Education Commons^™

Learning Spaces, Jan I. Fox

Jan I Fox

No abstract provided.

Academic Labor Supply, Ronald G. Ehrenberg

Ronald G. Ehrenberg

[Excerpt] The plan of this study is as follows. In the remainder of this chapter, some background data are presented on the academic labor market and new Ph.D. production in the United States. Chapter 7 describes a schematic model of academic labor supply and indicates the underlying trends since 1970 in a number of variables that contribute to projections of shortages of faculty. In Chapter 8, a general model of occupational choice and the decision to undertake and complete graduate study is sketched. This framework, available data, and the prior academic literature are then used to address students' choice of …

Authenticity In Academic Development: The Myth Of Neutrality, Gail Rathbun, Nancy Turner

Gail A. Rathbun

Academic developers are often positioned as intermediaries who wield value-neutral tools—language, models, and techniques—in service of decidedly non-neutral institutional goals. We challenge the value of perpetuating the ideal of the neutrality of academic developers and their tools by examining the ways in which our resources and approaches produce imbalances of control, power, and authority in a consulting relationship. We suggest that the values embedded within the practices of academic development lead developers, and the people they help, to act inauthentically. By recognizing the improbability of neutrality in academic development work, the authors seek to open the way to constructive reflection, …

The Underrepresentation Of Minority Faculty In Higher Education: Panel Discussion, John Brooks Slaughter, Ronald G. Ehrenberg, Eric Hanushek

Ronald G. Ehrenberg

[Excerpt] The 3 July 2002 issue of the Chronicle of Higher Education described the matter we are discussing today in these words: "Taken together. African-Americans and persons of Hispanic origin represent only 8 percent of full-time faculty nation-wide, and while 5 percent are African-American, half of them work at historically black institutions. The proportion of black faculty members at white institutions is 2.3 percent, virtually the same as it was 20 years ago." We are privileged to have the opportunity to explore this issue from two different perspectives. The first contends that unless major changes occur, the number of minority …

Numbers Are Not Enough: Women In Higher Education In The 21st Century, Sherry H. Penney, Jennifer Brown, Laura Mcphie Oliveria

Sherry Penney

Women are now the majority of students in institutions of higher education in the United States, and in many ways women as students and faculty have seen significant progress. But numbers do not tell the whole story. Subtle forms of discrimination continue to exist, and the higher up the pyramid you go, the fewer women are to be found, whether among tenured faculty, as presidents and provosts or as board members and board chairs. Many steps can be taken to improve the situation. Some institutions are recognizing that. We note some positive changes and discuss areas where improvement is needed. …

Why Not A Fifty-Fifty Goal? Increasing Female Leadership In Higher Education, Sherry H. Penney, Nancy Kelly

Sherry Penney

One of the key factors determining the economic status and success of women is their level of education. Women have been turning to education in ever increasing numbers, and they now comprise the majority of students in our institutions of higher education. Yet women hold only 10 percent of the most senior positions — college and university presidencies. Clearly if institutions are to be responsive to the needs of all students, that percentage must change. Those who make up the ranks of this elite achieved their professional standing by overcoming inequities that linger in the academy even as we enter …

Umass-Amherst Open Education Initative: A Grant Incentive Program For Faculty To Create Free Textbooks, Matthew Sheridan, Sarah Hutton, Charles Schweik

Sarah C Hutton

To combat the rising cost of textbooks, the University Libraries and Provost funded ten $1,000 grants for faculty who would replace their current textbook with one that would be openly accessible and free. The end result of this program will see nearly 700 students affected by these new textbooks for a recurring savings of over $72,000. In this session the challenges and opportunities of using open educational resources and library materials to replace traditional print textbooks will be discussed from a faculty point of view, as well as this program’s impact on the student learning experience. Librarians will also have …

Proactively Supporting Active Learning For The 21st Century Learner: Collaborative And Team Based Student Spaces In The Learning Commons, Sarah Hutton, Robert Davis

Sarah C Hutton

No abstract provided.

Constructing High Quality Learning Environments Using Learning Designs And Learning Objects., B. Harper, S. Agostinho, Sue Bennett, J. Lukasiak, Lori Lockyer

Professor Lori Lockyer

Designing learning experiences supported by information and communication technology (ICT) is becoming an important skill for all academics in the higher education sector. With a range of "quality" measures being implemented and foreshadowed by government, including "dollars" linked to student learning outcomes, all academics will be increasingly asked to examine their instructional strategies and to offer high quality learning opportunities. Sharing learning resources is seen as one strategy to help academics in this change process. As such, online repositories of learning objects are flourishing to encourage the concept of reuse. However, what is lacking are tools to support academics in …

Promoting Dialogue On The Transgender Experience In College Courses Through Films And Literature, Elizabeth H. Rowell

Elizabeth H Rowell

Although transgender individuals have been part of every culture and society in recorded human history, many people today are unaware of gender variant individuals among them and discussions of rights and equality have usually excluded trans people. This lack of recognition and intolerance often makes being transgender today very difficult. Much work remains to be done to educate the public and improve the safety and well-being of trans people. College professors can help to promote understanding of and advocacy for gender variant individuals. This is an overview of one professor's experiences in weaving critical thinking and dialoguing about the transgender …

Broom Closet Or Fish Bowl? An Ethnographic Exploration Of A University Queer Center And Oneself, Eric D. Teman Ph.D., Maria K. Lahman Ph.D.

Eric D Teman, J.D., Ph.D.

Strategies For Fostering Doctoral Student Persistence, Amanda J. Rockinson-Szapkiw, Lucinda S. Spaulding

Lucinda S. Spaulding

No abstract provided.

Student Usage Patterns And Perceptions For Differentiated Lab Exercises In An Undergraduate Programming Course, Heng Ngee Mok

Heng Ngee MOK

Differentiated instruction in the form of tiered take-home lab exercises was implemented for students of an undergraduate-level programming course. This paper attempts to uncover the perceptions and usage patterns of students toward these new lab exercises using a comprehensive survey. Findings reveal that these tiered exercises are generally very well received and preferred over their traditional "one size fits all" counter-parts. Although the study does not show that tiered exercises have improved proÞciency or scores, it does seem to indicate higher student engagement and motivation levels. Based on the survey results, a list of recommendations is put forth for the …

National Assessment Program : Ict Literacy Technical Report, Eveline Gebhardt, Julian Fraillon, Wolfram Schulz, Kate O'Malley, Chris Freeman, Martin Murphy, John Lindsey

Martin Murphy

This report is concerned with procedures, processes and technical aspects of the National Assessment Program - ICT Literacy 2011 Literacy (NAP - ICTL 2011) and should be read in conjunction with the Public Report from Literacy NAP - ICTL 2011 which focuses on results and interpretation of results from that assessment. The first cycle of the NAP - ICTL was held in 2005 and provided the baseline against which future performance would be compared. The second cycle of the program was conducted in 2008 and was the first cycle where trends in performance were able to be examined.

Finding Leadership For The Internationalization Of U.S. Higher Education, Michael Smithee

Michael B. Smithee

The internationalization of U.S. higher education has depended on leadership from a variety of sources in different strengths and purposes over time. The leadership shifted from President Lyndon Johnson's sponsorship of legislation, as part of a trilogy of legislation known as the Great Society, to a collaborative and at times competitive leadership marked by a struggle to establish international education as legitimate focus for higher education institutions. Leadership came in the form of advocates for international education who were drawn from the stakeholders. These advocates included practitioners, researchers, professional organizations, and alliances. Leader-advocates also contended with philosophical changes in the …

Mapping Uk Eportfolio Developments Within A European Context, Gordon Joyes, Elizabeth Hartnell-Young

Dr Elizabeth Hartnell-Young

This chapter outlines the European context of lifelong learning and educational cooperation across member states and the relationship of eportfolios to current development. It focuses specifically on the priority given to portfolio developments in Higher Education in the UK through reports and policy documents and particularly through the extensive funding distributed via the Joint Information Systems Committee of the Higher Education and Further Education Funding Councils (JISC). The chapter provides an overview of current eportfolio use and points to future trends for technical and pedagogical development, drawing on the extensive JISC project archive, which covers examples from many disciplines and …

Editorial: Social Inclusion--Are We There Yet?, Kimberley Mcmahon Coleman, Alisa Percy, Bronwyn James

Alisa Percy, PhD

This special edition of the Journal of Academic Language and Learning arose out of a Forum titled Critical Discussions about Social Inclusion held at the University of Wollongong, Australia in June 2011. It was organised by academic language and learning educators from five different universities: Ingrid Wijeyewardene from the University of New England, Helen Drury from the University of Sydney, Caroline San Miguel from the University of Technology Sydney, Stephen Milnes from the Australian National University, and ourselves from the University of Wollongong. Initially funded by a grant from the Association for Academic Language and Learning, this funding was later …

Invisibilities, Uncertainties, And Unexpected Surprises: The Experiences Of Transgender And Gender Non-Conforming Students, Staff, And Faculty At Colleges And Universities In Colorado (Executive Summary), Kristie L. Seelman, N. E. Walls, Kelly Costello, Karly Steffens, Kyle Inselman, Hillary Montague-Asp

Kristie L Seelman

No abstract provided.

Neoliberalizing Higher Education In Greece: New Laws, Old Free-Market Tricks, Panayota Gounari

Panayota Gounari

Amid a financial crisis that has shifted politics in Greece to conservative market-driven ideologies and policies, specific major changes are proposed by the Greek Ministry of Education for primary, secondary and higher education. With the gradual disappearance of public space and of the welfare state, under the pressure and the auspices of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), education becomes one more space quickly geared up towards privatization, marketization of learning and educational goals while the character of free public education is radically redefined. This article addresses the changes in higher education legislation and policy in Greece and analyzes the discursive …

Invisibilities, Uncertainties, And Unexpected Surprises: The Experiences Of Transgender And Gender Non-Conforming Students, Staff, And Faculty At Colleges And Universities In Colorado, Kristie L. Seelman, N. E. Walls, Kelly Costello, Karly Steffens, Kyle Inselman, Hillary Montague-Asp

Kristie L Seelman

No abstract provided.