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Table Of Contents

Perspectives In Learning

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Beyond Diversity: An Academic Infusion Model (A.I.M.) Of Multicultural Teacher Education, Rita Mitchell, Bonita Williams, Paulina Kuforiji

Perspectives In Learning

Teacher Education Programs provide the knowledge, skills and experience that enable pre-service teachers to become effective educators. Multicultural Education should be a significant part of the academic foundation for preservice education programs. This article examines the rationale for the utilization of the Academic Infusion Model (A.I.M.) of Multicultural Education in Teacher Education Programs. Teachers are ultimately responsible for establishing and maintaining an educational environment where students are provided opportunities to develop to their full potential. Therefore teacher quality is the most important factor in considering the effectiveness of a school. Educational administrators are faced with the responsibility of hiring qualified …

Equine Assisted Therapy, Kristie Luckett, Cindy Witsell

Perspectives In Learning

Equine Assisted Therapy (EAP) is a unique, intensive, short-term approach to helping individuals with various mental health concerns. This article will explain what EAP is, what is needed in order to conduct an EAP therapy session, provide a case study to demonstrate how EAP has been and can be utilized in practice, and finally, list the strengths of EAP. The information contained in this article is based on information provided by a therapist experienced in utilizing Equine Assisted Therapy.

Understanding And Responding To The Needs Of Nontraditional College Students, Joyce Hickson

Perspectives In Learning

The statistical profile of today’s American college student indicates that this sector is overwhelmingly “nontraditional”. The nontraditional student possesses at least one or more of the following characteristics: married; a parent; 25 years or older; returning to college after having been out of school for a number of years; financially independent from parents; attending school on a part-time basis (U. S. Department of Education, 2002). According to the Columbus State University Fall, 2002 Enrollment Report (Wallman, 2002) the average age of undergraduate students is 25 years, while the graduate student mean age is 37 years. Additionally, large numbers of CSU …

An Academy For The Development Of Transformational Leaders, Roger Hatcher

Perspectives In Learning

The Summer of 2002 ushered in an important training model for aspiring local school leaders. Through a joint partnership funded by the Muscogee County School District, Columbus State University began this training with a cohort of twenty-four leadership candidates chosen by the school system. The mission of this newly formed leadership academy was to develop transformational leaders who would possess the knowledge, the performance skills and the dispositions vital to create and foster positive cultures of learning for all students.

Metaphor: A Counselor's Tool For Change, Kenyada Owens

Perspectives In Learning

Counseling and metaphors encompass the process of change and action through language and dialogue. According to Gareth Morgan (2002), “Images and metaphors are not only interpretive constructs or ways of seeing, they also provide frameworks for action. Their use creates insights that often allow us to act in ways that we may not have thought possible before” (p. 1). Metaphors, from the counseling perspective, can serve as a vehicle for implementing change. Whether directly or indirectly, clients seek the help of therapeutic professionals with the intent of initiating some form of growth or change. Although the process of transformation is …

Edison Schools In Bibb County, Georgia, Amy P. Fouse

Perspectives In Learning

In March of 1999, the Bibb County Board of Education made a controversial decision to hire private, for profit Edison Schools to run two of its low-performing elementary schools. Parents of nine Bibb County elementary schools were given the option to adopt this corporation and contract them to run their schools (Cass, 1999). Of the nine elementary schools, Riley Elementary and King Elementary chose the program. Investigation of The Edison Project was initiated by Superintendent Dr. Gene Buinger in 1998. Less than one year later, and after many heated debates, a five-year contract was signed to pay Edison “roughly $1 …

Preface, Volume 21 (2002), Catherine M. Wehlburg

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

Preface to volume 21 (2003) of To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development, by Devorah Lieberman of Portland State University.

Introduction. Volume 21 (2003), Catherine M. Wehlburg

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

Introduction to volume 21 (2003) of To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development, by Devorah Lieberman of Portland State University.

September 11, 2001, As A Teachable Moment, Edward Zlotkowski

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

The Opening Plenary at the 2001 POD Conference was given by Edward Zlotkowski. Using the reactions to the events of September 11, 2001, as an example, he urged those in higher education to search out opportunities for academically based civic engagement and to focus on Boyer’s concept of the scholarship of engagement.

The Day After: Faculty Behavior In Post–September 11, 2001, Classes, Michele Dipietro

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

What is the best thing to do in the classroom in the face of a tragedy like the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001? What should instructors do to help students, if anything? This article describes the results ofa faculty survey at Carnegie Mellon University. Faculty reported what actions they took in the classroom to help their students (or their rationales for not mentioning the attacks), and their degree of confidence on the effectiveness of their behaviors. Statistical techniques are used to assess the significance of some trends, and implications for faculty developers are discussed in light of cognitive, motivational, …

Internationalizing American Higher Education: A Call To Thought And Action, Deborah Dezure

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

In the wake of the World Trade Center disaster, many faculty developers are asking themselves what they do to promote international peace and understanding. But even before these events, there has been an indication that there was a pressing need to focus on global competencies as an important part of higher education for the 21st century. The purpose of this essay is threefold: 1) to summarize the research on the status of internationalization on American campuses, 2) to make the case for the active involvement of faculty developers in internationalizing higher education, and 3) to offer strategies with which we …

The Knowledge Survey: A Tool For All Reasons, Edward Nuhfer, Delores Knipp

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

Knowledge surveys provide a means to assess changes in specific content learning and intellectual development. More important, they promote student learning by improving course organization and planning. For instructors, the tool establishes a high degree of instructional alignment, and, if properly used, can ensure employment of all seven best practices during the enactment of the course. Beyond increasing success of individual courses, knowledge surveys inform curriculum development to better achieve, improve, and document program success.

Establishing A Teaching Academy: Cultivation Of Teaching At A Research University Campus, Patricia Kalivoda, Jodef Broder, William K. Jackson

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

The University of Georgia (UGA) has worked hard over the last 22 years to increase the respect and reward for teaching through the faculty development programs of the office of instructional support and development and through the establishment of two campus-wide teaching awards. Looking for a means to extend a celebration of teaching beyond one-time recognition or one-time participation, the university established a campus-wide teaching academy. The purpose of this chapter is to chronicle the evolution of the teaching academy that was founded at the University of Georgia in 1999. The mission, goals, membership, funding, and programs and activities of …

Using Cooperative Games For Faculty Development, Barbara J. Millis

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

Learning through games has been going on for centuries. Faculty developers, however, are only now realizing the impact of well-structured and well-planned games. They not only “educate” engaged faculty members, but they can also motivate them. This chapter discusses the educational value of games, reveals their key underlying principles, and offers two examples of successfal faculty development games (scavenger hunt and Bingo) that can be replicated on any campus.

Accommodating Students With Disabilities: Professional Development Needs Of Faculty, Sheryl Burgstahler

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

Faculty members play an important role in making academic programs accessible to postsecondary students with disabilities. However, instructors do not always possess the knowledge, experiences, and attitudes that result in the most inclusive environment for these students. A literature review was conducted to explore what faculty members need to know about accommodating students with disabilities in their courses and how they can best gain this knowledge. These results were used to develop a comprehemive set of training options that can be used with postsecondary instructors nationwide. The content of these options focuses on legal issues, accommodation strategies, and resources. Modes …

Integrity In Learner–Centered Teaching, Douglas Reimondo Robertson

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

Learner-centered teaching challenges teachers with inherent conflicts and can be viewed as a conflicted educational helping relationship. This chapter explores fundamental conflicts in learner-centered teaching as well as ways to handle them constructively. Learner-centered teacher integrity is seen as the degree to which contradictory demands on the teacher (e.g., facilitating learning as well as evaluating it) are brought into synergistic relationship. A process for enhancing these synergies is suggested. This discussion emerges from a line of work that attempts to further develop the learner-centered teaching role in higher education (Robertson, 1996, 1997, 1999a, 1999b, 2000a, 2000b, 2000c, 2001).

Something More: Moments Of Meeting And The Teacher–Learner Relationship, Richard G. Tiberius, John Techima, Alan R. Kindler

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

The Boston Group, drawing upon developmental and clinical research, has identified special moments in human interaction that they call “moments of meeting.” These moments occur spontaneously within the context of ongoing relational interaction and can effectively restructure relationships. We think of these moments of meeting as pivotal moments because of their potentially pivotal effect on relationships. In this chapter we briefly describe the theory underlying these moments of relational change, using examples from education. Then we suggest strategies that may help teachers participate creatively in such moments. Finally, we explore the implications of this theory for the concept of authenticity.

Improving Teaching And Learning: Students' Perspectives, X. Mara Chen, Ellen M. Lawler, Elichia A. Venso

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

Despite much debate among educators over methods to improve the climate and effectiveness of teaching and learning, very limited effort has been directed toward seeking input from students. In this study. a survey of students’ opinions regarding college teaching and learning was given in six courses with 163 students completing the survey. This chapter analyzed the survey results and proposed specific strategies that professors can use to make teaching engaging as well as informative, and thus, to enhance student learning.

The Essential Role Of Faculty Development In New Higher Education Models, Devorah A. Lieberman, Alan E. Guskin

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

There is a growing interest in and active discussion about new educational environments, which shift the emphasis of education from faculty and their teaching to students and their learning. This shift enables us to view the education of students in multiple educational environments beyond the traditional model of faculty teaching students in a classroom. Combining both different instructional roles and educational settings into new higher education models of undergraduate education will demand that faculty learn new roles. It also holds out the hope that reducing the demands on faculty time and increasing the availability of other institutional resources will enhance …

Embracing A Philosophy Of Lifelong Learning In Higher Education: Starting With Faculty Beliefs About Their Role As Educators, Carolin D. Kreber

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

Recent events on the international political scene point to a need to teach course content and learning skills that focus on issues of equity and diversity, understanding of the local culture and differences among cultures,· learning for ethics, citizenship, and democracy. interpersonal skills; and an ability to make informed and responsible value judgments. These, among others, are important aspects of lifelong learning. To embrace a philosophy of lifelong learning in higher education it seems paramount to focus on faculty beliefs about teaching to encourage a critical interrogation of course and program goals. The chapter concludes with several suggestions for the …

A Matrix For Reconsidering, Reassessing, And Shaping E–Learning Pedagogy And Curriculum, Laura Bush, Barry Maid, Duane Roen

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

Educational stakeholders are increasingly engaged in discussions about the effective design, distribution, and evaluation of e-learning. We invite educators to build on already existing scholarship as they make future e-learning decisions. Specifically, we combine four categories of academic scholarship from Boyer (1990) with six assessment criteria from Glassick, Huber, and Maeroff (1997) to construct a matrix that may be applied to any post-secondary learning or teaching context. We argue that while each medium in which faculty might find themselves teaching differs from others, the teaching itself, and effective teaching in general, is definable and, therefore, can be evaluated using the …

Ogretmenlerin Karakter Egitiminde Yetkinlik Duygusu Konusunda Bir Olcme Aracina Dogru: Karakter Egitimi Yetkinlik Inanci Skalasi, Andrew J. Milson, Halil Elski

Curriculum and Instruction Faculty Publications - Archive

Ögretmenlerin karakter egitimi konusundaki algilarini ölçmek için hazirlanan bir ölçme aracinin gelistirilmesi, test edilmesi ve Türkçeye uyarlanmasinin ele alinacagi bu makalede ögretmenlerin yetkinlik yapisinin karakter egitimiyle iliskisi ayrintili olarak incelenmekte ve Amerika’da ögretmenler arasinda yapilan iki arastirma veürkiye’de ögretmenler üzerinde yapilan bir çalismanin sonuçlari degerlendirilmektedir. Amerika’da yapilan arastirma sonuçlari sunlari ortaya koymaktadir: (i) gretmenler genellikle karakter egitiminin yetkinlikleri ile ilgili olarak olumlu bir duyguya sahiptirler; ancak kendilerinin iyi karakterden yoksun ögrencilere karakter egitimi saglama yetenekleri konusunda kusku duymaktadirlar. (ii) Ilkögretim ögretmenleri lise ögretmenlerine göre daha yüksek düzeyde bir karakter egitimi etkinliligi inancina sahiptirler. (iii) Personel gelifltirme egitimi ve karakter eiitimi …

Latin America Online: Internet Resources And Web-Based Lessons, Andrew J. Milson

Curriculum and Instruction Faculty Publications - Archive

No abstract provided.

Adult Literacy: A Review Of Implementation Experience, Helen Abadzi

Curriculum and Instruction Faculty Publications - Archive

Worldwide, nearly a billion adults, at least 600 million of them women, are illiterate. Adult literacy is highly relevant to poverty alleviation efforts worldwide, because in the 21st century much of the information needed to make decisions and improve one's economic, personal, family, or political conditions is presented in written form. The Education for All goals include " achieving a 50 percent improvement in levels of adult literacy by 2015, especially for women, and equitable access to basic and continuing education for all adults." Adult literacy is also essential in fulfilling the Millennium Development Goals. This OED study assesses the …

Improving Adult Literacy Outcomes: Lessons From Cognitive Research For Developing Countries, Helen Abadzi

Curriculum and Instruction Faculty Publications - Archive

Despite the existence of about one billion illiterates in the world, adult literacy programs make up 1-5 percent of government or donor budgets, and they remain severely underfunded in comparison to primary education. Though dropout and course completion rates improved in the 1990s, the outcomes of literacy instruction are still modest and may have improved little since the 1970s. The results may disappoint governments and donors who expect that once taught, people will have usable skills and remain literate. The modest results make it hard to increase coverage and to argue for increased expenditures for this sector. The results may …

Evolving Practices In Art Education, Todd Applegate, Kristen Evans

Perspectives In Learning

More than 100 years ago, university-dominated educational commissions began ascribing a priority to school subjects in primary and secondary education. In defining the roles and purposes of the modern secondary school, educators struggled with how best to determine the relative importance of individual school subjects. In 1894, Harvard president Charles Eliot led the Committee of Ten on Secondary School Studies, established by the NEA to recommend that all secondary school students study a common curriculum focusing on sciences, history, reading, writing and arithmetic. Art and music were eventually placed in positions of curricular inferiority.

Evolution Vs. Creationism: Separation Of State And Religion In The Science Classroom, Linda Lenhard

Perspectives In Learning

The U.S. Supreme Court in 1987 stated that creationism is a form of religion and thus was not to be taught in a public school (CBSNEWS.com, 2002; Holden, 2002). Since that ruling at least four court cases have reiterated that public schools are under mandate to teach evolution as the science of the origin of man. However, the continuing debate and legal maneuvering indicate that the fight between those who favor the decision and those who support teaching creationism is far from over (Matsumura, 2002). Intelligent design, or the teaching that living things are too complex to have occurred through …

Considering The Possible Elimination Of Foreign Language As A Requirement For A Georgia High School College-Prep Diploma, Kay Agnew

Perspectives In Learning

The front page headline informed readers of the Atlanta Journal- Constitution (AJC) that an education initiative of serious importance was under consideration: “Adios, francais? Maybe in Georgia school board may end language requirement” (Salzer, Sept. 2002). This proposal before the state Board of Education became the source of tremendous controversy. It was reported that the Board was interested in exchanging the required two years of language for four years in both science and math. Salzer (Sept. 2002) wrote that Cathy Henson, chairwoman of the state Board of Education, was in favor of the change as many students have trouble earning …

G03-1512 Establishing Conservation Plantings Of Nut Trees And Shrubs By Direct Seeding Methods, Steven D. Rasmussen, Scott J. Josiah, John Wilson

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension: Historical Materials

This NebGuide explains how to plant and raise nut trees and shrubs from seed. Seeding methods, planting design, site preparation and post-planting care are discussed.

Conservation tree and shrub plantings create wildlife habitat, improve water quality, produce marketable nuts, and enhance landscape diversity. Usually, nursery-grown seedlings are used to establish these plantings. However, a number of problems exist when using seedlings, including increased costs and reduced initial tree vigor and survival. Direct seeding of tree and shrub seeds avoids many of these problems, and is a proven, effective means to establish conservation plantings in Nebraska and elsewhere.