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Complex Cooperative Learning Structures For College And University Courses, Philip G. Cottell Jr., Barbara J. Millis

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

Instructors who have succeeded with cooperative learning in their classrooms may wish to move beyond the basics of structured small group work to more complex techniques which enable them to simultaneously meet multiple teaching objectives. This paper describes cooperative learning structures which not only help students learn course material but also enhance their learning skills. Instructors who use complex cooperative learning structures prompt their students to teach, to question, and to evaluate the learning of their peers.

Section I: Teaching Improvement Practices And Programs

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

As we go about our daily business of encouraging faculty to examine and to improve their teaching, it would be helpful to know where we can most effectively expend our energies and resources. The articles in this section define which teaching improvement practices instructional developers believe are most likely to result in improved teaching and describe several successful instructional development programs.

Section Ii: Including ''The Other": Transforming Knowledge And Teaching

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

In "Implications of Cultural Diversity in American Schools," Johnson Afolayan reminds us of the history of education in the United States and its response to immigration. He suggests that in the past immigrant groups have looked to education as a vehicle through which to "escape poverty." Education has responded by insisting that immigrants adapt to the United States culture. Afolayan contends that education should include the diversity of student backgrounds as a positive element in content and teaching techniques.

Editorial Matter 1994

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

Ordering Information

Permission to Copy

Instructions to Contributors for the 1995 Volume

In Memory of Tom Pasternack (1937-1994)

Foreword, by Emily C. (Rusty) Wadsworth

Mission Statement

Membership

Conference and Programs

Contents

List of Contributors

Creating Teaching And Learning Partnerships With Students: Helping Faculty Listen To Student Voices, Helen Rallis

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

Teaching effectively involves developing a partnership with our students based on mutual respect and trust. The first part of this paper provides a way in which we can initiate or further develop this partnership by inviting our students to tell us about themselves. Readers are shown how to become more aware of the diverse ways in which students learn and, hence, how to expand both teaching methods and content. The second part of the paper presents suggestions for facilitating a faculty development workshop on this topic. It shows how-by engaging in discussion with other faculty about our students' concerns-we can …

Knowledge Into Wisdom: Incorporating Values And Beliefs To Construct A Wise University, Susan M. Awbrey, David K. Scott

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

Philosopher Nicholas Maxwell argues that universities today are founded on a philosophy of knowledge that is too narrowly focused on solving the technical problems of specialized academic disciplines. Maxwell believes that the foundation for the university should be a new type of inquiry that would have as its aim the improvement of not only knowledge but personal and global wisdom-a type of inquiry that would help us address the larger, complex problems that threaten our society. The authors agree with Maxwell but submit that the university has already begun a transformation to the philosophy of wisdom. As evidence of this …

Unconscious Values Within Four Academic Cultures: An Address Given At The 1994 Pod Annual Conference, William Bergquist

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

The Origins Of POD

The Unconscious Dimension Of Values In Academic Cultures

The Four Cultures Of The Academy: An Overview: The Collegial Culture, The Managerial Culture, The Negotiating Culture, The Developmental Culture

Interaction Among the Four Cultures

Developmental Culture In Dialogue With The Other Three Cultures

Personal Values of the Four Cultures

Group Values Of The Four Cultures

References

Academic Leaders And Faculty Developers: Creating An Institutional Culture That Values Teaching, Norman D. Aitken, Mary Deane Sorcinelli

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

In recent years, a great deal has been said and written about the need to improve teaching in the academy, especially in large research universities. College presidents, national associations representing higher education, private foundations, and individual faculty scholars all have challenged faculty, chairs, deans, campus administrators, and faculty developers to work together to improve support for undergraduate teaching and learning (Bok, 1986; Bowen & Schuster, 1986; Boyer, 1987; Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, 1989; Diamond & Adam, 1993; Seldin & Associates, 1990). Despite such calls for collaborative efforts to improve undergraduate education, faculty developers still often feel alone …

A Report Card For Diversity, Johnnella E. Butler

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

This article was originally prepared for and presented as the keynote address for the 1993 POD conference. As an assessment of where we are and need to go intellectually in efforts to incorporate diversity into the liberal arts curriculum, it argues for the recognition of the multiple, connected stories in our national story, in order to allow for a transformation in our teaching, our curricula, and in the structure of colleges and universities that moves us to an individualism defined and supported by collective, shared memory, thereby promoting the generative learning necessary to the evolution of a just, plural society.

Assessment And Values: A New Religion?, Anita Gandolfo

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

Since the mid-1980s, outcomes assessment has been mandated for most institutions of higher education by governing boards, state legislatures, and accrediting bodies. As the movement has progressed, there has been a shift from summative assessment, primarily useful for purposes of accountability, to formative assessment that has a better potential to improve teaching and learning. Nevertheless, the issue of accountability focuses attention on the summative model, creating a danger that units responsible for curriculum and faculty development will not discover the value of assessment for their work. Perhaps the least known aspect of outcomes assessment is its importance as a vehicle …

Conducting Cooperative Cases, Barbara J. Millis

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

The power of case studies has been well-documented. Most facilitators use the widely known whole-group Harvard discussion model. However, a cooperative case approach serves as an effective alternative or supplementary approach. This article, which uses-appropriately-the example of a cooperative learning case study, provides a detailed look at the cooperative case study method, including its rationale and value, creative group formations, and facilitation guidelines.

The Value Of Classroom Humor, Richard J. Nichols, Beverley T. Amick, Madelyn Healy

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

This article provides a model workshop which faculty developers can present to make the case for faculty to use humor as an aid to student learning. The uses of humor, the potential for it to be harmful, the benefits of humor when effectively used, and guidelines for classroom use are addressed.

Leveling The Playing Field, Linda Hilsen, Deborah Petersen-Perlman

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

To promote equity in education the authors contend that teachers must: 1) hear all the voices in their classrooms, 2) distribute power so students can vocalize, 3) establish ground rules with students on how to interact in the classroom, and 4) use active teaching and learning strategies in their classrooms. By employing each of these four strategies, the authors believe the educational playing field will become level, enabling all to participate equitably in attaining educations.

Increasing Sensitivity To Diversity: Empowering Students, Mary Anne Johnston

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

This paper describes a model program for increasing sensitivity to diversity in an academic environment. To improve the learning environment for all students, faculty developers provide educational programs that enhance the faculty's understanding of differences related to gender, race, ethnicity, culture, religion, sexual orientation, and physical abilities. This report highlights the process of working closely with students to design and implement an orientation program for first-year students to increase an awareness of the influence of diversity on their learning and working together.

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.