics, and the effort needed to retain and graduate students in higher education institutions.

Online Graduate Student Perceptions Of Program Community, Craig E. Shepherd, Doris U. Bolliger

STEMPS Faculty Publications

This study investigates online graduate student perceptions of program community (i.e., feelings of trust, connection, and affiliation among students, faculty, and staff that develop and exist outside individual courses). Eighty-four graduate students in one certificate and two degree programs completed a researcher-developed survey distributed through email. The results indicated that students had a modest interest in program community, took pride in program affiliation, and incorporated affiliation as part of their personal identities. Students were interested in their peers’ and professors’ professional interests and felt comfortable contacting faculty members when not enrolled in their courses. The results are discussed in the …

Perspectives From Graduate Students On Effective Teaching Methods: A Case Study From A Vietnamese Transnational University, Christina W. Yao, Courtney Collins

Department of Educational Administration: Faculty Publications

Vietnam is emerging as an accelerated economic and political society with an increased global presence; thus, increased attention has been given to producing qualified college graduates who can contribute to the growing global economy. Yet challenges exist due to lack of educational infrastructure and ineffective teaching practices. As a result, the Vietnamese government embraces international collaborations in higher education as a way to address educational needs; however, although research exists on policy implications and government priorities, very little is known about how students perceive the teaching methods provided at these collaborative transnational universities. The purpose of this qualitative case study …

The Doctoral Quest: Managing Variables That Impact Degree Completion, Glenn Gittings, Mathew J. Bergman, Kobena Osam

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Review Of The Postgraduate Research Experience Questionnaire (Preq): Final Report, Ali Radloff, Darren Matthews, Yan Bibby, Daniel Edwards

Higher education research

A review of the Postgraduate Research Experience Questionnaire (PREQ) was conducted by the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) on behalf of the Commonwealth Department of Education and Training. The PREQ was developed in 1999 to collect information on core aspects of the HDR experience, and is currently administered as part of the Graduate Outcomes Survey (GOS) which is conducted with recent graduates from Australian higher education institutions. The PREQ currently provides information to government, universities and other stakeholders that help inform improvements to the quality of HDR training. This project was conducted in two phases. Phase 1 of the …

Graduate Student Perspectives Of Interdisciplinary And Disciplinary Programming For Teaching Development, Katherine E. Bishop-Williams, Kaitlin Roke, Erin Aspenlieder, Meagan Troop

Publications and Scholarship

Interdisciplinary (i.e., university-wide programming) and disciplinary (i.e., programming open to participants from one college or department) teaching development programs for graduate students have been used for many years in higher education. Currently, research on the benefits of these teaching models remains scant in terms of a contextualized understanding, and empirical studies are needed. The purpose of this study was to determine graduate students’ perspectives related to interdisciplinary and disciplinary teaching and learning experiences. Two online surveys were used: a quantitative survey and a qualitative follow-up survey. Three participatory focus groups were also conducted to allow for further in-depth exploration in …

A Model Of Effective Teaching In Arts, Humanities, And Social Sciences, Khazima Tahir, Hamid Ikram, Jennifer Economos, Elsa-Sophia Morote, Albert Inserra

Graduate School of Education Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

Csrde 2017 Roundtable - Grad Degree Completion.Pdf, Anne Edmunds Aguirre

Faculty Publications

The increasing importance of graduate degrees and need for graduate tuition revenue are compelling university leaders to pay increased attention to graduate enrollment issues. This roundtable will explore how to measure graduate degree retention and completion. With a lack of external requirements to report graduate degree completion rates, institutions often don’t track them. Those that do must decide how to handle students matriculating at different times of the year, part time v. full time enrollment, combined degree students, and other scenarios inherent in graduate education. The moderator will share their institution’s efforts to track graduate degree completion by developing a …

Open Access And The Graduate Author: A Dissertation Anxiety Manual, Jill Cirasella, Polly Thistlethwaite

Publications and Research

The process of completing a dissertation is stressful—deadlines are scary, editing is hard, formatting is tricky, and defending is terrifying. (And, of course, postgraduate employment is often uncertain.) Now that dissertations are deposited and distributed electronically, students must perform yet another anxiety-inducing task: deciding whether they want to make their dissertations immediately open access (OA) or, at universities that require OA, coming to terms with openness. For some students, mostly in the humanities and some of the social sciences, who hope to transform their dissertations into books, OA has become a bogeyman, a supposed saboteur of book contracts and destroyer …

The Social Work Librarian And Information Literacy Instruction: A Report On A National Survey In The United States, Margaret Bausman, Sarah Laleman Ward

Publications and Research

As an interdisciplinary profession encompassing macro, mezzo, and micro fields of praxis, well-informed and ethical social work practice necessitates the continual utilization of information literacy skills across a wide and ever-evolving range of information sources and access points. In response to a dearth of scholarship concerning information literacy instruction in social work education, this article reports on an initial endeavor to quantify and describe the nature of information literacy instruction in social work education on a national level in the United States. In addition to a review and discussion of the National Social Work Librarians Survey's descriptive data, this article …

Fundamental Researcher Attributes: Reflections On Ways To Facilitate Participation In Community Psychology Doctoral Dissertation Research, Renato M. Liboro, Robb Travers

Psychology Faculty Research

As novice researchers, Community Psychology doctoral students encounter fresh challenges when they attempt to facilitate participation by members of the community in their dissertation projects. This article presents the merit in adopting fundamental researcher attributes, which have been described in published academic literature as personal characteristics that facilitate participation by members of the community in research studies. The value of these researcher attributes is exemplified in the discussion of one of the author’s experiences in the early stages of his dissertation research process. This article also presents new researcher attributes for facilitating participation by community members that the author recognised …

How Serving Graduate Students Is Different From Serving Adult Undergrads, Steve Holtrop

Faculty Work Comprehensive List

No abstract provided.