Education Commons^™

Do You See What I See?, Karin Mcginnis, Kenneth Maeckelbergh

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

This paper explores the role of visual perception as a value-laden, learned behavior. Through example, including visual conventions, it describes the relationships between perception, culture, and experience as well as the impact visual imagery has in the academic community. Methods for developing critical visual inquiry (visual literacy) are included.

Section V: Pod Values: Reflections From The 1993 Conference

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

The 1993 conference theme, "Unveiling Inherent Values, Invigorating Values Inquiry in Classrooms, Curricula, and Campus Life" was addressed in the three plenary sessions at the conference.

The Game Of Academic Ethics: The Partnering Of A Board Game, Stephen E. Sugar, Carol A. Willett

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

A developer of classroom games agrees to a challenging assignment: to develop a classroom board game on the topic of academic ethics. This paper describes how, in partnership with a content expert, he successfully developed and piloted the game for adjunct faculty at the University of Maryland, University College. The two developers, cited as game writer and content expert, work through a variety of design, substance and logistical obstacles to ultimately pilot the game, A Question of Academic Ethics.

Section Iv: Classroom Practices For Teaching Improvement

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

Actively engaging students in the learning process and providing them with opportunities to work cooperatively improve student learning.

Deepening And Broadening The Dialogue About Teaching, James R. Davis

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

Although there has been a resurgence of interest in college teaching in recent years, it is important to deepen and broaden that interest. The dialogue can be deepened by reflecting more on learning, particularly the fundamental learning paradigms which provide the basis for alternative teaching strategies: training and coaching, lecturing and explaining, inquiry and discovery, and groups and teams. The dialogue can be broadened by reconnecting the discussion to major issues in curriculum planning and assessment.

1993 Conference Capstone Address: An Outsider's View Of Pod Values-And Of Pod's Value To The Academy, Kathleen Mcgrory

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

Thank you for inviting me and for making me feel so much at home. It must have been that mention of the Holy Grail in my background that led Suzanne Brown to invite me here, since we are all questing, probably on similar routes. It seems to me that one could not be actively engaged in POD, or in the Society for Values in Higher Education, without being part idealist, part evangelist, and part missionary. A colleague of mine from Mount Enterprise Texas added a new verb to my organizational vocabulary when he told me about Texas missionary friends of …

College Students' Perceptions Of Unfairness In The Classroom, Rita Cobb Rodabaugh

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

The importance of creating an atmosphere of fairness in the college classroom is discussed. Using psychological equity theory concepts of interactional and procedural fairness as the basis of study, a survey was conducted with 300 university students who were asked to rate the seriousness of 18 faculty misbehaviors. Misbehaviors related to interactional fairness (showing partiality to some students, using profanity and being angry or mean, embarrassing students in class) and misbehaviors related to procedural fairness (unfair in grading; changing policies during the semester; using unfair tests, trick questions) were considered by students to be much more serious than giving excessive …

Metaphors Of Teaching: Uncovering Hidden Instructional Values, Darlene Hoffman

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

This paper describes how metaphors of teaching can be used to assist faculty in understanding the assumptions that underlie their teaching behaviors. A problem-based and a values-based model are described In the problem-based model, there is no assumption of a metaphor. In the values-based model, the metaphors are seen as filters through which all efforts to improve teaching must pass. By understanding these values agendas, faculty consultants will have more success in facilitating teaching effectiveness.

Putting Empowerment To Work In The Classroom, Trudy Knowles, Cheryl Medearis, Anne Snell

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

At Sinte Gleska University, a tribal college on the Rosebud Sioux Reservation, we are empowering students through our teaching methods and curricular choices. Three areas have been identified as important ingredients in empowering students: validating culture, teaching to learning styles, and utilizing teaching strategies resulting in self-directed learning.

These three elements of empowerment can open up avenues of knowledge that have been previously closed to students on the Rosebud Reservation. As students discover that knowledge is powerful, they begin to learn because they want to.

Change in the fundamental ways we view ourselves as teachers is necessary in order to …

Challenging Values: Conflict, Contradiction, And Pedagogy, Jacqueline Mintz

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

The current crises of economics, demographics, retention, and disgruntled faculty, along with the neglect of the national mission to educate our citizenry for a democratic society, offer an opportunity on the cusp of the millennium to reflect about our values and the values of traditional American education. The literature of travel and cultural studies provides new lenses to help us and our institutions expose deeply held beliefs, assumptions, and the actions that have been taken in their names. Uncovering these beliefs can enable us as educators to reconstruct a common mission through developing a dynamic pedagogy for today 's students, …

Section Iii: Listening To Each Other

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

As instructional developers, we need to remain constantly aware of what faculty and students are really experiencing in the classroom. Olsen and Simmons report the results of a study of 114 faculty at a research university. The study sought to identify ''Faculty Perceptions of Undergraduate Teaching." While the participants "devoted the largest percentage of their time to teaching (44%)," they improved their courses ''based on changes in the discipline (e.g., newly published articles, texts, etc.), student evaluations, and discussions with other faculty." Few faculty read about or attended workshops about teaching.

Teaching Improvement Practices: New Perspectives, W. Alan Wright, M. Carol O'Neil

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

The movement to improve the quality of teaching and learning in higher education has gained increasing importance over the last several years. Policies and programs aimed at enhancing instruction are becoming commonplace as post-secondary institutions strive to provide a high quality educational experience for students. The impact of different teaching improvement practices varies, and decision-makers in universities and colleges need to know where best to place their efforts and resources. The experienced judgement of teaching improvement practitioners can assist others in making these decisions.

The Implication Of Cultural Diversity In American Schools, Johnson A. Afolayan

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

The purpose of this article is to analyze the major factors responsible for the cultural diversity in America and their implications for professional educators. These factors include immigration, communication, linguistic diversity, cultural values, and desegregation. While some educators look to the demographics of the new student population, others consider historical clues as a method of understanding American diversity. Statistics about school achievement and dropout and graduation rates show the disparity among the ethnic groups. The new immigrants and ethnic groups may experience conflict as a result of cultural attitudes of teachers and peers. Individuals cannot be understood unless they are …

Valuing The Student Voice: Student Observer/Consultant Programs, D. Lynn Sorenson

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

This article discusses student observer/consultant programs which train impartial students who are invited to give feedback to faculty participants on their teaching. These programs are one way to value the student voice in faculty development. An overview and brief analysis of student observer/consultant programs and evaluations by participants are provided.

Faculty Perceptions Of Undergraduate Teaching, Deborah Olsen, Ada B. Simmons

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

The purpose of this study was to construct an accurate depiction of the undergraduate teaching portion of the faculty role at a large, public research university, drawing from interviews conducted with 114 faculty. The interview schedule investigated teaching load, course goals, perceptions of undergraduate students, modes of evaluating student learning, office hours and advising, professional role interests and time allocation, feedback about teaching performance, strategies for improving teaching, and satisfaction with teaching. The findings of the current study reveal that faculty are highly committed to undergraduate teaching and are profoundly concerned with students' intellectual development. Results also suggest how complex …

Reclaiming Teaching Excellence: Miami University's Teaching Scholars Program, Milton D. Cox

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

The 1994 Hesburgh Award-winning Teaching Scholars Program for junior faculty at Miami University is described, implementation and program strategies are discussed, and the effectiveness and impact of the Program are assessed.