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Welcome, Patricia R. Renick Ph.D.

Electronic Journal for Inclusive Education

Welcome to the 6th edition of the Electronic Journal of Inclusive Education.

Providing insight into changing the attitudes of regular educators concerning inclusive practice and knowledge concerning accommodating students with special learning needs is the focus of this edition. We also have an article addressing concerns about the use of behavior modification in public school classrooms. As the conversation continues concerning including students with special needs in regular education classrooms, the need for greater awareness and acceptance of the diversity inherent in the human condition becomes clearer in light of the September 11th attacks on the World Trade Center. One …

Evaluation Of The School Psychology Program At Marshall University Graduate College, Mary L. Winters

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

This research evaluates the structure, purpose, and efficiency of the School Psychology Program at Marshall University Graduate College and will be utilized as baseline research for further measures of program efficiency and accountability. This study investigates the satisfaction levels and opinions of the student population, including all current and recent students who have graduated from the program. The methods of data collection were a survey, developed primarily from the goals and objectives of the program, and telephone interviews. The information requested in these methods was structured to provide both qualitative and quantitative data. Frequency analysis of the data resulted in …

Learning As We G(R)O(W): Strategizing The Lessons Of A Fledgling Rhetoric And Writing Studies Department, Jane Hindman

Publications and Research

Published in one of the first collections to focus on independent writing programs, A Field of Dreams. The volume offers a complex picture of the experience of the stand-alone. Included here are narratives of individual programs from a wide range of institutions, exploring such issues as what institutional issues led to their independence, how independence solved or created administrative problems, how it changed the culture of the writing program and faculty sense of purpose, success, or failure.

What Parents And Teachers Want To Know About Schools And How Schools Can Advertise This Information Using Technology, Denise H. Krefting

Graduate Research Papers

Finding good teachers is becoming very competitive in our nation as a large number of teachers will be retiring and fewer people are entering the profession. Parents are now shopping for the school that they want their children to attend and then finding the home in that district. The possibility of school vouchers is encouraging this. Schools need to be able to advertise information to potential employees and parents of their school district.

The Waukee School district in Waukee, Iowa works to create an informational CD made available to parents and employees is used as an example of what information …

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.

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 …

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.

What Do The Faculty Think? The Importance Of Concerns Analysis In Introducing Technological Change, Heekap Lee, Amy Lawson

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

Change management strategies tend to focus on the inherent characteristics of the proposed change. However, there is a personal side to change and it is reflected in what are called perceptions or personal concerns. To manage change successfully, facilitators must take measures to understand the personal concerns had by those who are required to implement the change. Moreover, this concerns analysis should be done early in the project, ideally before the change is implemented. The purposes of this chapter are to explain the importance of conducting a concerns analysis and to propose a theoretical framework for concerns analysis. The framework …

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.

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.

The Evolution Of A Teacher–Professor: Applying Behavior Change Theory To Faculty Development, Fred Hebert, Marty Loy

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

This chapter introduces the sage, the thinker, the builder, and the master as four evolutionary archetypes to use as identifiable characters in the process of teaching development. Once defined, behavior change theory is applied, and stage-specific strategies are used to aid these archetypes in their evolutionary process.

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 …

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 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.

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.

Identifying Accommodations For Inclusion Settings: A Strategy For Special And General Educators, Karen A. Verbeke Ph.D.

Electronic Journal for Inclusive Education

Identifying accommodations for students with disabilities is an important part of the collaboration that must take place between special and general educators as a result of the regulations of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA, 1997). The law has placed more emphasis on having students with disabilities receive the majority of their instruction in “regular” classes with the use of supplementary aids and services. Identifying these accommodations can be a daunting task for new as well as veteran teachers because there are so many possible accommodations. One strategy, PRESS, has been effective in the training of new teachers and …

Behavior Analysis: No Defense Required, James D. Dunne Ph.D.

Electronic Journal for Inclusive Education

Many people, professional educators and others, criticize what they call behavior modification because they believe it applies only to animals or people with disabilities and represents little more than the application of good common sense. This paper argues that behavior modification, more accurately called behavior analysis, has produced many procedures that apply to the behavior of people with and without disabilities across a variety of settings. This paper examines 4 behavior analytic teaching strategies (Personalized System of Instruction, Programmed Instruction, Direct Instruction, and Precision Teaching) to illustrate the sophistication and wide application of behavior analysis. It concludes that such behavior …

The Role Of The Administrator In Instructional Technology Policy, Philip T.K. Daniel, Jason P. Nance

UF Law Faculty Publications

In response to national and state reform movements, and in an attempt to strengthen preparation standards for teachers and students, accreditation boards have prepared performance indicators in the area of technology. Such standards call for the full integration of technology in school curricula, formal coursework and professional development workshops for teachers, and an understanding on the part of teachers and students alike as to the legal and ethical issues surrounding the use of technology. The thesis of this research is that it is essential that school administrators be involved in all levels of planning and integrating technology into school curricula …

Graduate Bulletin, 2002-2004 (2002), Minnesota State University Moorhead

Graduate Bulletins (Catalogs)

No abstract provided.

School, Family, And Community Partnerships In The Middle Grades: The Relationship Between Types Of Involvement And Academic Outcomes, Carolyn L. Turk

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

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A Study Of The Impact Of The New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards On The Instructional Practices Of Teachers In Grades 1-4, David H. Dilks

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

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A Study Of The Impact Of The New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards On The Instructional Practices Of Teachers In Grades 1-4, David H. Dilks

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

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An Outcomes Based Study Of Whole School Reform In The Abbott Districts: An In-Depth Study Of Academic Progress At The Lower Elementary Level Based On The Fourth Grade Espas, Miriam J. Singer

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

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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 …

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.

Research On Faculty As Teaching Mentors: Lessons Learned From A Study Of Participants In Uc Berkeley's Seminar For Faculty Who Teach With Graduate Student Instructors, Linda Von Hoene, Jacqueline Mintz

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

This chapter describes the results of a research study of University of California, Berkeley’s annual seminar for faculty teaching with Graduate Student Instructors (GSIs). It demonstrates that such a faculty development activity can have a significant impact not only on faculty mentoring of GSIs but also on faculty teaching, attitudes, and behaviors vis-à-vis teaching and learning in higher education. The chapter presents an overview of the seminar, a description of the format and methodology of the research project, and qualitative and quantitative outcomes.

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.