Higher Education and Teaching Commons^™

Evidencing The Value Of Educational Development: Charting A Course On The Waves And Winds Of Change, Jovan Groen, Carolyn Hoessler, Carolyn Ives, Veronica Bamber, Corinne Laverty, Klodiana Kolomitro

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

Across higher education, educational developers and their supporting campus communities are being called upon to scale up evidence-informed practices, to enhance student experiences, and to document the changes. This article builds on the work of scholars who have taken up this evaluative challenge, by examining varied aspects of the evidencing process using an adaptation of Saunders’s (2000) RUFDATA framework for evidencing value. Reflections on emerging patterns and tensions in the evidencing of educational development are subsequently discussed. We argue for making evidencing value a purposeful and intentional process, and we chart a path forward for creating and implementing a vision …

An Exploration Of Trauma-Inclusive Pedagogy And Students’ Perceptions Of Academic Success, R. Jason Lynch, Krista Wojdak

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

While trauma-inclusive approaches to student learning have been well documented in K–12 contexts, postsecondary education has done little to incorporate trauma-inclusive pedagogy into college classrooms. Using a sample (n = 529) of graduate and undergraduate students at a public rural-serving regional serving university, this study aims to explore differences in students’ perception of academic success in courses where trauma-inclusive practices were used and courses where these practices were not. Findings provide evidence that students felt more successful in courses where trauma-inclusive practices were used. Additionally, researchers were able to demonstrate that differences in perceptions of success were more pronounced …

Exploring The Impact Of Student-Faculty Partnership Program At A Hispanic Serving Institution, Alyssa Guadalupe Cavazos, Lesley Chapa, Javier Cavazos-Vela

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

Guided by a strength-based framework and counter-storying lens, we use a qualitative case study approach (Cook-Sather, 2020; Cook-Sather and Motz-Storey, 2016; Lechuga-Peña and Lechuga, 2018) to explore students’ and instructors’ experiences with a students as learners and teachers (SaLT) partnership program at a Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI). This study includes five students and five faculty members who participated in the student-faculty partnership program. Data collection involved student partners’ self-assessment reflections and faculty members’ pre- and post-program reflections on their experiences. Several themes were identified following a phenomenological analysis of students’ and faculty partners’ self-reflections. Themes emerging from student participants included …

Writing Communities To (Re-)Engage Faculty: The U See I Write Initiative, Ilona S. Yim, Nina Bandelj, Olga V. Razorenova, Peiyi Wang

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

The COVID-19 pandemic has taken a toll on university faculty, unduly those from underrepresented groups, causing many faculty to disengage. Writing communities represent a promising tool to (re-)engage faculty and build an inclusive climate. As part of U See I Write, a faculty development initiative at the University of California, Irvine, we convened a series of monthly writing retreats between March and June of 2021, with between-retreat weekly writing sessions in smaller groups and an expectation to write daily for at least 30 minutes. In a diverse cohort of 34 faculty writers, program participation resulted in a significant increase in …

Impacts Of Campus Disruption On Educational Developers’ Role-Identity And Teamwork, William V. Pilny, Benjamin Brock, Stephanie Laggini Fiore

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

In times of crises, educational developers (EDs) work to ameliorate the teaching- and learning-related impacts caused by campus-wide disruptions such as health-related emergencies, mass shootings, and environmental disasters. These incidents may impact the personal-psychological factors and processes of EDs that, in turn, influence their engagement with team members and faculty. Given the vital role EDs play in improving faculty teaching and student learning across higher education (Dawson et al., 2010; Grupp, 2014; Schroeder et al., 2010), understanding the impacts of campus-wide disruptions on their functioning is critical. The present, novel study uses a psychological-phenomenological methodology and the Dynamic Systems Model …

Teaching To Develop Perspective, Skills, Confidence, And Identity As Problem-Solving Engineers, Russell Kirk Pirlo

Research and Reflection on Learning and Teaching in Higher Education

The “core” of an engineering degree program typically comprises the concepts, equations, and technical skills needed, as well as their practical application to common problems of the profession. This core is then divided into the “content” that must be covered in each course. It is widely recognized, however, that successful individuals do not thrive as professionals on content alone. Thus, there is significant and increasing emphasis across higher education to “educate the whole person.” These efforts aim to develop “deep” qualities like grit, critical thinking, perseverance, learning from failure, valuing diversity, teamwork, leadership, curiosity, recognizing opportunity, creating value, and acting …

Grades Or No Grades? Promoting Deeper Learning In A Middle Level Mathematics Methods Course, Shelli L. Casler-Failing

Journal of Practitioner Research

This action research investigated pre-service teachers (PSTs) experiences with ungrading practices in a mathematics methods course designed for middle level PSTs (grades 4-8). This study analyzed archival data through the lenses of pedagogical content knowledge, growth mindset, and self-efficacy to investigate how PSTs’ experiences with the process of ungrading supported their development of pedagogical content knowledge. Throughout the course, verbal feedback was provided during class discourse and the interactive lectures and written feedback was provided for all submitted assignments. The feedback provided was both positive and constructive in nature. Based on the assignment or activity, constructive feedback was either provided …

Proceedings Of The Cuny Games Conference 9.0, Robert O. Duncan, Grace L. Axler-Diperte, Joseph Bisz, Christina Boyle, Devorah Kletenik, Carolyn Stallard

Publications and Research

The CUNY Games Network is an organization dedicated to encouraging research, scholarship and teaching in the developing field of games-based learning. We connect educators from every campus and discipline at CUNY and beyond who are interested in digital and non-digital games, simulations, and other forms of interactive teaching and inquiry-based learning.

Instructors At A Crossroad: Perceptions Of Collaboration And Support Intersect With Intentions To Implement A Cure, Justin Berl

Dissertations and Theses

An ongoing crisis of student drop-off from undergraduate science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education has led to a sustained call over the last 15+ years for the increased implementation of updated practices in undergraduate STEM education. Though over the past few decades many researchers have developed and analyzed the efficacy of various evidence-based teaching practices (EBTPs) designed to improve the state of undergraduate STEM education throughout the country, the rate at which these EBTPs are implemented in undergraduate STEM classrooms remains low.

In order to better understand the specific factors that affect individual instructors' efforts to implement EBTPs, we …

Jcctl Mailer – September 12, 2023, Josef Brandauer

JCCTL Mailers

Updates on training and support and useful pedagogical resources compiled and sent by the JCCTL on September 12, 2023.

Contents: Wed 9/13 sessions, mid-semester pilot, and more

Upcoming Events:

• Toward GenAI resistant assignments
• Mid-semester feedback pilot program

Sjsu Erfa Board Minutes, September 11, 2023, San Jose State University, Emeritus And Retired Faculty Association

SJSU ERFA Minutes

SJSU ERFA Executive Board Minutes

September 11, 2023

Systems Thinking Applied To Higher Education Curricula Development, Reza Rahdar, Mark London, Yuetong Lin, Hong Jiang

Publications

Systems Thinking (ST) is a general and yet nebulous term that describes an approach to understanding and working with complexity in the real world. ST seeks to evaluate different behaviors of individual system elements when they operate in isolation as opposed to when they are integrated as part of a larger system and placed within a particular operating environment. The education environment consists of multiple systems with different digital content, learning goals/outcomes that serve different stakeholders including teachers, learners, and administrators. The inherent complexity and interaction among these various educational system elements and functions make this environment a worthy candidate …

Practicing Bilingual Language Use In A Science Methods Class: Perspectives From A Student Teacher And A Teacher Educator, Puneet Gill, Yasmine Villarreal

Teaching and Learning Together in Higher Education

No abstract provided.

R.E.A.P.: Reciprocal Education Academic Partnership, Kimberly White-Glenn, Byron Wesley Jr.

Teaching and Learning Together in Higher Education

No abstract provided.

Pedagogical Partnerships: A Bilingual/Translingual Book Project With Teacher Candidate As Author And Illustrator In A Border Community, Filiz Shine, Fabiola Rodriguez

Teaching and Learning Together in Higher Education

No abstract provided.

Strengthened Voice Through Pedagogical Partnerships: A Story Of Transformational Learning, Rasha Elsaheli-Elhage, Lisset Rosales

Teaching and Learning Together in Higher Education

No abstract provided.

Pedagogical Partnerships: Creating And Cultivating Authentic Relationships In Minority-Serving Institutions, Kate Zimmer, Patricia A. Mchatton

Teaching and Learning Together in Higher Education

No abstract provided.

B/Lv Laboratory Accessibility Technology Adapted For Neurodiverse Chemistry Students, Christin B. Monroe

Journal of Science Education for Students with Disabilities

Text-to-speech technology is a common accommodation available for students with disabilities. Despite the ubiquitous nature of text-to-speech, this technology has not been explored in laboratory settings for neurodiverse college students. This study explores the adaptability of laboratory accessible text-to-speech technology (originally developed for blind/low vision (B/LV) students) for neurodiverse students. Students were asked to provide general feedback about the usability and effectiveness of the technology using Likert surveys. The students also answered open-ended questions about how the technology could be adapted to be more neurodiverse friendly. Overall, more than 50% of the students found the technology useful but had specific …

Weathering The Perfect Legal Storm: Novel Virus, Novel Instruction, Novel Course, Marissa Moran

Publications and Research

For this legal educator, in the spring and fall of 2020, three simultaneous and novel events-Corona virus, virtual synchronous instruction, and teaching a new interdisciplinary course for the first time, created an environment that could have resulted in the perfect legal storm. Instead, these events contributed to beneficial teaching and learning experiences from which arose many “first-ever” innovative faculty and student endeavors.

Associations Between Multicultural Distress, Academic Achievement, And General Stress Among Racial/Ethnic Minority College Students At A Minority-Serving Institution, Alexandra O. Gil, Franklin Dickerson Turner, Aaron A. Gubi

Journal of Research Initiatives

This study explored the relationship between multicultural distress and general stress symptoms and the academic achievement of college students attending a Minority-Serving Institution (MSI). Research suggests that students who identify as being from a racial or ethnic minority background are likely to experience multicultural distress. Such students are believed to be at greater risk of experiencing mental health and academic challenges. Many contend that being in a diverse learning setting serves as a protective factor, shielding racial/ethnic minority students from some degree of distress and thereby promoting mental health and academic well-being. In contrast, other research findings suggest that multicultural …