Education Commons^™

Epistemology Shock: English Professors Confront Science, Ian Barnard, Jan Osborn

English Faculty Articles and Research

This article raises questions and concerns regarding students from the sciences working with faculty in the humanities in interdisciplinary settings. It explores the experience of two English professors facing the privileging of "facts" and a science-based understanding of the world in their own classrooms. It poses both questions and pedagogical possibilities for addressing conflicts around epistemologies, scholarship, and teaching and learning.

Nebline, January 2017

NEBLINE Newsletter Archive from Nebraska Extension in Lancaster County

Feature: Extension 2016 Highlights

Food & Health

Farm & Acreage

Horticulture

Pests & Wildlife

4-H & Youth

Early Childhood

and other extension news and events

Educational Development Efforts Aligned With The Assessment Cycle, Phyllis Blumberg

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

Using an assessment cycle as an organizing framework, this article illustrates how educational development and assessment mutually complement each other. It describes an assessment study conducted to determine if two colleges at a small university met their strategic goals to increase the adoption of learning-centered teaching. This study served the parallel function of assessing the impact of sustained educational development efforts by the Centers for Teaching and Learning (CTL) to promote learning-centered teaching. The majority of interviewed faculty reported using learning-centered approaches. The data collection method itself also served as a teachable moment for faculty who do not attend CTL …

The Aspirational Curriculum Map: A Diagnostic Model For Action-Oriented Program Review, Eric Metzler, George Rehrey, Lisa Kurz, Joan Middendorf

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

When the process of curriculum mapping begins with the faculty’s articulations of the knowledge, skills, and attitudes students should master upon graduation, a curriculum map results that enables faculty to review the curriculum for effectiveness, see the workings of the whole curriculum at a glance, plan assessments, and recognize where adjustments or changes need to be made. This article explains these benefits and lays out a step by step process for building such a curriculum map that can be adapted to any institutional context. We also describe a variety of outcomes from and reactions to our process.

Assessing The Long-Term Impact Of The Preparing Future Faculty Seminar, Laura N. Schram, Tershia Pinder-Grover, Stefan Turcic Ii

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

The Preparing Future Faculty (PFF) initiative for graduate students was launched in the United States in 1993 as a partnership between the Council of Graduate Schools and the Association of American Colleges and Universities to prepare graduate students for faculty careers at different institutional types and to provide them with teaching-related professional development. PFF programs have proliferated U.S. universities over the last two decades, but there has been limited research on the long-term impact of these programs. This study at the University of Michigan examines the career paths and attitudes of graduate students who participated in an annual, intensive, five-week …

Educational Development As Pink Collar Labor: Implications And Recommendations, Lindsay Bernhagen, Emily Gravett

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

Against a backdrop of other professional arenas, including higher education, this article examines the field of educational development—who we are (mostly women) and what we do (care, service, and emotional labor)—through the lens of gender. While we suggest that educational development may provide a positive counterexample to the male dominance in other higher education professions, we also argue that the common devaluing of women and their labor, well- documented in other arenas, may contribute to educational developers’ "marginal" positions on campuses, our difficulties getting "invited to the table," as well as our challenges in becoming more involved in organizational development …

On The Other Side Of The Wall: The Miscategorization Of Educational Developers In The United States?, David A. Green, Deandra Little

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

Educational developers around the world are employed in a range of settings and under different working conditions, including academic (faculty) positions and administrative (professional staff) roles. Curiously, in a survey of 1,000 developers from 38 countries, the authors find that a full 51% of developers in the United States are on administrative contracts, while only 16% are on employed as faculty—figures that are markedly out of kilter with the overall international data. In this paper, the authors argue that the positioning of educational developers matters because of the “wall in the head”—the perceived division between faculty and staff in United …

Evaluating Centers For Teaching And Learning: A Field-Tested Model, Susan R. Hines

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

This paper provides a program evaluation model, along with field-testing results, that was developed in response to the need for an evaluation model able to support systematic evaluation of teaching and learning centers (CTLs). The model builds upon the author’s previous studies investigating the evaluation practices and struggles experienced at 53 CTLs. Findings from these studies attribute evaluation struggles to contextual issues involving evaluation capacity, ill- structured curricula, and ill-conceived evaluation frameworks. This field-tested Four-Phase Program Evaluation Model addresses these issues by approaching evaluation in a comprehensive manner that includes an evaluation capacity analysis, curricular conceptualization, evaluation planning, and plan …

Exploring The Potential Of Educational Developer Portfolios, Natasha Kenny, Isabeau Iqbal, Jeannette Mcdonald, Paola Borin, Debra Dawson, Judy Chan, Erika Kustra

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

There is growing interest in portfolios within the context of higher education, especially related to the use and integration of student learning portfolios, teaching portfolios, and eportfolios. Although little scholarly discourse has focused on educational developer portfolios, these have the potential to promote reflection on practice, showcase accomplishments, make explicit our approaches to practice, demonstrate impact, and support workplace personnel decisions. Despite these benefits, our community has not uniformly adopted the educational developer portfolio. Drawing from scholarly literature and based on findings from research gathered through World Cafés, this study explores the possibilities and potential for the educational developer portfolio. …

Metacognition By Design: How A Course Design Experience Can Increase Metacognition In Faculty, Teresa A. Johnson, Sarah A. Holt, Margaret Sanders, Lindsay Bernhagen, Kathryn Plank, Stephanie V. Rohdieck, Alan Kalish

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

Since 2009, our center for teaching and learning has offered an intensive Course Design Institute (CDI) several times each year, which has now been completed by more than 600 teaching faculty, staff, and Graduate Teaching Associates from The Ohio State University. To better understand the impact of participating in a CDI on participants’ teaching, this study utilizes qualitative data drawn from five years of participant feedback gathered on the last day of each CDI, as well as from focus groups conducted with CDI graduates in the years following their participation. The results show that participating in the CDI helps instructors …

Writing Renewal Retreats: The Scholarly Writer, Contemplative Practice, And Scholarly Productivity, Edward Brantmeier, Cathryn Molloy, Jennifer Byrne

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

This article offers an exploratory case study of a program for faculty that blends contemplative practices, scholarly productivity, and renewal of faculty as writers at a retreat in a natural setting. We share faculty learning outcomes, logistics, a retreat agenda, and evaluation data from four writing renewal retreats conducted over two years to present initial insight into a contemplative approach to writing retreats that fosters a connection to self, to scholarship, and to a community of writers—key elements of a successful writing life. Through critical reflection on the role of contemplative practices, scholarly productivity, and faculty well-being, we offer a …

Stepping Stones: A Leadership Development Program To Inspire And Promote Reflection Among Women Faculty And Staff, Krista Hoffmann-Longtin, Zachary S. Morgan, Lauren (Chism) Schmidt, Emily C. Valvoord, Megan M. Palmer, Mary E. Dankoski

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

Women frequently benefit from focused faculty development opportunities not because they need to be “fixed,” but rather it is a means to demonstrate that success, even in chilly environments, is possible. The Stepping Stones program uses a unique design to provide participants with inspiration, time for reflection, and strategies for how to navigate one’s career, through hearing about the journeys of successful women. In this article, we describe the program and evaluation results. Post-event and longitudinal follow-up surveys indicate that the program and its unique narrative format help to debunk the superwoman myth and leave participants with a sense of …

Foreign And U.S Educated Faculty Members’ Views On What Constitutes Excellent Teaching: Effects Of Gender And Discipline, Emad A. Ismail, James E. Groccia

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

This study identifies views of foreign-educated faculty who teach in American universities on what constitutes excellence in teaching based on different demographics using the online version of the Teacher Behavior Checklist. Faculty from 14 institutions within the Southern Regional Educational Board (SREB) were asked to rank the top 10 of 28 teacher qualities of excellent teaching. The final faculty sample consisted of 448 participants, of which 309 were United States-educated (US-educated), and 139 were foreign-educated. The majority of the foreign-educated faculty were from Asia and Europe. Results showed that both US- and foreign-educated faculty agreed on eight qualities as the …

Assessment From An Educational Development Perspective, Mary C. Wright, Molly Goldwasser, Wayne Jacobson, Christopher Dakes

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

As assessment, already well established in higher education, gains attention in the field of educational development (ED), we ask: What does it mean to practice assessment from an ED perspective? In response, we examine four principles that are central to this endeavor: (a) bridging work across communities and multiple institutional levels; (b) collective, collaborative ownership; (c) action-oriented focus on student-centered learning; and (d) intentionality about inclusiveness to recognize diverse experiences of participants and stakeholders. We apply these principles to four examples of assessment practice at different institutions and offer a rationale for why this lens has utility for the improvement …

Moving Toward The Center: The Integration Of Educational Development In An Era Of Historic Change In Higher Education, Bruce Kelley, Laura Cruz, Nancy Fire

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

Educational developers have generally articulated their mission around three major poles: faculty/professional development, instructional development, and organizational development (Diamond, 2002; Lewis, 1996). While the first two poles have received greater attention in the past, an increasing amount of emphasis is being placed on organizational development. This shift is a result of a growing tendency to see educational development as an integral component in helping colleges and universities effect change in multiple areas. The challenges higher education faces “require multiple teams of cross-unit expertise in order to make progress” (Schroeder, 2011, p. 202), and educational developers are often called on to …

Analysis Of The Difference In Landing Between Male And Female High School Soccer Athletes, Jessica Vogt

Lewis Honors College Capstone Collection

Introduction: Females are consistently found to be at a higher risk of tearing their ACL. Extensive research has been completed previously to determine what causes an ACL tear and why this separation exists but a confirmed conclusion has not been found. Potential extrinsic factors such as decreased knee flexion and increased valgus have commonly been suggested as increased stressors on the ACL. The focus of this study is to determine if there is a significant difference in these two factors between males and females.

Methods: Seven healthy and highly trained subjects between the ages of 17 and 18 who do …

The Role Of The Short-Term Mission Trip Process In The Development Of Cultural Intelligence In University Students: A Collective Case Study, Ashley Haygood

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this collective case study was to determine how, if at all, Cultural Intelligence (CQ) develops in undergraduate students through a three-stage mission trip process for students at a large Christian university in the southeast participating in three separate short-term mission trips (Africa, Asia, and Europe). This study found that across the entire short-term mission (STM) trip process, religious faith was a consistent theme impacting CQ development. Three spring break short-term mission trip teams were used as three separate cases, from which several participants, or embedded units, provided their individual experiences within the case. Data collection methods occurred …

The Relationship Between Self-Efficacy And Teachers' Ability To Integrate Technology, Robert Hickson

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This study sought to evaluate the self-efficacy of teachers with regard to the integration of technology within the curriculum. The purpose of this study was to determine if there is a relationship between teachers’ self-efficacy within the classroom and their ability to integrate the technology available in the classroom. A quantitative, correlational study was performed. The sample was a convenience sample of 64 instructors at the middle grade level of a South Georgia school district. Middle school teachers were surveyed at one point in time, using Media and Technology Usage Attitude Scale (MTUAS) and the Teachers’ Sense of Self- Efficacy …

Refugee Students In Community Colleges: How Colleges Can Respond To An Emerging Demographic Challenge, Minerva D. Tuliao, Deryl K. Hatch, Richard J. Torraco

Department of Educational Administration: Faculty Publications

This practice brief provides recommendations for community college leaders in addressing the educational needs of refugee students in community colleges. Despite increasingly diverse immigrant populations at community colleges, there is limited research examining refugee students and their needs in higher education settings. Educational needs related to social support, cultural competency of the campus community, and financial assistance are found to be salient for refugee students. Implications for community colleges are discussed from the perspective of validation and community cultural wealth. Strategies that meet the needs of refugee students include expanding social networks that involve local community organizations, developing specific support …

Pedagogía Crítica Y Decolonial En Tiempos De Trump. Entrevista A Peter Mclaren, Peter Mclaren, Pablo Cortés-Gonzálezener

Education Faculty Articles and Research

Se trata de una entrevista que versa en los siguientes tópicos: Panorama internacional de las políticas sociales y educativas de corte neoliberal y los discursos sociales respecto de las minorías étnicas, identidades y migración; las implicaciones del cambio de discurso en las políticas sociales y educativas hacia los sistemas y modelos educativos; los estudios culturales y la transformación social en América Latina.

This is an interview that deals with the following topics: International panorama of social and educational policies of neoliberal and social discourses regarding ethnic minorities, identities and migration; The implications of the change of discourse in the social …

Middle School Student Habits, Perceptions, And Self-Directed Learning, Scott R. Bartholomew

Faculty Publications

Today’s students are growing up in a digital world with constant connectivity, instant access to information, and new technological developments at every turn. The feasibility, effectiveness, and possibilities of students leveraging technological tools around them for learning are the subject of continual debate (Becker, 2017; Bowen, 2012; Tamim, Bernard, Borokhovski, Abrami, & Schmid, 2011). In this study, 706 middle school students from 18 classes worked in groups of 2-3 to complete an open-ended engineering design challenge. Students completed design portfolios and constructed prototypes in their groups in response to the design challenge. Classes were divided with some receiving access to …

Occupational Therapy And Physiotherapy Education And Workforce In Anglophone Sub-Saharan Africa Countries, Augustine O. Agho, Emmanuel John

Physical Therapy Faculty Articles and Research

Background: Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) countries are faced with the challenge of educating a critical mass of occupational therapists (OTs) and physiotherapists (PTs) to meet the growing demand for health and rehabilitation services. The World Federation of Occupational Therapy (WFOT) and World Confederation of Physical Therapy (WCPT) have argued for the need of graduate-level training for OTs and PTs for decades. However, very few studies have been conducted to determine the availability of OT and PT training programs and practitioners in SSA countries.

Methods: Initial data were collected and compiled from an extensive literature search conducted using MEDLINE and …

Does Seat Location Matter? A Review Of The Proximity Effect In Large And Small Classrooms, Kim Lacroix, Sean Lacroix

Communication Disorders & Special Education Faculty Publications

The proximity effect— whether distance from an instructor correlates with grades— has been the topic of many articles dating back nearly 100 years. Despite this attention, a cleavage in the literature remains. Some authors argue that increased proximity to the instructor negatively relates with academic performance while others maintain no proximity correlation with grades. This paper posits that a consensus does exist: seat location influences grades in larger classrooms but not in smaller ones. To support that position, these authors offer a review of previous literature and add to that body by analyzing student performance in six relatively small community …

Teaching College: The Ultimate Guide To Lecturing, Presenting, And Engaging Students, Norman Eng

Publications and Research

Your students aren’t reading. They aren’t engaged in class. Getting them to talk is like pulling teeth. Whatever the situation, your reality is not meeting your expectations. Change is needed. But who’s got the time? Or maybe you’re just starting out, and you want to get it right the first time.

If so, Teaching College: The Ultimate Guide to Lecturing, Presenting, and Engaging Students is the blueprint. Written for early career instructors, this easy-to-implement guide teaches you to:

• Think like advertisers to understand your target audience—your students
• Adopt the active learning approach of the best K-12 teachers
• Write a syllabus …

Predictors Of Attitudes Of Private School Teachers Toward Inclusion Of Students With Special Needs In New Mexico, Debbra O'Hara

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Teachers’ attitudes toward inclusion of students with special needs affect communication with students, curricular decisions, selection and implementation of teaching strategies, and professional development needs. Most research in the United States has focused on the attitudes of public school teachers who must follow federal special education law and regulations, though international research on inclusion has included studies of both public and private school teachers’ attitudes. Private school teachers experience differing conditions (legal, economic, organizational, philosophical, etc.) and may hold differing attitudes toward inclusion from those of their public school peers. Determining these attitudes will help private school personnel to address …

Barriers In Adopting Blended Learning In A Private University Of Pakistan And East Africa: Faculty Members’ Perspective, Nusrat Fatima Rizvi, Saleema Gulzar, Wachira Nicholas, Beatrice Nkoroi

Institute for Educational Development, Karachi

Background: Education methods have undergone transformation over the centuries. Use of technology is the cornerstone for innovation in teaching methods. Hence, blended learning which includes face to face and online modalities is being increasingly explored as effective method for learning. This pilot study determines the perceptions of faculty members in a private international university on barriers influencing adoption of technology for teaching and learning.

Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted through a self-reported questionnaire using ‘survey monkey’. The data was entered and analyzed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS version 20). Frequencies and proportions are reported.

Results: Findings …

The Frequency Of Texting On Middle School Students' Writing Achievement, Jennifer French

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this correlational study was to discover the impact of texting on writing achievement for middle school students. The theory guiding this study is Vygotsky’s Social Cognitive Theory (Newman & Holzman, 2013) as it explains that learning is influenced by one’s social environment. The data that will be collected consists of the scores of the writing portion of the 2014-2015 state standardized test (ISTEP), a student survey answering questions about texting practices, and student status information on Free and Reduced Meals. The multiple regression analysis will be used to analyze this data because as inferential statistics it can …

Relationship Between Sense Of Coherence And School Connectedness Among Online Public High School Students, Brad Hilliard

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between sense of coherence and school connectedness among online public high school students. The connection students make with their school can affect their well-being based on the stress they perceive from the school and its environment. The variables of interest were the sense of coherence score and the school connectedness score. A bivariate correlational research study was performed to determine if there was a significant relationship between the two variables. The sample was 83 high school students enrolled in an online public school. Each completed the Sense of Coherence – …

Occupy Honors Education, Lisa L. Coleman, Jonathan D. Kotinek, Alan Y. Oda

National Collegiate Honors Council Monographs

Preface by Jonathan D Kotinek

Introduction: Occupying Naive America: The Resistance to Resistance • Lisa L Coleman

Theory and Resistance in Honors Education • Aaron Stoller

From Good Intentions to Educational Equity in an Honors Program: Occupying Honors through Inclusive Excellence • David M Jones

A Privilege for the Privileged? Using Intersectionality to Reframe Honors and Promote Social Responsibility • Amberly Dziesinski, Phame Camarena, and Caitlin Homrich-Knieling

Cosmopolitan Courtesy: Preparing for Global Citizenry • Stephanie Brown and Virginia Cope

Cosmopolitanism and New Racial Formations in a Post-9/11 Honors Curriculum on Diversity • Lopamudra Basu

Family Issues of Diversity and Education …