Higher Education and Teaching Commons^™

Book Review Of Rosenberg, B. (2023). “Whatever It Is, I’M Against It”: Resistance To Change In Higher Education. Harvard Education Press., Chris Babits

Journal on Empowering Teaching Excellence

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Book review of Rosenberg, B. (2023). “Whatever It Is, I’m Against It”: Resistance to Change in Higher Education. Harvard Education Press. In “Whatever It Is, I’m Against It,” Brian Rosenberg challenges entrenched traditions in higher education. Combining candid insight and wry humor with bold proposals, Rosenberg critiques static institutional structures, advocates flexible teaching models, and questions the sacrosanct nature of majors. This review highlights Rosenberg’s efforts to foster innovation, inclusivity, and meaningful student engagement in college-level teaching.

Guidance And Lessons Learned For Instructors Seeking To Add Video Creation To Their Skill Set, Wendy A. Swenson Roth

Journal on Empowering Teaching Excellence

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Videos have entered the classroom, whether for online asynchronous courses or as supplementary information in synchronous classes. COVID-19 accelerated the pace of online and video learning but left instructors with little time to explore the optimal use of this technology. Nonetheless, videos are here to stay, raising questions about what unique choices faculty must make when implementing them and what new skills are required as videos become additional content delivery sources. The following article provides implementation guidance and lessons learned for instructors seeking to add video creation to their skill set.

Design, Implementation, And Reflection From An Interdisciplinary Course In Museum Studies, Brenna L. Decker

Journal on Empowering Teaching Excellence

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In Spring of 2023, I developed a special topics course titled Collection Material Handling to introduce students to museum management using Utah State University collections on the Logan, UT campus. The cross-listed upper-level course brought 16 USU students together from two disciplines: anthropology and natural sciences. The publication details how I used various learning theories to guide the creation of course content and how I structured and implemented activities in the classroom and in the collections. Examples of worksheets, activities, student feedback, and recommended improvements to assignments are provided. I encourage …

Learning A Little Bit Harder: The Intersecting Experiences Of First-Generation And Single-Mother College Students, Natalie Lecy, Elizabeth Hendrix, Brian A. Droubay

Journal on Empowering Teaching Excellence

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This study examines the experiences of nine first-generation, single-mother college students, focusing on these intersecting, double-jeopardy identities. Participants’ difficulty navigating college varied; contributing factors included family background, social capital, the type of college attended, and whether they established a mentor. The following themes were established: 1) realizing college is an option, 2) caught between two worlds, 3) college wasn’t designed for us, 4) economic barriers, and 5) disparities in social capital. Our findings indicate colleges were unprepared to meet the unique challenges faced by this group. We present recommendations for the …

The Role And Influence Of Faculty As Predictors For Retention And Satisfaction Among Generation Z, Katelyn Romsa, Stephani Jarecke, Jessie H. Hendricks, Bryan Romsa

Journal on Empowering Teaching Excellence

Access the online Pressbooks version of this introduction here.

While previous research has established that faculty and their interactions with students have had the greatest impact on student retention and satisfaction for centuries, limited studies have been done to understand how faculty are influencing Generation Z, our newest generation of students in higher education. This study examined how the quantity of faculty interactions is impacting student retention and satisfaction among 342 Generation Z first-year college students at a public land-grant institution in the Midwest using the National Survey of Student Engagement instrument. In a Mann-Whitney U test, significant difference was …

Spring 2025 Introduction, Nichelle Frank

Journal on Empowering Teaching Excellence

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An introduction to the Spring 2025 issue of the Journal on Empowering Teaching Excellence.

Full Issue: Journal On Empowering Teaching Excellence, Volume 9, Issue 1, Spring 2025

Journal on Empowering Teaching Excellence

The full-length Spring 2025 issue (Volume 9, Issue 1) of the Journal on Empowering Teaching Excellence

Access the online Pressbooks version (with downloadable EPUB format) here.

The issue includes five articles addressing challenges in higher education: faculty-student interactions with Generation Z students, experiences of first-generation single-mother college students, implementation of an interdisciplinary museum studies course, guidance for creating educational videos, and a book review on resistance to change in higher education. The journal emphasizes practical strategies for effective teaching, inclusivity, and innovative approaches to pedagogy across various educational contexts.

Call For Manuscripts, Michele J. Koomen, Thomastine Sarchet-Maher, Jessica Williams

Journal of Science Education for Students with Disabilities

No abstract provided.

Call For Manuscripts, Michele J. Koomen, Thomastine Sarchet-Maher, Jessica Williams

Journal of Science Education for Students with Disabilities

No abstract provided.

From The Editors, Michele J. Koomen, Thomastine Sarchet-Maher, Jessica Williams

Journal of Science Education for Students with Disabilities

JSESD remains a venue for the dissemination of research and practice related to the education of students with disabilities in the science classroom and laboratory since 1998. Volumes #1 through 11 were published in a print format. Starting with Volume #12, the journal has been published online and Open Access. Having JSESD in the Open Access format maximizes access for readers and authors and allows the journal to remain economically sustainable.

Copyright, Michele J. Koomen, Thomastine Sarchet-Maher, Jessica Williams

Journal of Science Education for Students with Disabilities

No abstract provided.

May 2025 Cafe Newsletter, Center For Advancing Faculty Excellence

CAFE Faculty Newsletters

No abstract provided.

Developing Standard Operating Procedures For The Dewitt Town Clerk’S Office, Noura M. Osman

Creativity and Change Leadership Graduate Student Master's Projects

ABSTRACT OF PROJECT

Developing Standard Operating Procedures for the DeWitt Town Clerk’s Office

This project addresses the operational inconsistencies in the DeWitt Town Clerk’s Office in Syracuse, NY, by creating a structured Standard Operating Procedures (SOP's) manual. The focus is on six high-impact processes: tax collection, water bill payments, dog licensing (new and renewals), marriage license transcript requests, and handicap parking permit issuance and renewal. Each SOP includes visual info-graphics to enhance accessibility and minimize errors. The final product is designed to improve on-boarding, reduce staff reliance on memory, increase efficiency, and align with creativity and change leadership principles.

Double, Double, Toils And Troubles: Analyzing The “Magical” Relationships Between University Leaders’ Personality Traits And Their Self-Efficacy In Leadership Situations, Fay Ludvine Boudreaux

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

This present study investigated the relationship between higher education leaders’ personality traits and their self-efficacy in leadership situations. A total of 151 leaders employed across the nine institutions within the University of Louisiana System completed a survey that prompted them to identify their personal values, traits, and skill sets, as derived from the online Pottermore quiz, the official Harry Potter Hogwarts House sorting instrument. This niche personality metric was chosen to cater to higher education’s evolving landscape, as it welcomes an influx of Millennials into leadership positions. Participants’ responses were eventually recoded to “sort” them into their respective Houses: Gryffindor, …

Culture And Context: How Frames Of Teaching And Of Learning Mathematics Form And Change For Graduate Student Instructors, Johan Benedict A. Cristobal

Department of Mathematics: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Why do instructors teach the way that they do? This question is key in understanding how and why asset-based or deficit-based practices are enacted in the classroom. In consequence, this question also gives insight into how the environment where students learn is shaped. Mathematics education research, in particular, has been concerned with how instructors respond to students’ contributions in the classroom and how these ways of responding can (dis)empower students.

One way to answer this question is to understand how instructors frame their own teaching and their students’ learning. Frames are mental constructs which help individuals filter details, interpret information, …

Treading Lightly: The Ethics Of Instructor Il/Legibility And Neutrality In The Classroom, Marcus A. Woodman

Department of English: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Instructors in the classroom often describe their experiences teaching as being a performance, which often combines authenticity with boundaries to keep certain aspects of the instructor’s life out of the classroom. For queer instructors, their performance may be especially complicated; since queer identity is less visible than other types of identities, instructors must also weigh whether or not to come out to their students. In our current political moment, where queerness has yet again become a scrutinized topic (especially when in proximity to youth), teachers have an even more difficult decision to make.

This thesis uses queer theory and queer …

Reading Between The Lines: A Mixed Methods Investigation Of Teachers’ Understanding And Implementation Of The Science Of Reading, Karen L. Dumas

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Throughout the nation, the science of reading (SoR) is sweeping through schools, realigning instructional practices, altering curricula, and causing a shift in educators’ ideologies. Therefore, exploring teachers’ understanding of the science of reading and the classroom implementation may offer valuable insights for school leaders, policymakers, and educators during this period of transition. This explanatory sequential mixed methods investigation researched SoR knowledge and implementation of K-3 general education teachers in Pennsylvania.

This study took place in two phases: quantitative followed by qualitative. During the quantitative phase, 141 K-3 teachers in Pennsylvania participated in the Teacher Understanding of Literacy Constructs and Evidence-Based …

Assessing The Professional Development Needs Of Traditionally And Alternatively Certified Career And Technical Education Teachers In Virginia, Natalie Ferand, Bradley Bowen, D. Brett Milliken

Journal of Research in Technical Careers

The Virginia Department of Education allows for various paths to teacher licensure. Teachers may graduate from an approved teacher preparation program or obtain a teaching license through alternative pathways. This study identified the professional development needs of traditionally and alternatively certified CTE teachers in Virginia by administering a statewide survey. The participants were divided into three groups: alternatively certified CTE teachers (Group 1), traditionally certified teachers in a non-CTE area and then received a CTE endorsement (Group 2), and traditionally certified teachers in CTE (Group 3). By comparing how teachers from each of these certification pathways reported their level of …

Student Performance And Course Modality: The Relationship Between Outcomes, Modality, And Course Subject, Olivia Baxley

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this quantitative study was to identify if a significant relationship existed between teaching modality and student performance outcomes while also considering the factor of course subject being taught during the 2021-2023 academic years. Three courses were included in the research: Math 1630 Finite Mathematics, English 1010 Composition I, and Biology 1110 General Biology. Each of the three courses are introductory level courses in the math, English, and science subject. The study also included statistical analysis on gender as related to student performance outcomes.

The findings presented of this research showed a significant relationship between teaching modality and …

Drinking Out Of The Fire Hydrant: Educators’ Perceptions Of Well-Being In A Teacher Preparation Program, Corey P. Wolfe

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The process of becoming a teacher is complex, multi-layered, and often high-stakes. Teacher preparation programs are designed to equip prospective teachers with the foundational skills and knowledge needed for a successful teaching career. In addition to pursuing the academic degree in education, future teachers must meet credentialing and licensure expectations. Because of these expectations, novice teachers are often met with profound feelings of stress and anxiety. The purpose of this research exploration was designed to investigate elementary educators’ perceptions of well-being during their senior year in a pre-service teacher preparation program. Using a qualitative research design, six educators were interviewed …