Vocational Education Commons^™

Examination Of Experiential Phenomena Influencing Culinary Educators’ Pedagogical Content Knowledge, Danny Babin

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

This study aimed to explore the theory of expert teaching by comparing culinary educators at the secondary and postsecondary levels based on their varying levels of experience. Experience for culinary educators included pre-service teacher training, in-service teacher training, professional industry experience, and teaching experience. The primary goal of this descriptive phenomenological study was to examine the impact professional experience has on culinary educators’ pedagogical content knowledge (PCK). Distinctions in PCK include collective PCK, personal PCK, and enacted PCK. PCK theory has been an integral part of educational research for over three decades; it has been studied, refined, and implemented into …

Introduction To Professional Development: A Business Communication Approach, Rose Helens-Hart Ph.D., Rachel Dolechek Dba

Open Educational Resources

This book was created to service the BCOM 210: Introduction to Professional Development course in the Department of Applied Business Studies (ABS) in the Robbins College of Business and Entrepreneurship (RCOBE) at Fort Hays State University (FHSU). The course is required for several ABS majors and a popular elective among RCOBE students. BCOM 210 uses concepts from business communication to assist students in understanding their professional desires and forming a plan for their career futures.

Revised June 2023

Opportunities For Autism Information Shared Through Professional Conferences, Amelia Anderson, Selena Layden, Crystal Stang (Ed.), Jennifer L. Branch-Mueller (Ed.)

STEMPS Faculty Publications

With prevalence most recently reported at 1 in 44 (Maenner et al., 2021) children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in the United States, school librarians can and should expect to see these children in their schools and in their libraries. However, previous work indicates that school librarians are not being provided with an adequate education about this in their graduate coursework (Layden, Anderson, & Hayden, 2021). This study expands upon previous work to explore the preparation of school librarians about autism by examining the previous five years of state library conference programs.

Perceptions Of Occupationally Trained Technical College Faculty On Their Preparedness To Teach And On The Need For Professional Development: A Phenomenological Study, Brandon Hudson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative, phenomenological study examines the perceptions of occupationally trained Tennessee technical college faculty on their preparedness to teach after being hired directly from industry and on the need for professional development and training on instructional and classroom strategies. Twelve semi-structured interviews were conducted by Zoom with instructors from three technical college program areas, Industrial Maintenance, Machine Tool Technology, and Welding. Participants represented institutions from each grand division of Tennessee, West, Middle, and East, plus Upper East. As a result of the data analysis, common themes, including a “here are your keys” approach to instructor induction, a reliance on other …

Novice, Alternatively Licensed Career And Technical Education Teachers' Perceptions Of Professional Development, Desiree Seay

Ed.D. Dissertations

In this qualitative study, I address novice, alternatively licensed Career Technical Education (CTE) teachers’ perceptions of professional development support in a southeastern school district in the state of Tennessee. The lack of tailored professional development opportunities created issues for CTE teachers because of the complexity of their teaching responsibilities. Research on effective methods of professional development for beginning CTE teachers existed; however, there were few research studies on program implementations and their effectiveness. To gather data, I used a Google survey to establish an initial, two-tiered criterion for participation, and participants who met the criteria participated in one-on-one interviews. Specifically, …

Exploring Faculty Perceptions Of Professional Development Support For Transitioning To Emergency Remote Teaching, Ana Redstone, Tian Luo

STEMPS Faculty Publications

Professional development (PD) for instructors at higher education institutions offering online courses is important for assuring the quality of online programs. However, PD opportunities for faculty members have often been piecemeal and inadequate. In light of the COVID-19 pandemic that forced instructors around the world to teach online, PD has become even more critical to the success of the instructors, students, and institutions themselves. This paper describes research conducted at a large university in the United States that used a survey developed to operationalize Baran and Correia’s (2014) holistic Professional Development Framework for Online Teaching (PDFOT). The survey identified strengths …

Confident But Lacking Support: School Librarians And Students With Autism, Amelia Anderson, Selena Layden

STEMPS Faculty Publications

School librarians work with students across their organizations, including those with disabilities such as autism spectrum disorder (ASD). However, little is known about how prepared school librarians are to serve these students. Using a mixed-methods survey, this study sought to explore training school librarians have taken about ASD and students with disabilities, as well as the effects of training on librarian confidence and library services. Based on results, librarians who received training through their school district or professional development outside of coursework reported being more confident in supporting students with ASD in the school library.

To Discovery And Beyond: Using Workflow Automation As An Opportunity For Collaboration And Education, Rebecca B. French

Libraries

This poster describes a project to automate portions of JMU Libraries' workflow for distributing Special Collections finding aids to various discovery platforms. Through the development of a custom Python app called Spaceport, we were able to greatly improve the efficiency and sustainability of this process while also providing a more consistent discovery experience for our patrons. The project also had broad impacts in other areas. Our incremental and collaborative approach provided space for professional development related to the project, supported evolving project goals and the process of adapting to the new workflow, and strengthened relationships between departments. In addition to …

Board 57: Identifying And Disseminating Transformative Professional Development Of Stem Undergraduates Who Perform Outreach: Progress In Year 1, Michael Alley, Joanna K. Garner

Center for Educational Partnerships Publications

To teach STEM content to K-12 students and to recruit talented and diverse K-12 students into STEM, many outreach programs at universities in the United States rely on STEM undergraduates. While the design of such outreach typically focuses on the K-12 students who are taught or recruited, an important but often overlooked consideration is the effect of the outreach on the professional development of the STEM undergraduates themselves. This proposed EAGER project seeks to determine which outreach programs in the United States provided the most transformative professional development of the participating STEM undergraduates. This project then seeks to capture the …

Doctoral Engineering Grant Writing Experience To Prepare Future Professionals And Faculty, Katherine Smith, Nathapon Siangchokyoo, Erika Gamarra, Ashish Tamhane, Anthony W. Dean

Engineering Technology Faculty Publications

While there have been many efforts to broaden opportunities for all STEM students by engaging in interdisciplinary endeavors and education focusing on professional development, there are particular problems facing students pursuing doctoral degrees in engineering disciplines. Doctoral programs of the future need to become better equipped to prepare students for future careers as engineering professionals or faculty. It has been noted recently that many doctoral degree recipients are turning to jobs outside of academia but increases in undergraduate enrollment and the average age of the professoriate indicate an increase in demand for new faculty. Both future faculty and professionals can …

Board 57: Identifying And Disseminating Transformative Professional Development Of Stem Undergraduates Who Perform Outreach: Progress In Year 1, Michael Alley, Joanna K. Garner

Office of Research Faculty & Staff Publications

To teach STEM content to K-12 students and to recruit talented and diverse K-12 students into STEM, many outreach programs at universities in the United States rely on STEM undergraduates. While the design of such outreach typically focuses on the K-12 students who are taught or recruited, an important but often overlooked consideration is the effect of the outreach on the professional development of the STEM undergraduates themselves. This proposed EAGER project seeks to determine which outreach programs in the United States provided the most transformative professional development of the participating STEM undergraduates. This project then seeks to capture the …

Problem-Based Learning In Professional Studies From The Physiotherapy Students’ Perspective, Hilkka Korpi, Liisa Peltokallio, Arja Piirainen

Interdisciplinary Journal of Problem-Based Learning

The aim of the study was to investigate how physiotherapy students using a problem-based learning approach develop into experts during higher education, and answers the question: How do physiotherapy students at bachelor’s level understand the problem-based learning approach while learning to become professionals? PBL is examined using interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) of longitudinal data written by 15 voluntary students from two different higher education institutions and collected during 3.5 years. The main results on the new way of learning strengthen earlier conceptions of the importance of reflection in the learning process. The PBL method activates a reflection process by allowing …

Documenting Current Instructional Design Practices: Towards A Typology Of Instructional Designer Activities, Roles, And Collaboration, William Sugar, Robert L. Moore

STEMPS Faculty Publications

The overall goal of this study was to conduct a yearlong inquiry into an instructional designer’s activities and interactions with his clients. Exclusive focus of this study was on an instructional designer who worked at a large public university in the southeastern region of the United States. Documented in an instructional design activities log, this study analyzed 115 distinct activities. Using an emergent theme analysis approach, specific instructional design activities and roles emerged. In addition, the instructional designer’s collaboration with his clients was analyzed. Results of this study augment the knowledge base of existing studies of instructional design practices.

Resources For Professional/Staff Development, Dennis E. Gregory

Educational Foundations & Leadership Faculty Publications

Institutional staff development offerings vary greatly in content, quality, and direction. This article offers mechanisms which may be used to assist planners by showing how professional associations and CAS standards material may be used as parts of these programs. The article also describes several institutional staff development programs.