Support Needs Of University Adjunct Lecturers,
2011
Eastern Michigan University
Support Needs Of University Adjunct Lecturers, Sarah M. Ginsberg
To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development
Little is known about the support needs of the part-time instructors on university campuses, despite the fact that they represent more than 50 percent of the instructors teaching in higher education. This study of adjunct lecturers investigated their support needs and their preferences for receiving support. Results indicated that adjuncts wanted information about their students and effective teaching methods beyond lecturing. They expressed frustration over the fact that there was no systematic approach to information sharing, particularly with the tenure-track faculty in their programs. They evenly favored resources provided either electronically or face-to-face.
Cross-Domain Collaborative Learning And The Transformation Of Faculty Identity,
2011
George Mason University
Cross-Domain Collaborative Learning And The Transformation Of Faculty Identity, James B. Young
To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development
This chapter addresses how faculty from disparate backgrounds collaborate in interdisciplinary learning communities and how this cross-domain collaboration leads to a tangible change in identity. Faculty enter learning communities playing the more common roles of expert and teacher, but they leave taking on the additional roles of novice, learner, and knowledge integrator. The experience of cross-domain interaction is both rewarding and transformative for faculty as they are well equipped to communicate across the disciplinary landscape and gain a rhetorical awareness that is an invaluable ingredient for learning community participation.
Professional Conversations: A Reflective Framework For Collaborative Development,
2011
Monterey Institute of International Studies
Professional Conversations: A Reflective Framework For Collaborative Development, Peter Shaw, Bob Cole
To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development
A small team of faculty and faculty developers at the Monterey Institute of International Studies launched a professional development initiative by adapting Edge’s (1992, 2002) framework of cooperative development into a model they labeled the professional conversation. This structured interaction involves a speaker exploring a topic of professional and personal significance through the facilitation of an understander. The details of the model are presented, along with heuristics for practicing the two roles. Assessment data indicate that the struggle to master the model is judged worthwhile for community building, professional development, and, unexpectedly, pedagogical practice.
The First Day Of Class: How Should Instructors Use Class Time?,
2011
Simpson College
The First Day Of Class: How Should Instructors Use Class Time?, Sal Meyers, Brian C. Smith
To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development
Students and instructors rated first-day class satisfaction and completed scales assessing the time that instructors spent on introductions, course policies, procedures, and course content. For students, interest on or before the first day, and for faculty, excitement and confidence in students’ abilities, strongly predicted satisfaction on the first day. Student and instructor satisfaction also were positively associated with time devoted to hows and whys, content, and introductions. Findings contradict previous empirical studies of student satisfaction but are consistent with faculty development recommendations.
Evolution Of A Peer Review And Evaluation Program For Online Course Development,
2011
Middle Tennessee State University
Evolution Of A Peer Review And Evaluation Program For Online Course Development, Cynthia L. Adams, Dianna Z. Rust, Thomas M. Brinthaupt
To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development
The faculty peer assistants (FPAs) program combines a mentoring and peer review process for initial online faculty course development and subsequent course revision. An FPA mentors colleagues during course design and conducts peer reviews when the courses are complete. The program incorporates a peer review and evaluation form that outlines course standards and guides the faculty course developer, the peer reviewer, and the department chair. Feedback about the program from department chairs, faculty course developers, and FPAs was uniformly positive.
Social Capital And The Campus Community,
2011
Ellis University
Social Capital And The Campus Community, Andrew N. Carpenter, Linda Coughlin, Susanne Morgan, Christopher Price
To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development
Investigating colleges’ and universities’ social capital through its five dimensions—civic engagement, norms and trust, collective action, bonding capital, and bridging capital—provides a powerful way of thinking about organizational and faculty development. Four very different institutions of higher learning have promoted their organizational development through efforts that build social capital. We seek to inspire additional application of and research into this topic by demonstrating that confronting the complexities of social capital within diverse campus communities can help faculty developers understand those communities with greater nuance and in ways that improve their ability to design and implement development initiatives.
The Ta Consultant Program: Improving Undergraduate Instruction And Graduate Student Professional Development,
2011
University of California, Davis
The Ta Consultant Program: Improving Undergraduate Instruction And Graduate Student Professional Development, Mikaela Huntzinger, Paul Mcpherron, Madhumitha Rajagopal
To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development
Graduate students, particularly at research-oriented universities, are well prepared for future research careers, but they often lack knowledge or training in other aspects of academic life. A teaching assistant consultant program was created to improve the professional development opportunities for campus teaching assistants and provide a community of practice in which graduate students pursue teaching interests, cross-disciplinary collaboration, and service. We offer recommendations for creating similar programs and conclude by recommending the development of communities of practice to create opportunities for graduate students to improve their teaching skills.
Ready Or Not? An International Study Of The Preparation Of Educational Developers,
2011
Indiana University School of Education, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis
Ready Or Not? An International Study Of The Preparation Of Educational Developers, Nancy Van Note Chism
To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development
This report of an international survey of educational developers describes their entry-level background knowledge and skills for the work of educational development, how they obtained them, and their recommendations on helping prepare new entrants to the profession. Respondents reported that their experiences rendered them moderately prepared for some tasks and less prepared for others, notably consultation. The results can inform increased professionalization of educational development through more systematic preparation of future educational developers.
Toward A Scholarship Of Faculty Development,
2011
Metropolitan State College of Denver
Toward A Scholarship Of Faculty Development, Mark Potter
To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development
This chapter critically examines the scholarship of faculty development. Using a typology adapted from one developed to understand the scholarship of teaching and learning, I reflect on the primary currents identifiable in the literature. Much of what is published in the field of faculty development consists of descriptions of the development and assessment of particular programs. One approach that is largely missing is the metastudy or review of prior studies that can serve to preserve the findings of scholar-practitioners.
Reflections On International Engagement As Educational Developers In The United States,
2011
Virginia Lee and Associates
Reflections On International Engagement As Educational Developers In The United States, Virginia S. Lee
To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development
An important aspect of the increasing complexity of the higher education landscape is its gradual internationalization. However, neither our colleges and universities nor we as educational developers have unequivocally embraced internationalization. In this chapter, I offer examples of international engagement and a framework for thinking about them. I argue that international engagement in the form of an evolving global scholarship and practice of educational development represents the ultimate extension of our thought and practice as educational developers.
Preface, Volume 30 (2011),
2011
University of North Florida
Preface, Volume 30 (2011), Judith E. Miller
To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development
Preface to volume 30 (2011) of To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development, by Judith E. Miller of University of North Florida.
The Digital Academy: Preparing Faculty For Digital Course Development,
2011
University of Texas at El Paso
The Digital Academy: Preparing Faculty For Digital Course Development, Sunay V. Palsole, Beth L. Brunk-Chavez
To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development
New generations of learners necessitate new ways of teaching, and hybrid courses can help institutions leverage technologies to improve teaching and learning. The adoption of a new instructional paradigm, however, requires attention to the facuity’s ability to create and deliver effective courses. The University of Texas at El Paso has developed the Digital Academy to help facuity interweave online elements with face-to-face teaching. The model is pliable and portable in its application to other universities.
Enhancing Out-Of-Class Communication: Students' Perspectives,
2011
Southern Connecticut State University
Enhancing Out-Of-Class Communication: Students' Perspectives, Bonnie S. Farley-Lucas, Margaret M. Sargent
To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development
Out-of-class communication between faculty and students is linked to student learning, engagement, and success. As the source for mentoring, advising, and supplemental instruction, out-of-class communication and its barriers require explicit attention. Using a faculty-student collaborative research approach, we interviewed a diverse group of thirty-three undergraduates regarding behaviors, statements, and practices that contributed to or discouraged out-of-class communication. We found that in-class communication sets the stage for whether students approach faculty outside class and that faculty misbehaviors and disconfirming communication in class almost inevitably lead to out-of-class avoidance.
Effecting Change In Limited-Control Classroom Environments: A Case Study,
2011
Texas Tech University
Effecting Change In Limited-Control Classroom Environments: A Case Study, Allison P. Boye
To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development
Many instructors face the dilemma of possessing little control over their own curriculum or even their own pedagogy. This chapter examines three instructors who were teaching the same course over several years, facing the same problematic issues beyond their control, and describes the role of faculty developers in helping effect practical change for those instructors and for the course. The findings of this study, using longitudinal data derived from student evaluations and qualitative responses from instructor interviews, suggest that faculty developers can help instructors realize change on an individual level as well as at the department and big-picture levels.
Institutional Encouragement Of And Faculty Engagement In The Scholarship Of Teaching And Learning,
2011
Indiana University
Institutional Encouragement Of And Faculty Engagement In The Scholarship Of Teaching And Learning, Thomas F. Nelson Laird, Tony Ribera
To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development
Framed by Huber and Hutchings’s defining features of the scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL), the study described in this chapter examines institutional encouragement of and faculty engagement in SoTL. Faculty at forty-nine U.S. colleges and universities participating in the 2009 Faculty Survey of Student Engagement completed items about SoTL. Results suggest that institutional encouragement of and faculty engagement in the public dissemination of teaching investigations lag behind encouragement and engagement in other aspects of SoTL. Some faculty subgroups (among them, women and faculty in education) on average feel more institutional encouragement and engage in SoTL activities more than their …
Academic Dishonesty Among International Students In Higher Education,
2011
Arkansas State University
Academic Dishonesty Among International Students In Higher Education, Krishna K. Bista
To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development
University instructors address and want to eschew student academic misconduct. These educators presume that students understand fully what cheating and plagiarism are. However, the issue of academic dis-honesty among international students is complex and difficult. This study investigated the perceptions of international undergraduate and graduate students in a southern U.S. university about possible causes for academic misbehavior. Results reveal several causal variables: previous learning style, English language proficiency, unfamiliarity with American academic cultures, relationship between student and teacher, and availability of technical and educational resources associated with academic dishonesty.
Forty Percent Of 2 Million: Preparing To Serve Our Veterans With Disabilities,
2011
University of South Dakota
Forty Percent Of 2 Million: Preparing To Serve Our Veterans With Disabilities, Bruce C. Kelley, Emetta L. Fox, Justin M. Smith, Lisa A. Wittenhagen
To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development
On August 1, 2009, the Post-9111 Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2008 was passed, and as a result, almost 2 million veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan will soon enroll in postsecondary education. Up to 40 percent of these veterans are estimated to have disabilities. This chapter examines some of the characteristics of this group, the challenges that veterans face as they transition into life as college students, and how faculty developers can help faculty better serve these incoming veterans.
Diffusing The Impact Of Tokenism On Faculty Of Color,
2011
Utah State University
Diffusing The Impact Of Tokenism On Faculty Of Color, Yolanda Flores Niemann
To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development
In addition to the expected challenges related to teaching, research, service, and the tenure and promotion process, faculty of color often experience the impact of token status, or tokenism.. This chapter describes the personal, psychological, and career-damaging impacts of tokenism and provides guidelines for professional development professionals that may diffuse these negative impacts by assisting department heads to mentor faculty of color.
Go For The Gold: Fundraising For Teaching Centers,
2011
New Mexico State University
Go For The Gold: Fundraising For Teaching Centers, Mark A. Hohnstreiter, Tara Gray
To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development
At New Mexico State University Teaching Academy, we have developed a comprehensive model to raise funds from faculty and others for our teaching center, which has resulted in a culture of giving. The payoff from a fundraising effort is huge, not only in terms of money, but in terms of the personal investment of participants, both valuable in difficult economic times. We explain in this chapter how to establish a fundraising program so that your teaching center can go for the gold.
Emergent Shifts In Faculty Development: A Reflective Review,
2011
University of Western Australia
Emergent Shifts In Faculty Development: A Reflective Review, Shelda Debowski
To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development
Faculty development has largely focused on supporting the development of early-career academic skills in teaching and learning. Even recent discussions of how facuity developers might infl.uence leaders and entire organizations have remained largely focused on teaching and learning issues. This chapter suggests the need to review and reform the role of faculty development to focus more holistically on the full nature of academic work and the evolving developmental needs of academics. It argues that the faculty developer,s portfolio will need to expand to include support for academic research, career management, and leadership roles, as well as organizational development strategies to …
