The Idea Of Educational Development: An Historical Perspective,
2018
Tennessee Technological University
The Idea Of Educational Development: An Historical Perspective, Laura Cruz
To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development
This essay examines the idea of educational development, inspired both in content and approach by John Henry Newman’s influential 19th century work on the idea of a university.
The Chakra System As A Framework For Holistic Educational Development,
2018
Kennesaw State University
The Chakra System As A Framework For Holistic Educational Development, Michele Dipietro
To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development
As my interests and job duties have shifted toward holistic educational development beyond teaching support, I have sought a conceptual framework to organize my efforts. Joining my identities of educational developer and yogi, I have adapted the chakra system from yoga philosophy. The One Thing in my personal life has become The One Thing in my professional life too, informing programming and pointing out voids to fill. This essay reviews the classic articulation of the chakra system in the seven major chakras and offers examples of how the chakras can illuminate our institutional work, both individually and as an integrated …
Changing The Lens: The Role Of Reframing In Educational Development,
2018
University of Waterloo
Changing The Lens: The Role Of Reframing In Educational Development, Donna E. Ellis
To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development
One core concept in educational development is reframing, which involves new labels, new perspectives, and the examination of assumptions. In this reflective article, I explore the use of reframing at different levels of educational development work via the 4M framework (micro, meso, macro, and mega) in an effort to assess the utility of this concept to practitioners. I conclude that reframing has utility at all levels and posit why it may assist with change management. Connections to educational developer identity are also explored.
Is Sotl A Signature Pedagogy Of Educational Development?,
2018
Elon University
Is Sotl A Signature Pedagogy Of Educational Development?, Peter Felten, Nancy Chick
To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development
In this article, we focus on questions that come into view when we look at educational development through the lenses of signature pedagogies and the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL). We offer this as a thought experiment in which we consider if SoTL is a signature pedagogy of educational development, simultaneously enacting and revealing the practices, values, and assumptions that underpin the diverse work of our field. By envisioning SoTL in this way, we may more clearly see the purposes and practices that unite—and that ought to guide—educational developers and educational development.
Ways Of Doing: Feminist Educational Development,
2018
James Madison University
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.
From The Editors: The One Thing: A Pluralistic Approach To Research And Practice,
2018
Hampshire College
From The Editors: The One Thing: A Pluralistic Approach To Research And Practice, Gary Hawkins, Brian Smentkowski
To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development
From the editors of volume 37, issue 1 of To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development (2018), Gary Hawkins of Hampshire College and Brian Smentkowski of the University of Idaho.
Equity-Minded Faculty Development,
2018
University of New Mexico
Equity-Minded Faculty Development, Aeron Haynie
To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development
A governing principle of equity-minded faculty development is a commitment to supporting marginalized populations who may feel unwelcome in academia: from minority college students to first-generation graduate students to faculty of color. Faculty development should encourage faculty to notice inequities and not dismiss them as student’s individual failures; to examine institutional data on student, graduate student, and faculty achievement patterns; and to collaborate with other campus partners on interventions. As we work with faculty to develop strategies to ensure all students can succeed, we must also enact the same empowering, strengths- based practices we promote.
Seeking And Doing Justice Through Educational Development,
2018
University of Iowa
Seeking And Doing Justice Through Educational Development, Wayne Jacobson
To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development
One thing that has shaped my understanding of educational development more than anything else is a commitment to seeking and doing justice. I see this commitment as the animating force that breathes life into the best of what educational developers do and the core value that continually challenges us to do better. In the many contexts in which we work, the one thing that defines the role of educational development is the recognition that we need to continually examine and improve how well our institutional systems are doing justice to the communities that we are trusting them to serve.
“Once A Scientist…”: Disciplinary Approaches And Intellectual Dexterity In Educational Development,
2018
Indiana University - Bloomington
“Once A Scientist…”: Disciplinary Approaches And Intellectual Dexterity In Educational Development, Katherine Kearns, Molly Hatcher, Mara Bollard, Michele Dipietro, Devon Donohue-Bergeler, Leslie E. Drane, Elizabeth Luoma, Andrew E. Phuong, Laura Thain, Mary C. Wright
To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development
The authors claim that disciplinary epistemologies—disciplinary habits of mind and ways of thinking—offer productive lenses for observing teaching practices. Furthermore, they argue that educational developers who draw from multiple epistemologies in combination provide rich evidence with regard to teaching and learning and can speak to academic colleagues from an array of disciplines. Clarity is provided for career paths in educational development for colleagues from academic disciplines who are contemplating part- or full-time work in a teaching center. The authors hope that this opening collection develops into a toolkit and area of inquiry about disciplinary approaches to the practice of educational …
Good To Great In Educational Development,
2018
University of South Dakota
Good To Great In Educational Development, Bruce Kelley
To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development
We have been asked to describe One Thing that guides us as educational developers. For me, this is the strategic planning process described in Jim Collins’ Good to Great (2001). Collins provides a model that helps leaders navigate through change to build effective and influential centers. This framework has allowed me to develop a successful center despite periods of transition and uncertainty. Much of what I experience in my professional life is good. The challenge is to take it to the next level—to turn good into great. Collins’ strategic model provides a roadmap for how this might be accomplished.
One Thing For All Learners,
2018
Clemson University
One Thing For All Learners, Linda B. Nilson
To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development
This essay showcases cognitive psychology and neuroscience research as the “one thing” that guides my work. This research shows how to learn on one’s own, paves the way for student success, and fosters inclusive teaching. These principles have implications for concrete classroom and online instructional practices that are easy for both faculty and students to implement. Because students have to attend to and process their learning experiences, faculty must motivate them to do so. Psychology offers us some useful, albeit limited, tools, and more research on ways we can help students set goals can reduce the limits.
Invitations And Expeditions, But Hardly Ever Destinations,
2018
Appalachian State University
Invitations And Expeditions, But Hardly Ever Destinations, Tracy W. Smith
To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development
This essay characterizes educational development as an invitation. The author provides a rationale for using Invitational Theory (IT) to guide educational development programming and practice. The five assumptions of IT are included and linked to scholarly literature that grounds educational development. Examples of invitational educational development initiatives or programs are provided for each assumption.
The Four Rs: Guiding Ctls With Responsiveness, Relationships, Resources, And Research,
2018
Brown University
The Four Rs: Guiding Ctls With Responsiveness, Relationships, Resources, And Research, Mary C. Wright, Debra Rudder Lohe, Tershia Pinder-Grover, Leslie Ortquist-Ahrens
To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development
We offer a framework for guiding an effective Center for Teaching and Learning: Responsiveness, Relationships, Resources, and Research. Our intention is to fill a gap in the literature on guidance for CTL leadership. These four principles are grounded in both scholarly and experiential evidence, drawing from multiple CTL directors with a range of experience levels at different center and institutional types.
Balancing Direction And Response: Four Dimensions Of Transformative Facilitation In Educational Development,
2018
Bridgewater State University
Balancing Direction And Response: Four Dimensions Of Transformative Facilitation In Educational Development, Roben Torosyan, Alison Cook-Sather
To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development
In this article we present 4 dimensions of transformative facilitation, each conceptualized using the “wisdom of practice” (Weimer, 2006, p. 54) gathered through our experience facilitating educational development and through the experiences posted by participants in a POD Network conference session. Composed of theoretical underpinnings we drew from several bodies of literature and practical applications generated by us and participants during the session, these dimensions include: (a) liminality (context); (b) organization (structures); (c) attitudinal stance (tone); and (d) process. Through their multidirectional interactions with one another, these dimensions aim to transform facilitation as enacted across educational development contexts.
Mentoring Graduate Student Staff In A Center For Teaching And Learning: Goals And Aligned Practices,
2018
University of Notre Dame
Mentoring Graduate Student Staff In A Center For Teaching And Learning: Goals And Aligned Practices, Kristin Rudenga, Joseph Lambert
To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development
Graduate student staff (GSS) positions, commonly used in centers for teaching and learning (CTL) to expand capacity and extend disciplinary connections on campus, also offer the potential for a meaningful developmental experience for the students who fill them. Drawing on the literature on graduate student mentorship, we lay out goals and aligned practices to inform the mentoring of GSS in CTL aimed at advancing their pedagogical, professional, and personal development. Such deliberate attention to mentoring in a CTL context can enhance the experience and development of the GSS themselves, as well as improve the work of the CTL.
Measuring Transparency: A Learning-Focused Assignment Rubric,
2018
University of Virginia
Measuring Transparency: A Learning-Focused Assignment Rubric, Michael S. Palmer, Emily O. Gravett, Jennifer Lafleur
To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development
By combining recommendations for effective assignment design with principles of transparency and the value-expectancy theory of achievement motivation, we developed a rubric capable of for assessing the quality and guiding the design of assignment descriptions. This rubric defines criteria characteristic of well-designed assignments; breaks the criteria down into concrete, measurable components; and suggests what evidence for each component might look like. While the full rubric is valid for major, signature assignments, it can accommodate a diverse range. It can also provide summative, quantitative information to educational developers for research and formative, qualitative feedback to instructors for gauging the quality of …
A Minimalist Model Of New Faculty Mentoring: Why Asking For Less Gives More,
2018
Ursinus College
A Minimalist Model Of New Faculty Mentoring: Why Asking For Less Gives More, Heather Lobban Viravong, Mark Schneider
To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development
We describe a research-based mentoring program for new full-time faculty at a small residential college, which emphasizes the empowerment of the new faculty themselves to identify and obtain the resources they need for success. In our model, the mentor takes on a role of primarily providing accountability, easing the burden on mentors, thereby making for a more sustainable program. Our mixed methods assessment of the program suggests that, paradoxically, these lessened expectations foster closer personal relationships between mentor and protégé than might have occurred if that were a programmatic expectation.
Publish & Flourish: Helping Scholars Become Better, More Prolific Writers,
2018
New Mexico State University
Publish & Flourish: Helping Scholars Become Better, More Prolific Writers, Tara Gray, Laura Madson, Michelle Jackson
To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development
Some scholars want help from educational developers to become better, more prolific writers. This study examines one such program, Publish & Flourish, that holds participants accountable for writing daily and for receiving weekly feedback from peers on drafts of writing. In this mixed methods study, 95% of participants (N = 93) reported that they improved their writing by making it more organized and reader centered. Participants also reported that they increased their extrapolated average of submissions of scholarly manuscripts per year from about two to almost six. We then compared Publish & Flourish to several other studies of scholarly writing …
Transforming The Classroom At Traditionally White Institutions To Make Black Lives Matter,
2018
University of Denver
Transforming The Classroom At Traditionally White Institutions To Make Black Lives Matter, Frank Truitt, Chayla Haynes, Saran Stewart
To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development
In recent years, many college campuses across the United States witnessed a significant increase in campus activism regarding the range of experiences and conditions facing racially minoritized communities in higher education. As critical and inclusive pedagogues and scholars, we embrace the belief that a focus on making Black Lives Matter in the classrooms of traditionally White institutions (TWIs) provides educators with the best chance to improve the educational outcomes of all students. In this essay, we examine seven principles of critical and inclusive pedagogies that have the potential to make Black Lives Matter in TWI classrooms and identify several implications …
Workshopping A Workshop: Collaborative Design In Educational Development,
2018
University of Oregon
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, …
