Curriculum and Instruction Commons^™

About The Authors, Volume 26 (2008)

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

About the editors and authors of volume 26 (2008) of To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development.

Stereotype Threat And Ten Things We Can Do To Remove The Threat In The Air, Franklin A. Tuitt, Lois Reddick

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

The purpose of this chapter is to present an overview of the literature related to stereotype threat in an effort to provide faculty members and instructional developers with a better understanding of what the phenomenon is and what can be done about it in college classroom settings. To this end, we reviewed several of the major studies published on the subject between 1995 and 2005 and compiled a list of strategies that reflected both the major empirical findings on stereotype threat and our own research and experiences with faculty and students in college settings. Given the enormity of the subject, …

Faculty Development At Small And Liberal Arts Colleges, Kim M. Mooney, Michael Reder

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

The notable growth of faculty development programs and centers at small institutions warrants attention before their next stages of growth. We aim to capture and convey the central issues coalescing around the professionalization of teaching and learning activities and the work of faculty developers at small colleges. While this descriptive review draws direct comparisons to other types of institutions, particularly large research and comprehensive universities that serve as the norm for our profession’s faculty development practices, its main purpose is to address the distinctive characteristics of professional development at small colleges in general and liberal arts colleges in particular. Toward …

Credibility And Effectiveness In Context: An Exploration Of The Importance Of Faculty Status For Faculty Developers, Bonnie B. Mullinix

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

This study documents an emerging profile of the faculty status of faculty developers as solicited, compiled, and interactively interpreted with faculty developer practitioners. It used integrated (mixed) methodology and participatory research strategies to gather data and it shares descriptive statistical information on the various positions held by faculty developer respondents; qualitatively analyzed impressions of the importance of faculty status to their credibility and effectiveness as faculty developers; and information regarding respondents’ institutional contexts. Findings are further disaggregated across institutional contexts and sex to explore trends, differential perceptions, and other emergent issues as identified by participant researchers.

Team Mentoring: An Alternative Way To Mentor New Faculty, Tara Gray, A. Jane Birch

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

Traditional mentoring programs usually have no mechanism for Protégés to learn from each other, and they often match protégés with mentors sight unseen. Team mentoring is a less hierarchical program in which protégés mentor each other in a group while searching for more permanent and personal mentors. In this program, protégés and mentors are arguably better matched because mentors are chosen by the Protégé. In addition, Protégés benefit by tapping into the wisdom of their peers. As a result, team mentoring is a viable alternative to traditional mentoring programs.

A Research–Based Rubric For Developing Statements Of Teaching Philosophy, Matthew Kaplan, Deborah S. Meizlish, Christopher O'Neal, Mary C. Wright

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

Despite its ubiquity as the way that instructors represent their views on teaching and learning, the statement of teaching philosophy can be a frustrating document to write and the results are often uneven. This chapter describes a rubric created at the University of Michigan’s Center for Research on Learning and Teaching to help faculty and graduate students craft teaching statements. We describe the research that informed the creation of the rubric, talk about how we use the rubric in our consultations and workshops, and present an assessment that validates the use of the rubric to improve instructors’ teaching statements.

Meeting The Challenges Of Integrative Learning: The Nexia Concept, Jane Love

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

Integrative learning challenges faculty developers to facilitate integrative and connective experiences not only for students, but for faculty as well. For many faculty, curricular requirements impede connective teaching, and the widespread assumption that connectivity must be taught on the course level also limits their ability to enrich students’ learning through diverse perspectives and interactions. Nexia is an approach to this problem based on the concept of ad hoc connectivity, or small-scale, focused, short-term connections that allow students from two or more courses to interact around points of interest to both classes. By releasing connective teaching from expensive curricular constraints, the …

The Teaching Resource Portfolio: A Tool Kit For Future Professoriate And A Resource Guide For Current Teachers, Dieter J. Schönwetter

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

Extensive annotated bibliographies have guided academic researchers over several years and in various disciplines, providing key resources to assist in the development of new ideas. However, less common are published annotated bibliographies on effective teaching resources, both general to teaching across various disciplines as well as specific to each discipline, that guide the academic in the teaching enterprise. This chapter focuses on a tool, the teaching resource portfolio, that helps the graduate student preparing for an academic career including teaching, the new faculty member desiring additional teaching resources, the academic wishing to have resources that support discipline-specific scholarship of teaching …

Reflecting And Writing About Our Teaching, Mark Weisberg

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

Reflecting on what we are doing can help us become better teachers and better people; yet in our increasingly busy and stressful lives, how can we find the space and time? This chapter describes and exemplifies two strategies that can help us and our colleagues become more reflective about our teaching and about our vocation: the Teachers’ Reading Circle, meeting for regular discussions of provocative texts about teaching and learning, and the Teachers’ Writing Circle, using prompts and examples of colleagues’ writing to set participants on an extended course of writing about their own teaching.

Breaking Down Barriers To The Use Of Technology For Teaching In Higher Education, Erping Zhu

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

This chapter examines the most common technologies used for teaching on college campuses and the most common barriers to advanced uses of technology tools. Survey results consistently show that the major barriers to incorporating technology into higher education are lack of faculty time, faculty doubts about the relevancy of technology to disciplinary learning, and inadequate technical support for faculty projects and technology uses. This chapter, then, proposes several approaches developed and assessed by the Center for Research on Learning and Teaching at the University of Michigan for removing those barriers to technology uses in higher education. Although providing flexible technology …

Bibliography, Volume 26 (2008)

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

Bibliography for volume 26 (2008) of To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development.

The Art Of Teaching Mathematics, Garikai Campbell, Jon T. Jacobsen, Aimee S A Johnson, Michael E. Orrison Jr.

All HMC Faculty Publications and Research

On June 10–12, 2007, Harvey Mudd College hosted A Conference on the Art of Teaching Mathematics. The conference brought together approximately thirty mathematicians from the Claremont Colleges, Denison, DePauw, Furman, Middlebury, Penn State, Swarthmore, and Vassar to explore the topic of teaching as an art. Assuming there is an element of artistic creativity in teaching mathematics, in what ways does it surface and what should we be doing to develop this creativity?

Colby College Catalogue 2008 - 2009, Colby College

Colby Catalogues

Colby College Catalogue: September 2008 - August 2009

The Effectiveness Of Block Schedule In Middle School, Ginger L. Markham

Perspectives In Learning

Block scheduling in one form or another seems to be highly effective when properly used. It invites depth in learning, inquiry based and student based learning, which corresponds with Georgia Performance Standards (GPS). The faculty and staff of Veterans Memorial Middle School are planning to meet the needs of the students by changing their teaching methods to support the GPS and alternating 4X4 block schedule. The author would recommend any middle school use a block schedule of some type in order to meet the needs of their school. Once the teachers buy into the concept, there is no limit to …

Collaboration In Schools: Creating Solutions To Complex Problems, Wendy Steelmon

Perspectives In Learning

Although the concept of cooperative teams is not a new one, Transformational Leadership is bringing collaboration back to the spotlight in the world of education. In this approach, the principal becomes a facilitator, teachers become professional colleagues, students are motivated by the mere joy of learning, and parents and the local community increase their involvement as stewards, resulting in the involvement of all stakeholders in the complex problem solving issues of the school. Collaboration requires trust and support among these team members and, though it takes time, yields much more effective schools and productive students.

Ec08-130 2008 Guide For Weed Management, Mark L. Bernards, Roch E. Gaussoin, Robert N. Klein, Stevan Z. Knezevic, Drew J. Lyon, Lowell D. Sandell, Robert G. Wilson Jr., Patrick J. Shea, Clyde Ogg

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension: Historical Materials

The 2008 Guide for Weed Management in Nebraska is a valuable tool for anyone with responsibility for controlling weeds in crop, pasture, range, turf or aquatic environments in Nebraska. Our goal is to provide a comprehensive publication that will enable the user to make sound weed control decisions based on unbiased, research-based information, and to carry out weed control activities in a safe and responsible manner.

This publication deals principally with herbicides as an aid for crop production. The suggestions for use are based on research at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln Research and Extension Centers and elsewhere.

2008 Nebraska Beef Cattle Report Summaries, Richard J. Rasby, Galen E. Erickson, Dennis R. Brink

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension: Historical Materials

Reports on recent beef research are briefly summarized in this publication. Summaries of the research featured in the 2008 Beef Report appear here. Topics include cow-calf, growing, finishing and beef products.

2008 Beef Cattle Report, Dennis R. Brink

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension: Historical Materials

2008 compilation of articles on University of Nebraska–Lincoln beef cattle research in four areas: cow/calf, growing, beef feedlot, beef products and analytical methods.

G08-1569 Drinking Water: Uranium, Sharon Skipton

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension: Historical Materials

Naturally occurring uranium has always been present in some drinking water supplies in Nebraska. It became a newly regulated substance in public community drinking water supplies when the Environmental Protection Agency revised the Radionuclides Rule, which took effect in December 2003.

Uranium occurs naturally in soil and rocks. It can enter groundwater and contaminate drinking water, which, over time, can harm health. Learn what testing and treatment options are available.

G08-1491 Drinking Water Treatment: Water Softening (Ion Exchange), Sharon Skipton, Bruce I. Dvorak, Shirley Niemeyer

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension: Historical Materials

The presence of calcium (Ca) and/or magnesium (Mg) in water results in water being considered "hard." Calcium and magnesium ions in water react with heat, metallic plumbing, and chemical agents such as detergents to decrease the effectiveness of nearly any cleaning task. Hard water can be softened using an ion exchange softening process. This 2008 guide discusses the ion exchange water softening process and related equipment used for household water treatment.

G08-1333 Drinking Water: Lead, Sharon Skipton, Bruce I. Dvorak, Wayne Woldt, Steve Drda

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension: Historical Materials

Small quantities of lead can be a serious health concern, especially for infants, children, and developing fetuses. This 2008 NebGuide discusses how to safely manage lead in a domestic water supply.

G08-1360 Drinking Water: Copper, Sharon Skipton, Bruce I. Dvorak, Wayne Woldt, Steve Drda

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension: Historical Materials

Too much copper in the human body can cause stomach and intestinal distress such as nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and stomach cramps. This 2008 NebGuide discusses practices to manage copper in a domestic water supply such as one for a home or business.

G08-1376 Drinking Water: Fluoride, Sharon Skipton, Bruce I. Dvorak, Wayne Woldt, Andy Kahle

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension: Historical Materials

At optimal levels, fluoride in drinking water can be beneficial to dental health. Learn more about fluoride concentration and potential health effects in this 2008 NebGuide.

G08-1614 Drinking Water: Certified Water Testing Laboratories In Nebraska, Sharon Skipton, Bruce I. Dvorak, Wayne Woldt

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension: Historical Materials

This 2008 NebGuide explains the certification process water testing laboratories follow, and lists certified government and commercial operated laboratories.

G08-1493 Drinking Water Treatment: Distillation, Bruce I. Dvorak, Sharon Skipton

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension: Historical Materials

Homeowners are increasingly concerned about contaminants in their water supply that may affect health or cause taste, odor, or nuisance problems. Distillation, one of the oldest methods of water treatment, is an effective method for reducing many impurities found in water. This 2008 NebGuide discusses the process and related equipment used for household drinking water treatment by distillation.

G08-1492 Drinking Water Treatment: Sediment Filtration, Bruce I. Dvorak, Sharon Skipton

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension: Historical Materials

Sediment filters remove suspended matter such as sand, silt, loose scale, clay or organic material from the water. Untreated water passes through a filter medium which traps suspended matter on the surface or within the filter. This 2008 NebGuide discusses the principles, processes, and requirements of cartridge sediment filtration systems for the household user.

G08-1489 Drinking Water Treatment: Activated Carbon Filtration, Bruce I. Dvorak, Sharon Skipton

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension: Historical Materials

Activated carbon filtration can effectively reduce certain organic compounds and chlorine in drinking water. It can also reduce the quantity of lead, dissolved radon, and harmless taste- and odor-causing compounds. This 2008 NebGuide discusses the principles, processes, and requirements of activated carbon filtration systems for the domestic (household) user.

G08-1680 Rust Diseases Of Corn In Nebraska, Tamra A. Jackson

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension: Historical Materials

Two rust diseases of corn occur in Nebraska. Common rust of corn occurs every year to some extent, and is caused by the fungus Puccinia sorghi. The other rust disease, southern rust, is caused by Puccinia polysora and occurs less frequently in Nebraska. Identification and management of these rust diseases of corn are discussed in this 2008 NebGuide.

G08-1784 Drinking Water: Nitrate-Nitrogen, Sharon Skipton, Wayne Woldt, Bruce I. Dvorak, Ralph Pulte

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension: Historical Materials

Nitrate-nitrogen is sometimes present in drinking water. At certain levels it can present a health risk. Properly locating and constructing wells along with regularly testing can help manage risk and are discussed in this 2008 NebGuide.

G08-1844 Stormwater Management: Pesticide Use In The Lawn And Garden, Clyde Ogg, Erin Bauer

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension: Historical Materials

This 2008 NebGuide explains how the proper use and application of lawn and garden pesticides can prevent potential water contamination from stormwater runoff.