Education Commons^™

Taking Teaching And Learning Seriously: Approaching Wicked Consciousness Through Collaboration And Partnership, Adam H. Smith, Laurie L. Grupp, Lindsay Doukopoulos, John C. Foo, Barbara J. Rodriguez, Janel Seeley, Linda M. Boland, Laurel L. Hester

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has demanded large-scale collaboration within all organizations, including higher education, and taking teaching and learning seriously, in this moment, means leveraging partnerships to address the wicked (large, complex) problems cited by Bass (2020). These problems are not ours alone to solve; rather, we make the case for a “wicked consciousness,” an amalgam of perspectives, in educational development. Guided by intellectual humility, our success as educational developers ought to be measured by the quality of our collaborations as well as our ability to learn with others, form equitable partnerships, and lead others by our example.

Holding Tight To Our Convictions And Lightly To Our Ways: Inviting Shared Expertise As A Strategy For Expanding Inclusion, Reach, And Impact, Kylie Korsnack, Leslie Ortquist-Ahrens

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

When the global pandemic forced campuses across the United States to send students home in March 2020, instructors were thrown into triage mode, forced to rapidly transition their on-the-ground classroom curriculum to a format that could be completed remotely by students spread out across the country. At the same time, centers for teaching and learning (CTLs) also entered triage mode, puzzling over how to quickly but effectively provide appropriate training and meaningful support to prepare faculty for this rapid transition (Aebersold et al., 2020). The situation’s urgency, coupled with the significant constraints many CTL directors already experienced, necessitated creative, flexible, …

Building A Social Network Around Sotl Through Digital Space, Shannon M. Sipes, Samy L. Minix, Matt Barton

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

In an effort to increase visibility of and access to the scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL) work on one campus, a collaboration formed between a faculty developer, a librarian, and a media specialist within a center for teaching and learning (CTL). Building on the frameworks of community of practice, professional learning network, and social networking, the authors strategically leveraged digital space to begin building a social network of faculty members interested in SoTL. This article will address the theoretical foundation and practical implementation of five digital strategies: (a) website redesign; (b) social media presence; (c) blog series; (d) filmed …

Reflections On Teaching Cyaf 374, Curriculum Planning In Early Childhood Education: A Peer Review Of Teaching Portfolio, Christine Kiewra

UNL Faculty Course Portfolios

In this course portfolio, I reflect on teaching methods and materials as they relate to course goals and learning outcomes for an undergraduate early childhood education course, CYAF 374. This course offers students a developmental, child-centered approach to designing, implementing, and evaluating learning experiences for children from birth to grade 3. The course is for students who are preparing to teach in Early Childhood, Inclusive Early Childhood, or Primary classrooms. The focus of my reflection and evaluation is on principles of effective teaching practice, experiential learning, reflective practice, and collaboration implemented throughout the course. Finally, I reflect upon successes and …

A Framework For The Strategic Leveraging Of Outside Resources To Enhance Ctl Effectiveness, Thomas M. Brinthaupt, Laura Cruz, Sheila Otto, Mike Pinter

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

Many centers for teaching and learning (CTL) are challenged with developing new programs and services that are constrained by limited staff and resources. Tapping into on- and off-campus expertise is one way for CTL to expand their range of options for faculty development. In this paper, we present a framework that describes how CTL can assess the likely impact, value, and range of prospective leveraging opportunities when deciding whether to pursue on- and off- campus partnerships. We then discuss applying the framework as an analytical tool, developing leveraging strategies, and creating a strategic leveraging plan. Throughout this discussion, we provide …

Seven Voices, Seven Developers, Seven One Things That Guide Our Practice, Frances Kalu, Patti Dyjur, Carol Berenson, Kimberley A. Grant, Cheryl Jeffs, Natasha Kenny, Robin Mueller

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

Educational development philosophy statements provide a framework to communicate the values and beliefs that guide the practices and approaches of individual educational developers across various career stages. This paper presents narratives to illustrate how seven educational developers conceptualize the one thing that guides our work through the process of reflecting on the beliefs that we articulate through our educational development philosophy statements. Although each narrative illustrates our diverse backgrounds and philosophies, common themes are revealed relating to reflective practice, scholarly approaches, and facilitating change, which lead to improvements in student learning. This exploration suggests further opportunity to conduct research on …

Workshopping A Workshop: Collaborative Design In Educational Development, Eleanor V. H. Vandegrift, Amy B. Mulnix, Jennifer R. Yates, S. Raj Chaudhury

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

Working remotely and collaboratively, our interdisciplinary team created an educational development workshop, Thinking Skills for the 21st Century: Teaching for Transfer, in which participants not only experience, apply, and reflect on teaching across educational settings but also connect this work to principles that have been demonstrated by learning science to support the transfer of knowledge. We used backward design to develop the workshop and evidence-based pedagogies in its implementation. We facilitated the workshop at two different national meetings for distinct audiences and also as part of an on-campus faculty development program. Here, we report on the workshop development and revision, …

Ways Of Doing: Feminist Educational Development, Emily O. Gravett, Lindsay Bernhagen

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

In response to the recent special call in To Improve the Academy, we offer the following collaborative essay that describes how feminism is our characterizing perspective on educational development. The essay details various, interrelated facets of feminism that inform our work in the field: gender, intersectionality, power, privilege, standpoint theory, and collaboration. Not only do these facets characterize our own feminist approach to educational development—from consultations to organizational development to publications—but, we argue, they also align well with the values and approaches of the field as a whole.

Metacognition By Design: How A Course Design Experience Can Increase Metacognition In Faculty, Teresa A. Johnson, Sarah A. Holt, Margaret Sanders, Lindsay Bernhagen, Kathryn Plank, Stephanie V. Rohdieck, Alan Kalish

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

Since 2009, our center for teaching and learning has offered an intensive Course Design Institute (CDI) several times each year, which has now been completed by more than 600 teaching faculty, staff, and Graduate Teaching Associates from The Ohio State University. To better understand the impact of participating in a CDI on participants’ teaching, this study utilizes qualitative data drawn from five years of participant feedback gathered on the last day of each CDI, as well as from focus groups conducted with CDI graduates in the years following their participation. The results show that participating in the CDI helps instructors …

Writing Renewal Retreats: The Scholarly Writer, Contemplative Practice, And Scholarly Productivity, Edward Brantmeier, Cathryn Molloy, Jennifer Byrne

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

This article offers an exploratory case study of a program for faculty that blends contemplative practices, scholarly productivity, and renewal of faculty as writers at a retreat in a natural setting. We share faculty learning outcomes, logistics, a retreat agenda, and evaluation data from four writing renewal retreats conducted over two years to present initial insight into a contemplative approach to writing retreats that fosters a connection to self, to scholarship, and to a community of writers—key elements of a successful writing life. Through critical reflection on the role of contemplative practices, scholarly productivity, and faculty well-being, we offer a …

Institutionalizing Faculty Mentoring Within A Community Of Practice Model, Emily R. Smith, Patricia E. Calderwood, Stephanie Burrell Storms, Paula Gill Lopez, Ryan P. Colwell

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

In higher education, faculty work is typically enacted—and rewarded—on an individual basis. Efforts to promote collaboration run counter to the individual and competitive reward systems that characterize higher education. Mentoring initiatives that promote faculty collaboration and support also defy the structural and cultural norms of higher education. Collaborative mentoring initiatives, however, support all faculty to be lifelong learners. We analyze a reciprocal model of mentoring—a community of practice for mentoring—that integrates collaborative mentoring into faculty’s daily work. Additionally, we examine the dilemmas, benefits, and costs of institutionalizing a community of practice model for mentoring in higher education. Our analyses indicate …

Good, Fast, Cheap: How Centers Of Teaching And Learning Can Capitalize In Today’S Resource Constrained Context, Michael H. Truong, Stephanie Juillerat, Deborah H. C. Gin

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

This article provides leaders and educational developers of Centers for Teaching and Learning (CTL) with innovative and practical strategies on how to increase their centers’ capacity and impact by focusing on quality, efficiency, and cost. This “good, fast, cheap” model represents a promising way that CTL can continue to grow, scale, and innovate in the midst of limited resources. By leveraging existing campus resources, external vendor products, and low cost technologies, CTL are able to remain effective and impactful, without compromising quality or requiring abundant resources. This article will include real use case examples from a CTL at a mid …

A Faculty Wellness Workshop Series: Leveraging On Campus Expertise, Thomas M. Brinthaupt, Arielle Neal, Sheila Otto

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

Centers for Teaching and Learning (CTL) that suffer from funding and staffing issues must rely on outside resources to enhance their effectiveness. Even if funds and staff are adequate, most CTL can improve their reach and effectiveness by the partnerships they establish across their campuses. In this article, we describe a faculty wellness workshop series that illustrates the strategic leveraging we have been able to accomplish on our campus. The series included free standing faculty workshops devoted to stress management (partnering with Counseling Services), work life balance and workplace civility (with members of our faculty learning communities), voice coaching (with …

Improv(Ing) The Academy: Applied Improvisation As A Strategy For Educational Development, Jonathan P. Rossing, Krista Hoffmann Longtin

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

Improvisational theater training (or “improv”) is a strategy employed by many business leaders and educators to cultivate creativity and collaboration amid change. Drawing on improv principles such as “Yes, And…” and “Make your scene partners look good,” we explore the ways in which educational developers might apply principles of improv in 3 contexts: teaching and building classroom community, organizational development, and research collaboration. Faculty developers who successfully engage the principles of improv have the potential to help colleges and universities respond more effectively to complex problems and to manage the uncertainty of the future. By highlighting successful applications of improvisation …

Exploring Teachers’ Perspectives Of Cooperative Learning To Create Music In Orff Schulwerk Classrooms, Nicole A. Chapman

Glenn Korff School of Music: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Creative Work, and Performance

The Framework for 21st Century Learning identifies four learning and innovation skills to prepare students for a changing world. The 4Cs identified are critical thinking, communication, collaboration, and creativity (Framework for 21st Century Learning, 2015). With the adoption of this new teaching framework, it is important that music educators evaluate their own teaching methods to meet the needs of their students in a changing society. The purpose of this study was to examine how cooperative group learning is currently integrated in the Orff-Schulwerk certified teachers’ elementary music classroom as part of the creative music process. In this qualitative study, I …

Creating A Supportive Teaching Culture In The Research University Context: Strategic Partnering And Interdisciplinary Collaboration Between A Teaching Centerand Academic Units, Marie Kendall Brown, Patricia A. S. Ralston, Kathy B. Baumgartner, Melissa A. Schreck

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

This paper describes 2 “strategic partnering” and “interdisciplinary collaboration” case studies between a Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL) and an academic unit at a mid-sized metropolitan research university in the American Midwest. These faculty development partnerships were developed to meet the unique needs of faculty members who share a discipline area, present current information on specific teaching topics in order to deepen pedagogical knowledge and skills, provide opportunities for faculty to form a collegial group, and advance unit-specific goals relative to faculty development. The work is grounded in literature about the characteristics of a supportive teaching culture, characteristics of …

New Literacies Integration By Student Teacher/Cooperating Teacher Dyads In Elementary Schools: A Collective Case Study, Laurie A. Friedrich

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Situated in Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) and collaborative inquiry, this collective case study examines new literacies integration by student teacher/cooperating teacher (ST/CT) dyads supported by a coach in elementary schools. The study took place at a large Midwestern public school district where many STs from a large Midwestern public university complete their student teaching experience. Through detailed vignettes of five ST/CT dyads, this study provides an explicit view of varieties of dyad collaboration when a new literacies emphasis is included in the student teaching semester. Research questions prompt the examination of dyad new literacies integration through (a) enacting professional …

The Perceptions Of Elementary Principals About Their Role In The Establishment Of Collaborative Workplaces In Their School Buildings, Bradley Sullivan

Department of Educational Administration: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The purpose of this case study was to develop an understanding of the elementary principal’s perceived role in creating and sustaining a collaborative workplace environment within their school. Collaboration among education professionals, when used effectively, is one strategy that has demonstrated improvement of instruction and student learning. As such, in this context the role of the principal becomes more complex and challenging. This study examined the perception of the elementary principal’s role regarding the establishment and perpetuation of a collaborative workplace environment for teachers that is focused on improving student learning within their buildings.

In-depth interviews were conducted with 12 …

Teacher Collaboration As Professional Development In A Large, Suburban High School, Marlie L. Williams

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This qualitative study explored the impact of teacher collaboration in a professional learning communities (PLC) school on teacher self-efficacy. Through the collection and analysis of personal interview data from 20 teachers in a large, suburban Midwestern high school, the impact of structured teacher collaboration was evaluated for its impact on changes in teachers’ instructional practices, their feelings of responsibility for student learning, positive adult interdependence, and changes in teacher self-efficacy. Experts in educational professional development identify the importance of sustained, collegial learning. This study explored the structure of one high school’s professional collaboration model, the measures in place for goal-setting, …

Building Leadership: The Knowledge Of Principals In Creating Collaborative Communities Of Professional Learning, Chad M. Dumas

Department of Educational Administration: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Research literature is replete with the importance of collaboration in schools, the lack of its implementation, the centrality of the role of the principal, and the existence of a gap between knowledge and practice--or a "Knowing-Doing Gap." In other words, there is a set of knowledge that principals must know in order to create a collaborative workplace environment for teachers. This study sought to describe what high school principals know about creating such a culture of collaboration.

The researcher combed journal articles, studies and professional literature in order to identify what principals must know in order to create a culture …