Education Commons^™

Editorial Matter For Volume 3, Number 1, Ada Long, Dail Mullins, Rusty Rushton

Journal of the National Collegiate Honors Council Online Archive

Editorial Policy
Contents
Call for Papers
Submission Guidelines
Dedication
Editor's Introduction, Ada Long
About the Authors

Creating A Common Voice For Liberal Arts Education, Charles F. Blaich, Mauri Ditzler

Journal of the National Collegiate Honors Council Online Archive

As Sam Schuman so eloquently argues in his lead article, these are challenging times for the liberal arts. A society that owes so much to graduates of liberal arts colleges has come to see them as an education for a simpler time.
Why does a liberal arts education now seem out of place? Perhaps it is that, in times of rapid change, an education that offers the certainty of “textbook solutions” is more comforting than one that promises creative, thoughtful, and flexible “improvisation” in the face of a complex world. It may be that a narrowly focused, carefully applied education …

Student-Led Quality Teams In The Classroom, Cheryl Achterberg, Amanda Wetzel, Emily Whitbeck

Journal of the National Collegiate Honors Council Online Archive

The central aim of all honors programs is to produce the highest quality of learning experiences possible to students with high motivation and exceptional academic ability (Brown, 2001). The assumption has been for many years that a high quality learning experience is ensured in the traditional (honors) college classroom by small class size and a seminar format.

However, some of these classes are inevitably higher quality than others. Recent teaching innovations open additional instructional options to honors and other courses as well. Process evaluation or assessment can help course instructors learn how to make course adjustments while the course is …

That Fine Little House, Rosalie Otero

Journal of the National Collegiate Honors Council Online Archive

I was intrigued by Sam Schuman’s allegory about liberal arts education using Virginia Lee Burton’s story of The Little House. Sam points out that it was not the little house that changed, but its neighborhood. I would argue that not only the neighborhood changed, but what went on inside the little house. Like most people, my first house was small, and the activities that went on within our house generally centered around a young family and a new career. As the years progressed, I moved to a larger house, and the activities changed from managing teenagers to grandchildren and …

Liberal Education: “Learning To Learn”, Dale Knobel

Journal of the National Collegiate Honors Council Online Archive

When Sam Schuman and Anne Ponder recruited Chris Dahl and me to join them in developing an “Undergraduate Summit” which might bring together representatives of the major higher education associations, they billed our roles as “conversation starters.” I hope our remarks do just that, not offering fixed conclusions but sparking conversation among those who’ve joined us at the table in Chicago and among those who might become acquainted with the Summit later on. It is more than the accident of friendship that brought us together to get a larger conversation underway. Though all four of us are now leading college …

Pod Network News, Spring 2002

POD Network News

President's Column

News from the Core

Diversity Commission

Resources for New Developers

Bright Idea Award Winners, 2001

Call for Manuscripts & Proposals

Position Announcement

Chicago Area Faculty Development Network

Kudos to ...

Books and Reports by POD Members

Conference Notes

In Memoriam

A Handy-Dandy Guide to How POD Works

2002-03 Executive Committee

2002-03 POD Core Committee

POD Relocates

Complete your library! To Improve the Academy Order Form

Safari Through An African Slide Journal, Laura Andersen

University of Nebraska State Museum: Programs Information

Luella Buros first set foot on the African continent in 1956 when she arrived on the shores of Mombasa, Kenya. From Mombasa, she and her husband Oscar, who had won a senior Fulbright award, trekked across southern Kenya via Land Rover to Kampala, Uganda. They resided here for the year while Oscar taught statistics at Makerere University College. When Oscar was not working, they traveled extensively around Eastern Africa. However, Buros was no ordinary traveler. She was a meticulous record-keeper and logged her trips in a journal. Buros' talents also included photography, and throughout her trips to Africa and at …

Nebraska's Endangered Species Part 1: Introduction And The Insects, Brett C. Ratcliffe, Steve Spomer

University of Nebraska State Museum: Programs Information

There is now an ongoing, unprecedented loss of species diversity throughout the world as well as a decline in the absolute numbers of organisms from the smallest microorganism to the largest mammal. The current loss of biota has several causes. One is the destruction, conversion, or degradation of entire ecosystems with the consequent loss of entire assemblages of species. Another is the accelerating loss of individual species within communities or ecosystems as a result of habitat disturbance, pollution, and exploitation. Third, and more subtle, is the loss of genetic variability. Selective pressures such as habitat alteration, the presence of chemical …

Conference Program: Hold Fast The Dream!

POD Network Conference Materials

Welcome, by G. Roger Sell (President), the Conference Planning Team (Karron G. Lewis, Nancy Simpson, Marilla Svinicki, and Dorothy Zinsmeister), Sally Kuhlenschmidt (Program Chair)

Core Committee, 2002-2003

POD Presidents and Conference Sites

Conference Overview

Acknowledgements

POD Honored Presentation Awards in Recognition of Robert J. Menges

Schedule

Jewel Scarabs, David C. Hawks

University of Nebraska State Museum: Programs Information

Jewel Scarabs are a group of about 100 species of some of the most spectacular insects that you'll ever see! Most are various shades of iridescent green, but others are spectacular, metallic "jewels" of silver, gold, red, pink, purple, or blue. They are beetles of the family Scarabaeidae, in the subfamily Rutelinae. This subfamily is known by the common name "Shining Leaf Chafers" because many are shiny, colorful beetles that feed on leaves as adults. As a specialist in Jewel Scarabs of the genus Chrysina, I naturally consider these to be among the finest and most fascinating of insects, …

Teaching And Learning In Honors, Cheryl L. Fuiks, Larry Clark

National Collegiate Honors Council Monographs

Introduction Rinda West
A Review of the Research on Personality Characteristics of Academically Talented College Students Larry Clark
Fundamental Issues In Honors Teaching: Data, Information, Knowledge, and Wisdom on the Wired Campus Larry Crockett
Community Building In Honors Education Linda Rutland Gillison
Teaching Critical Thinking In the Honors Classroom Laird Edman
Cooperative Learning In Honors Education Cheryl L. Fuiks
Honors Composition: Thoughts on Pedagogy Stewart Justman
Promoting CriticaL Thinking Through Classroom Discussion William Taylor
Using Technology In the Honors Classroom Larry Clark and Larry Crockett
A Review of Pedagogy In Honors Courses Cheryl L. Fuiks and Linda Rutland Gillison
Conclusions …

2002-03 Unopa Annual Report

UNOPA Annual Reports

INSIDE THIS REPORT President’s Report ..................................... 1 President-elect’s Report .......................... 3 Financial Statement .................................. 4 Secretaries Reports .................................. 5 Standing Committee Reports ................ 6 Special Committee Reports .................. 17 National Activities .................................. 20 University Support .................................. 23

Office Of Research And Graduate Studies -- Annual Report 2001/2002

Office of Research and Economic Development: Publications

03/04 Nanotechnology
05/06 Research Highlights
07/08 Biomedical Research
09/10 Children, Families & Education
11/12 Initiatives
13/14 Genomics
15/16 Research Centers
17/18 Graduate Studies
19/20 Technology Transfer

When I came to the University of Nebraska–Lincoln last year, I was not only impressed by the faculty and administration, but inspired by the potential to move UNL research to a new level of excellence. In the past fiscal year, we’ve experienced exceptional growth. Our total sponsored programs awards grew 25 percent, which is a direct result of our strategic initiatives that provide new resources, leverage existing resources, develop grantsmanship skills and increase collaborations …

Could It Be That It Does Make Sense? A Program Review Process For Integrating Activities, Terrel Rhodes

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

This chapter presents a model for a comprehensive program review process that can be used on any campus. Faculty developers maintain a critical role in a campus-wide program review initiative. This model is based upon the development of institutional priorities that guide the development of goals and objectives far academic units across the campus. The program review process is based on a core of regularly produced institutional data that can be used by all units to inform decision-making. The review process is conducted on an annual or biannual basis with periodic major review coinciding with accreditation visits. The ultimate success …

Harnessing The Potential Of Online Faculty Development: Challenges And Opportunities, Timothy P. Shea, Pamela D. Sherer, Eric V. Kristensen

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

This chapter explores several issues regarding the current state of online faculty development resources. First, it describes the breadth and depth of today’s online teaching and learning resources. Then, it explains the benefits of designing an institutional teaching and learning center portal as a means for organizing and focusing resources. Finally, it discusses the importance of the faculty developer’s role in harnessing these resources for individual and institutional advantage. The online portal provides a powerful tool for institutional change on a scale heretofore impossible for most, and puts faculty development at the center of an institution’s mission.

Getting Started With Faculty Development, Nadia Cordero De Figueroa, Pedro A. Sandín-Fremaint

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

As a result of an academic senate decision to reconceptualize the baccalaureate, the Río Piedras Campus of the University of Puerto Rico began, in late 1994, a major transformational process that has led it to rethink itself as a community of learners. One of the principal instruments of change has been our Center for Academic Excellence, created in early 1998 as a result of the transformational process. This chapter discusses the process that led to the creation of the center, as well as its structure, activities, and vision for the future. We hope that our experience will be useful to …

Mandatory Faculty Development Works, Mona B. Kreaden

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

This chapter tells the story of a successful, ongoing, mandatory faculty development program. It explains the historical reasons why a business school in a large, urban Research I institution felt the need to make their program mandatory, examines how it was developed, and the university faculty development program’s role in the process. The author makes the case that mandatory programs can be successful in faculty development when they are administered by an outside credible entity, are faculty driven, and guarantee confidentiality.

The Millennial Learner: Challenges And Opportunities, Suandra Y. Mcguire, Dennis A. Williams

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

Students enrolled in college today are, in many respects, quite different from students enrolled a few decades ago. Learners today seem more focused on being credentialed, and less concerned with obtaining a broad-based, liberal arts education. Today’s faculty may find it challenging to provide engaging learning activities for this generation of students. Millennial educators must instill in students a desire to think critically and provide them with strategies that will make them more efficient learners. Campus learning centers and faculty development centers can work together to foster an academic climate that helps all students to realize their full academic potential.

A Modified Microteaching Model: A Cross–Disciplinary Approach To Faculty Development, John P. Hertel, Barbara J. Millis, Robert K. Noyd

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

Three departments at the United States Air Force Academy successfully used a microteaching model to train new faculty. Like other models, its structured approach used videotaping and peer coaching. The model also contained several unique features, including a cross-disciplinary approach to supplement feedback from department members and focused small group feedback with built-in preparation time. Thus, this model results not only in enhanced teaching performance, but also in departmental and institutional collegiality.

Operational Diversity: Saying What We Mean, Doing What We Say, Wayne Jacobson, Jim Borgford-Parnell, Katherine Frank, Michael Peck, Lois Reddick

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

Diversity issues, ranging from individual learning styles to institutional equity, are central to teaching and learning, but identifying and addressing these issues is a formidable task. At the Center for Instructional Development and Research (CIDR), our staff is gaining ground on this work through the Inclusive Practices Portfolio, a collaborative forum for documenting, sharing, and supporting our individual and organizational diversity initiatives. The process of developing the center’s portfolio and the portfolio itself are mechanisms for change within the center and a model far change at our institution and beyond.

The Graphic Syllabus: Shedding A Visual Light On Course Organization, Linda B. Nilson

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

Students rarely understand how a course is organized from the week-by-week topical listing in traditional syllabi. This chapter explains a teaching tool called a graphic syllabus, which elucidates (and may improve) course design/organization and increases student retention of the material. It may resemble a flow chart or diagram or be designed around a graphic metaphor with another object. Included here are materials, experiences, and graphic syllabi from a workshop conducted several times on how to compose one (involving about 115 faculty and faculty developers). Graphic representations of text-based material appeal to the visual learning preferences of today’s students and complement …

A Brief History Of Educational Development: Implications For Teachers And Developers, Richard G. Tiberius

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

An historical review of the practice of educational development identified four belief systems about teaching and learning that shape the practice. Each system is characterized by an assumption about the teacher’s role: content expert; performer, who makes learning happen; facilitator, who encourages learning through interaction; and helper, whose relationship with learners is a vehicle for learning. The good news is that even teachers who are limited to only one of these belief systems can be successful. On the other hand, developers must have an appreciation for more than one belief system if they are to be successful at helping teachers.

Linking Change Initiatives: The Carnegie Academy For The Scholarship Of Teaching And Learning In The Company Of Other National Projects, Barbara Cambridge

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

The scholarship of teaching and learning provides an overarching framework for progress on a number of important educational issues today. The Carnegie Academy for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning encourages connections with other national projects that deal with issues such as defining student learning outcomes, building an infrastructure of support, and establishing evidence for purposes of accountability in mutually supportive ways. Connecting such efforts honors faculty time in the midst of multiple demands and raises the likelihood of significant, lasting impact on the quality of teaching and learning.

Evaluating Teaching Workshops: Beyond The Satisfaction Survey, David G. Way, Virleen M. Carlson, Susan C. Piliero

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

Workshops are a prevalent approach to fostering instructional development for both teaching assistants (TAs) and faculty. Frequently we evaluate workshops by asking participants to fill out a satisfaction-oriented survey at the end. To what degree do such surveys evaluate adequately the workshop’s long-term effect on participants’ learning? The authors explicate earlier investigative work on transfer of training, and present the results of a follow-up survey to two groups of TA workshop participants designed to assess the degree to which conditions theoretically conducive to the transfer of training exist at their institution.

Teaching Through Discussion As The Exercise Of Disciplinary Power, Stephen D. Brookfield

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

The French philosopher Michel Foucault spent much of his lifetime analyzing the way in which power flows through all human interactions, including those of discussion groups within higher education. His analysis of disciplinary power and surveillance is directly applicable to the practice of discussion-based teaching.

Preface, Volume 20 (2002), Devorah Lieberman

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

Preface to volume 20 (2002) of To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development, by Devorah Lieberman of Portland State University.

Institutional Transformation And Change: Insights For Faculty Developers, Peter D. Eckel

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

This chapter presents a series of insights about the process of institutional change and how leaders might implement it. Since the majority of energy goes into what the institution should do, little attention in higher education is given to how institutions should go about change. Based upon six years of work with 24 diverse institutions working on a range of change agendas in two projects, this chapter presents some conceptualizations of change and offers some language to discuss the type of intended change that might be useful for faculty developers and other campus leaders. It identifies three key elements in …

Overcoming Cultural Obstacles To New Ways Of Teaching: The Lilly Freshman Learning Project At Indiana University, Joan K. Middendorf, David Pace

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

Evidence has been accumulating for over a decade that approaches such as collaborative and active learning have potential for creating real increases in student learning. Yet on many campuses these ideas are having little impact on what is actually happening in classes and in the formation of institutional practices. What are the cultural obstacles that are preventing the exploration of new ways of teaching and how can these be overcome? In this chapter we will describe cultural obstacles that prevent the adoption of new ways of teaching. After presenting a few opportunities created by the current sense of crisis in …

Bibliography, Volume 20 (2002)

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

Bibliography for volume 20 (2002) of To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development.

Introduction. Volume 20 (2002), Devorah Lieberman

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

Introduction to volume 20 (2002) of To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development, by Devorah Lieberman of Portland State University.