Education Commons^™

Creating A "Tqm" Classroom Through Cooperative Learning, Barbara Millis

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

Two important trends in higher education-Total Quality Management and Cooperative Learning-happily result in compatible and creative classroom approaches. In fact, much of the TQM theory is predicated on the noncompetitive teamsork that forms the heart of the cooperative learning movement. This paper discusses how instructors using cooperative learning activities simultaneously create a TQM classroom.

The New Faculty Developer And The Challenge Of Change, Mary Ann Bowman

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

This article describes strategies to help novice faculty developers successfully adjust to their new profession and be effective in what they do. These approaches suggest that new developers may be better informed than they think they are, but will need to be prepared to make choices about what they do; deal with the challenge of limited resources; anticipate the unexpected; and recognize that their office may be perceived by faculty members as a safe place. Differences between the roles of faculty member and faculty developer are indicated. Additional suggested strategies include using publications, making the faculty development office visible, keeping …

The Spirit Of Pod: A Network For Development, Marilla D. Svinicki

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

The Concept of Network

A Dedication to Development

The Spirit of POD: The Next Twenty Years

Challenges For Faculty Developers And Department Chairs: When Faculty Arrive From Professional Settings, Eric W. Kristensen, David R. Moulton

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

This paper discusses problems encountered by new faculty coming from professional backgrounds to teach in subjects areas that have no academic traditions. Using the case of Bill, the paper describes difficulties these faculty members encounter and intervention techniques appropriate to them. Finally, the paper discusses how these problems are related to similar problems faced by all faculty.

Section I: Working With Faculty Communities

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

This volume of To Improve the Academy begins with essays examining different groups of faculty within our institutions. We clustered these together because each spotlights a special group of faculty. One danger in institutions of higher learning is that the term "community" may be misused. It could be restricted to an academic department that must get along by reason of budgets, proximity of offices, or shared parking lots. Or the term could be a convenient designation for a group of people sharing a category-such as the "research faculty." Or it could be used to disguise problems within or between campus …

Section V: The Roles Faculty Developers Play

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

This last section combines perspectives of both organizational development and personal development. Those of us who have been in faculty development a long time remember when we were defining the role faculty developers "should" play on our campuses. At the same time the subject of the "career" of a faculty developer was also discussed, often with some puzzling overtones. The passage of time has helped faculty development clarify both the role-or many roles-faculty developers play and the career paths each might follow.

Taking The Lead: Faculty Development As Institutional Change Agent, Kenneth J. Zahorski

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

This article looks at the nature, role, and functions of faculty development from a particular philosophical perspective, exploring ways in which faculty development professionals might step beyond their traditional institutional role as facilitators to become even more powerful change agents. More specifically, the author (1) identifies areas where change agent strategies may be used, (2) provides some concrete examples of faculty development serving as an effective institutional change agent, and (3) identifies the conditions needed for faculty developers to become successful change agents.

Faculty Development Programs: A Perspective, Sandra Hellyer, Erwin Boschmann

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

This article describes a study which reviewed information on faculty development programs gathered from 94 institutions of higher learning. The authors collected information to identify common practices of faculty development programs. Elements reportedly used most frequently by institutions include workshops, individual consultations, and resource centers. The authors conclude by mentioning some innovative approaches to faculty development, as well as some new initiatives undertaken at their own institution as a result of their findings.

Faculty Developers As Change Facilitators: The Concerns-Based Adoption Model, Lynn Evans, Sheila Chauvin

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

Faculty members involved in efforts to improve their teaching, as well as the faculty developers who work with them, progress through natural, predictable stages of concern which, if understood, can form the basis of appropriate interventions. In this article the authors examine a framework that faculty developers and leaders of change efforts can use in their roles as change facilitators. This framework for understanding and planning educational change is part of the Concerns-Based Adoption Model (CBAM) developed by Hall, Hord, and others at the University of Texas at Austin Research and Development Center.

The "Bob Pierleoni Spirit Of Pod Award"

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

In 1990, a great many POD Network members were saddened by the news that a colleague, friend, and long-time POD member, Robert Pierleoni, (Bob to most of us) had suffered a fatal heart attack. While Bob had served on the CORE Committee two terms, and had been Co-chair of the Delavan, Wisconsin, conference at Lake Lawn Lodge in 1985, and had been a loyal member from early years, the loss of his presence in POD was one felt keenly as a result of something that many of his friends referred to as his "spirit" of being a "POD'er". He was …

New Trends In Assuring And Assessing The Quality Of Educational Provision In British Universities, George Gordon

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

This article describes recent initiatives designed to audit and assess the quality of education in British universities. Such concerns are not new and have been addressed in various ways, including the accreditation of programs by professional bodies and of programs and institutions by regional accreditation/validation bodies. In essence these initiatives, old and new, seek to provide assurance, to the academy and to the public, that standards are appropriate, satisfactory, compatible with objectives, and broadly comparable between similar programs or institutions. At present, there is a gathering international movement toward requiring universities to produce evidence about their systems of quality assurance …

Applying For A Faculty Development Position: What Can Our Colleagues Tell Us?, Erin Porter, Karron Lewis, Eric W. Kristensen, Christine A. Stanley, Carol A. Weiss

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

Faculty Development is an emerging field for institutions of higher education; therefore, the procedure for recruiting center directors and faculty developers has not been carefully examined or published. Constructing or reviewing resumes, curriculum vitae, or application portfolios is still an uncharted area in our profession. Information about these procedures is currently available only in the experiences of employers and potential employees for positions in faculty development. The objective of this article is to begin the process of accumulating useful criteria for employees and employers to find the right match of needs and qualifications. As a unique field in the academic …

Section Iii: Teachers And Students In The Classroom

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

The first category of faculty development in the POD publication, "An Informational Brochure about Faculty, Instructional and Organization Development," is "the faculty member as teacher." To Improve the Academy is one place where faculty developers and teachers can turn to find out what is happening in the realm of teaching and learning.

Developing Faculty Multicultural Awareness: An Examination Of Life Roles And Their Cultural Components, Joanne E. Cooper, Virgie Chattergy

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

This article describes the use of narrative to develop multicultural awareness. Faculty were asked to examine their own "internal multiculturalism ": how their various roles and statuses reflect differing and sometimes conflicting cultural imperatives. Findings explore points of connection and conflict experienced by faculty within the university culture and foster the negotiation and understanding of various cultures in all member of the academy.

Integrating Part-Time Faculty Into The Academic Community, George Drops

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

This article presents seven ideas on how to integrate part-time faculty into the academic community and help them deal with their feelings of isolation and loneliness. The key role of faculty development program directors is identified as well as specific strategies for working with part-time faculty. These ideas are based upon the author's experience as both a part-time and full-time faculty member, as well as a director of faculty development programs, and upon several surveys conducted among part-time faculty.

Enhancing Gta Training In Academic Departments: Some Self-Assessment Guidelines, James Eison, Marsha Vanderford

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

Faculty developers can assist supervisors of graduate teaching assistants (GTAs) and department chairpersons in examining the quality and comprehensiveness of their GTA training program. Five general guidelines and a series of 30 specific self-assessment questions are described to assist in this process. In addition, the use of these self-study procedures by a Department of Communication at a large urban university is illustrated.

Faculty Development's Role In Promoting An Inclusive Community: Addressing Sexual Orientation, Ann S. Ferren, William W. Geller

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

Faculty development programs have been at the forefront for the last decade in confronting new issues related to teaching and learning. These collective efforts have encouraged faculty to engage more directly and more deeply with students and ideas. Central to each of these efforts has been self-reflection and thoughtful analysis of the issues. Sexual orientation has not been a significant part of that personal study or dialogue. For those of us committed to strengthening our academic communities, recognizing this exclusion of the gay, lesbian, and bisexual community demands that we work to reduce the barriers. This will mean a renewed …

Section Iv: Addressing Change In Programs Of Faculty Development

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

In recent years, the membership of POD has grown considerably, and each year new programs on campuses are newly established or renewed. This section is devoted to descriptions of a variety of campus-based programs making using of a variety of strategies promoting improvement in the climate for scholarship and learning on our campuses.

Teaching The Technology Of Teaching: A Faculty Development Program For New Faculty, Ray Shackelford

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

The primary function of institutions of higher education is to facilitate learning. New faculty are hired yearly with the expectation that they will match student needs with effective learning experiences. But many incoming faculty, although knowledgeable in their fields, enter higher education with limited preparation or experience in teaching. This can reduce the effectiveness of the teaching/learning process. The question is: "How can faculty with limited teaching experience be helped to strengthen their teaching effectiveness?" To examine this question, this article will describe the development, implementation, and qualitative and quantitative assessment of an innovative faculty development program entitled "Teaching the …

From Faculty Developer To Faculty Development Director: Shifting Perspectives And Strategies, Marie A. Wunsch

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

Very often faculty development staff, instructional development specialists, or faculty members on development committees are called upon to assume administrative duties as the director of a faculty development program or office. This article suggests strategies for addressing the perspectives and skills that successful faculty developers have that can be adapted, shifted, and enlarged to serve them well in a new role.

Better Teaching Through Better Evaluation: A Guide For Faculty And Institutions, Susan Kahn

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

This paper surveys current literature and thinking on teaching evaluation in higher education. It is intended to help faculty, administrators, departments and institutions think through the main issues that need to be considered in developing a teaching evaluation plan. It is organized around these issues, which include definitions of good teaching, formative and summative evaluation of teaching, sources of evaluation information, use of evaluation to improve teaching, and features of effective evaluation programs. Along with discussion of these issues, it provides examples and models of successful evaluation approaches and includes a list of suggested readings for readers interested in learning …

Editorial Matter 1993

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

Ordering Information

Permission to Copy

Instructions to Contributors for the 1994 Volume

Foreword

Mission Statement

Membership

Conference and Programs

Contents

List of Contributors

About POD

Section Ii: Practicing Inclusive Behavior

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

The editors have chosen to offer the two essays in this section by themselves because we want to underline the importance of a vital task calling us as change agents and community builders. 0. Scott Peck (1987) in The Different Drum writes that the "great enemy of community is exclusivity" (p. 61). We can point to egregious examples of exclusion in our society; but can we clearly see how we ourselves practice exclusivity, even with the best of intentions? If we do recognize the problem, how can we not only change our own behaviors but also promote inclusion across our …

The Teaching Consultants' Workshop, Michael A. Kerwin, Judith Rhoads

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

This paper describes the Teaching Consultants' Workshop offered in the Teaching Consultation Program in the University of Kentucky Community College System. Faculty members from different campuses, who have been recognized by their colleagues as outstanding teachers and who have attended a training workshop, serve as consultants. The consultants attend the workshop after completing the information collection phase in work with individual clients. Consultants present their clients to each other through collected data and videotape, and discuss alternative teaching strategies that might be used in each case.

Helping Faculty Integrate Technology In Research And Teaching: Cart At Bridgewater State College, Terry Anne Vigil, Gail Price, Uma Shama, Karen Stonely

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

This article describes Bridgewater State College's Center for the Advancement of Research and Teaching (CART). CART's role is to prepare all faculty and librarians to take advantage of the opportunities that the new Center for Tecyhnological Applications will make available for the teaching and learning process, not only for students but for faculty. The challenge for CART is to integrate traditional faculty development with technological training as one more tool for the practitioner to enhance teaching and learning. Bridgewater's program has successfully attracted faculty to educational technology, encouraged teaching and research projects through a summer small grants program, and built …

A "Community Of Scholars?": Conversations Among Mid-Career Faculty At A Public Research University, Julia Lamber, Tony Ardizzone, Terry Dworkin, Sam Guskin, Deborah Olsen, Phil Parnell, David Thelen

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

This article reports on a study of issues of faculty isolation and morale in mid-career faculty. Interview questions probed the dynamics of individual careers and asked about the quality of work life in the department and university, and changes in work life over the course of careers. Findings suggest that a majority of faculty, regardless of professional interests or scholarly prestige, would like greater interaction with departmental colleagues, more recognition from their department and university, a reward system based less on outside offers, and more fluid communications with upper-level administrators. Faculty comments clearly illustrate the advantages of an academic career: …

Beyond Groups And Cooperation: Building High Performance Learning Teams, Larry K. Michaelsen, Cynthia Firestone Jones, Warren E. Watson

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

This article examines potential parallels between using teams in the workplace and in the classroom and is based on the assumption that educators may be able to learn a great deal from industry's successes using high-performing teams. This article (1) outlines the key attributes of groups affecting their ability to engage in productive work, (2) identifies management practices that have consistently resulted in high performance teams in the workplace, (3) compares these practices with the prescriptions of three widely used but different instructional approaches to group-based learning: incorporating a group assignment as a supplement to a predominantly lecture-based course, Cooperative …