Higher Education and Teaching Commons^™

Understanding Universal Design For Learning Implementation: A Hermeneutic Phenomenological Study Of The Experiences Of Higher Education Faculty And Instructional Designers, Breanne A. Kirsch

STEMPS Theses & Dissertations

Faculty face a rising challenge in supporting diverse student populations on campuses (Bastedo et al., 2013). Inclusive pedagogy, facilitated by UDL, helps alleviate learning barriers for diverse student groups (Basham & Blackorby, 2021). However, the ambiguous operational definition of UDL poses practical challenges in implementation and assessment (Diedrich, 2021), especially when it is described variably as a practice, framework, or intervention in the literature (Basham & Blackorby, 2021). This hermeneutic phenomenological study explores the meaning faculty and instructional designers ascribe to the experience of implementing UDL in higher education.

The main question is: what is the meaning that faculty and …

Mental Health Education In Higher Education, Chelsea J. Farley

Culminating Experience Projects

This project dives into the current mental health status of college students and what institutions are doing to address students steady and continuous decline of mental health. Mental Health 101: A Comprehensive Guide for Faculty incorporates suggestions from literature and theory to provide resources to faculty members when educating students. Mental Health 101 was created with the social-ecological model in mind (Bronfenbrenner, 1979) by connecting the individual student to their environment, or in this case, the college classroom. The guide consists of information about mental health such as risk factors and warning signs, coping strategies, activities, and assignments faculty members …

Faculty Perceptions On Working With Students With Learning Disabilities, Ashley Jezik

Masters Theses

Students with specific learning disabilities in higher education have been rapidly increasing. Legislation has been a large factor in the equality in education for individuals with disabilities making it easier to attend higher education. College students with disabilities have the hard and important choice of self-disclosing their disability, with many choosing not to. A main role for faculty is to support their students. This qualitative study aims to identify the knowledge faculty have about this student population and how they work with their disability services office. The research shows that faculty's knowledge on students with disabilities are solely based on …

Undergraduate Classroom Incivility From The Faculty Perspective, Erin M. Bunton

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Theses & Dissertations

Classroom disruption, more recently referred to as civility, changes the in-person classroom experience. This study investigated the impact of gender, race, age, and teaching experience on faculty perceptions of classroom incivility.

Faculty at a large, public institution in the Southeastern United States participated in the research for this study. Hierarchical multiple regression was used to understand the relationship between the demographic variables of the participants and their perception of classroom incivility.

Study findings yielded significant results, with positive relationships between the demographic variables and perception of classroom incivility. Limitations and implications for future research are discussed.

Faculty Job Satisfaction Related To Online Course Design, April Marie Hixson

School of Education Doctoral Projects - Higher Education

Online education has expanded and evolved slowly through the decades, but the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020-2021 put online education at the forefront of teaching and learning worldwide and sped up the design and delivery of online courses. This study sought to examine faculty attitudes and opinions (amid a global pandemic) toward online course design that may affect their job satisfaction levels. Specifically, it explored factors that could inhibit or contribute to faculty job satisfaction during their engagement in online instructional design. Further, the study was designed to gain an understanding of how pedagogical and technological changes influence the degree of …

Self-Determination Theory And Faculty Behavior: A Quantitative Study Of Faculty Leaders' Use Of Assessment Evidence, Joseph D. Levy

Dissertations

Despite assessment of student learning being essential work in higher education, a number of institutions have noted faculty could more effectively be using assessment results (Jankowski et al., 2018; Kuh et al., 2015; Metzler & Kurz, 2019; Suskie, 2014). This study applied Self-Determination Theory (SDT) as a theoretical framework to provide context for faculty behavior associated with assessment actions (Fuller et al., 2016; Ryan & Deci, 2000). Mostly quantitative data were collected via electronic survey of faculty program leaders at a single institution, National Louis University (NLU). Results indicated a significant and positive relationship suggesting an increase in meeting the …

Experiences Of Implementing Developmental Education Redesign In Mississippi Community Colleges: An Administrators’ And Faculty’S Perspective, James Rush

Dissertations

Each year, after graduating from high school or after a number of years in the workforce, millions of students in America make the choice to further their education. Students who enter higher education are faced with the decision of choosing from a diverse pool of institutions that provide an array of services to meet the needs of a changing society. Many students entering institutions of higher learning are in need of some developmental instruction or course in order to complete their degree and/or training. Because of the integral part that developmental education plays in higher education, the cost versus effectiveness …

An Analysis Of African-American Faculty Experiences During The Tenure Process, Katrina M. Hubbard

Dissertations

Abstract

How faculty allocate their time among research, teaching, and service, and the perceived quality of that work determines whether faculty obtain tenure or are released from the university (Bellas & Toutkoushian, 1999; Link, Swann, & Bozeman, 2008; Price & Cotten, 2006). Prior research indicated that African-American faculty comprised 4.5% of the faculty at high-activity research institutions and 3.5% of faculty at very-high-activity research institutions (The Chronicle of Higher Education Almanac 2016-2017, 2016).

The purpose of this study was to 1) document African-American faculty experiences during their tenure probationary period at PWI research institutions; 2) compare faculty experiences during the …

Improving Enrollment In The Construction Management Graduate Program Through Students’ Perspectives, Mouloud Messaoudi

Master of Technology Management Plan II Graduate Projects

Low enrollment and the decrease in graduation and retention rates are challenges facing the growth of the Master’s in Technology Management – Construction Management (MTM-CM) program at BGSU. In addition, the competition between the universities to enroll and retain more in-state, out-of-state, and international students is aggressive. There is a need for a revaluation for the MTM-CM program in order to attract more students in the future. This study is a necessary step to know what the MTM-CM students think about the product delivered to them at BGSU. There was no prior study investigating the satisfaction level of the construction …

The Impact Of On-Line Training On College Faculty Attitudes And Knowledge Of Students With Disabilities, Wayne M. Pollock

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Theses & Dissertations

Due to legislation, advances in technology, and hopefully, a more positive social acceptance, students with disabilities are entering college at a faster rate than has ever been experienced. Data reveal that the largest increase in identified disabilities of incoming college freshmen are in the area of learning disabilities. However, many students with disabilities do not complete their college education, partly due to faculty members' lack of knowledge about various disabilities, less than accepting attitudes, and the lack of accommodations made for them. Using the Scale of Attitudes Toward Disabled Persons (SADP) and the Disability Knowledge Questionnaire, the impact of an …

Urban University Adjunct Faculty Perceptions Of Professional Development Needs, Merodie Anne Hancock

Theses and Dissertations in Urban Services - Urban Education

The purpose of this study was to determine Old Dominion University adjunct faculty members' perceptions of their professional development needs. A three-round Delphi technique was employed as the primary research tool. An initial stratified sample of 120 current adjunct faculty members was selected by college associate deans. The research was conducted with 57 adjunct faculty members completing all three rounds of the study.

The first research question was to ascertain Old Dominion University adjunct faculty members' perceptions of their professional development needs toward teaching for an urban university. Sixteen development needs were derived representing all of the inputs from respondents. …