Higher Education and Teaching Commons^™

Picking Pedagogical Practices Students Prefer: An Analysis Of The Effectiveness Of Teaching Tools In Face-To-Face Versus Online Delivery, Bruce K. Grace, Kenneth Henderson, Barbara Lyons

Faculty Research at Morehead State University

This study explores graduate student perceptions of fourteen commonly used teaching methods. Convenience samples were drawn from a university exclusively delivering its MBA program via the Internet and a university providing traditional face-to-face classroom instruction. Overall, no significant preference differences were found for nine of the fourteen pedagogical methods. Students enrolled in online classes perceive textbooks, tutorials, and Internet activities as significantly more effective in helping them achieve their educational goals than students enrolled in face-to-face classes. Students enrolled in face-to-face classes rated guest speakers and team presentations as more effective learning tools than their online counterparts. The perceived comparative …

A Petri Net Based Reliability Block Diagram Model For Category I Medical Devices Reliability Analysis, Kouroush Jenab

Faculty Research at Morehead State University

The medical industry incorporates technology and breaks different types of equipment into three various categories determined according to the technologies and their usage. The first category, which is the focus of this article, consists of devices that are directly linked to the life of the patients, for example a ventilator. The purpose of this study is to develop a new reliability technique, based on the Reliability Block Diagram (RBD) and Petri Net, for Category 1 equipment. The RBD, focuses on showing how the failure of different parts could affect the sub-systems of the equipment and how those failures could cause …

Reflections On The N+K Dragon Kings Problem, Richard D. Chatham

Faculty Research at Morehead State University

A dragon king is a shogi piece that moves any number of squares vertically or horizontally or one square diagonally but does not move through or jump over other pieces. We construct infinite families of solutions to the n + k dragon kings problem of placing k pawns and n + k mutually nonattacking dragon kings on an n+n board, including solutions symmetric with respect to quarter-turn or half-turn rotations, solutions symmetric with respect to one or two diagonal reflections, and solutions not symmetric with respect to any nontrivial rotation or reflection. We show that an n + k dragon …

Increasing Physical Activity Using An Ecological Model, Gina B. Gonzalez, Kristi M. King

Faculty Research at Morehead State University

Increasing the proportion of adults in the United States (U.S.) who engage in physical activity is a national priority. Only 29% met the aerobic guideline, 3% met the muscle strengthening guideline only, and 21% met the guidelines for both aerobic and muscle-strengthening activity. Individually oriented physical activity interventions can be intensive and have large effects; however, changes may be temporary unless supportive environments and health-promoting policies are in place. A variety of strategies are required to get and keep people physically active.

Role Of Mentoring, Coaching, And Advising In Developing Leadership: Ecditors' Introduction To Special Issue, Lindsay J. Hastings, Cindy Kane

Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education, and Communication: Faculty Publications

This volume is designed to guide leadership educators and institutional leaders who are looking to cultivate strong student outcomes in leadership learning through the increased involvement of adults and peers. The goal of this volume is to explore diverse types of relationships (mentoring, coaching, advising), the focus of these relationships (i.e., short-term or long-term, personal development, or leadership behavior modification), and the unique leadership development outcomes expected from these diverse relationships. Mentoring, coaching, and advising are often confused as similar developmental tools, yet their scope, purpose, and utility in leadership development are distinct. This volume will provide the guidance and …

Cognitive And Metacognitive Factors In Reading Comprehension For Occupational Therapy Assistant Students, Cynthia L. Meyer

Occupational Therapy Doctorate Capstone Projects

Difficulties with reading comprehension among occupational therapy assistant (OTA) students can diminish their ability to understand didactic textual information limiting clinical performance and can impact OTA attrition rates and limit graduate success when completing the national certification examination.

Participants were one cohort of OTA students from a rural public community college.

This was a convergent mixed-method design (Creswell & Creswell, 2018). The students’ perceptions of cognitive and metacognitive factors affecting reading and the students’ preferences for cognitive and metacognitive strategies were assessed through a 59-item survey assessment combining the Text-Learning Strategies Inventory (TLSI) (Merchie, Van Keer, & Vandevelde, 2014), the …

Elementary Teachers' Perceptions Regarding The Use Of Data Decision-Making For Instructional Practice, Joy Simon Swain

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

At an elementary school in the northeastern region of the United States elementary teachers struggled with using data to make instructional decisions. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore elementary teachers' perceptions about how their teaching experiences prepared them to use data to make lesson decisions. The theoretical-conceptual frameworks of this study were Bandura's self-efficacy, a theoretical framework of data use at the building level, and organizational routines framework. The data collected from interviewing eight elementary teachers revealed their perceptions of having to use data to make lesson decisions and how these perceptions influence their teaching practices. The …

Educational Development Needs Of Higher Education Faculty Working With Ells, Kevin Joseph Martin

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

This study was undertaken to examine the educational development (ED) needs of higher education (HE) faculty who have English language learners (ELLs) in their mainstream courses but do not have specialized training in teaching such students. A quantitative approach was used to explore the impact of any existing ED and areas that might need improvement. This study, guided by andragogy, examined the pedagogical needs of these HE faculty. A cross-sectional analysis of online survey data using a multiple analysis of variance (MANOVA) and multiple analysis of covariance (MANCOVA) examined the ED needs and available resources of faculty with respect to …

Understanding Students' Perceptions Of Cultural Diversity, Catherine Moss

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Diversity is a positive aspect of a student's educational experience. Current literature supports the value of diversity, confirming that skills are developed within a diverse learning environment that prepares students to thrive in a competitive global economy. The leadership at University X (UX) had implemented various initiatives to improve diversity, yet the problem addressed in this study was that students perceived differently, citing that diversity growth lacked progress. The goal of this single case study was to bring forth change with a specific intervention created to elevate diversity and a positive campus climate. Maslow's hierarchy of needs was used to …

Resiliency And Age As Predictors Of Academic Performance Among Adult Online Students With Trauma-Related Disabilities, Carrie Lebarron

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Understanding the importance of resilience in academic performance as it pertains to adult online students is valuable to the people who provide services to, work with, and are a part of the population. The need to develop and enhance social programs that will improve outcomes for students with trauma-related disabilities is beneficial in increasing graduation rates and improving on the time it takes for adult online students to graduate. There is also a need for research focused on students with trauma-related disabilities because the literature in the field was found to be lacking in information. The purpose of the study …

The Experiences Of Sailors With Antiterrorism Force Protection Training At Off-Installation Sites, Jessica Harrison

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Enhancing antiterrorism force protection (ATFP) training at off-installation sites to allow employees to survive a life threatening situation is a necessity after recent events at such military installations. However, little is known about how service members perceive their current ATFP training experiences and how those experiences impact their self-confidence for responding to a threat. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore how current training experiences impact confidence levels in learning basic security fundamentals to respond to a threat, as well as possible training changes that might improve confidence levels. This study used social constructivism, andragogy theory, heutagogy, and …

Toward Learning And Justice, Through Love, Isis Artze-Vega

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

This chapter responds to the call for educational developers to isolate the one perspective that guides our work. It retraces the author’s career steps, seeking the origin of love as a guiding principle, and describes its evolution and application during her career. To do so, the piece includes a theoretical perspective on love and argues that its utility as a characterizing perspective for our profession stems from its significance to learning and justice. It suggests the timeliness and urgency of elevating the role of love in our field, notes associated risks and rewards, and suggests resources for doing so.

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, 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, 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?, 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, 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, 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, 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, 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.