Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Research Commons^™

Role-Play: An Often Misused Active Learning Strategy, Stephanie Nickerson

Professional and Organizational Development Network in Higher Education: Archives

Role-play is a special kind of case study, in which there is an explicit situation established with students playing specific roles, spontaneously saying and doing what they understand their “character” would, in that situation. Role-plays differ from other case studies in the immediacy of the experience. Students find themselves in the role-play. In a case study, they read about situations and characters. One of the reasons role-play can work so well is because of the power of placing oneself in another’s shoes. This provides opportunities for learning in both the affective domain, where emotions and values are involved, as well …

Teaching, Learning, And Spirituality In The College Classroom, Allison Pingree

Professional and Organizational Development Network in Higher Education: Archives

landscape is provoking a heightened focus on spirituality and religion in the academy. For example, UCLA’s Higher Education Research Institute (HERI), best known as the administrators of the CIRP Freshman Survey for over 40 years, is conducting a major research project, Spirituality in Higher Education (https://www.spirituality.ucla.edu), drawing data from over 112,000 students and 40,000 faculty at over 420 institutions. Defining spirituality in broad strokes (as the “interior” and “subjective” aspects of our lives, that which reflects the “values and ideals that we hold most dear,” gives us “meaning and purpose,” and invokes “inspiration, creativity, the mysterious, the sacred, …

Collaboration Or Plagiarism? Explaining Collaborative-Based Assignments Clearly, Tuesday Cooper

Professional and Organizational Development Network in Higher Education: Archives

Much has been written about the use of collaborative learning as a pedagogical tool to enhance student learning. Collaborative learning, or group work as it is commonly known, can be defined as a structured process where students are required to work in groups to complete a common task or assignment for a particular course. It has been identified as one of the most effective ways for students to become actively engaged in classroom activities (Davis, 1993; McKeachie, 1999; Nilson, 1998).

Although there are many positive aspects of group work, there are negatives as well. One particular problem occurs when students …

Developing The Scholarship Of Teaching And Learning Using Faculty Learning Communities, Milton D. Cox

Professional and Organizational Development Network in Higher Education: Archives

Faculty Learning Communities (FLCs) have proven successful in producing teaching projects, as evidenced by a survey of institutions with FLCs. It follows that these groups should provide ideal conditions for a subsequent development of those projects into peerreviewed publications and presentations, or the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL). This essay offers faculty practical advice for producing such SoTL products based on what started as a teaching project in an FLC. My advice is based on work with FLCs for 28 years on my campus and others (Cox, 2003).

The Right Start: Reflections On A Departmentally Based Graduate Course On Teaching, Craig E. Nelson

Professional and Organizational Development Network in Higher Education: Archives

Full credit courses on teaching offered by academic departments for their own graduate students and postdocs have many advantages. Many students come to graduate school because they want teaching to be an important part of their future professional life. Most who are hired in academia will go to jobs where teaching is important. Indiana University’s Graduate School noted that 95% of its PhDs who landed tenure-track positions found those positions at liberal arts colleges, smaller comprehensive universities, and urban institutions. They noted that their teaching experience at Bloomington did not necessarily prepare them fully for these jobs.

I offered a …

The Useful, Sensible, No-Frills Departmental Assessment Plan, Barbara E. Walvoord

Professional and Organizational Development Network in Higher Education: Archives

Academic departments from physics to philosophy to physical therapy face new demands for “assessment of student learning.” It’s hard to argue against the basic idea of assessment: when a department invests time and resources trying to nurture student learning, it should ask itself: Are they learning? Yet departments may also fear that assessment will require them to dumb-down their teaching; use standardized tests; teach alike; or compromise academic freedom. Every department wonders how it will find the time and resources for one more thing.

This essay suggests a simple, sustainable, and useful departmental assessment plan that capitalizes on what departments …

Getting Ready: Promoting School Readiness Through A Relationship-Based Partnership Model, Susan M. Sheridan, Christine Marvin, Lisa Knoche, Carolyn P. Edwards

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

School readiness is determined by the life experiences of young children between birth and enrollment in formal education programs. Early intervention and education programs designed to promote school readiness often focus on skills a child fails to demonstrate that are believed to be of importance to social and academic success. The Getting Ready model of early childhood intervention (Sheridan, Edwards, & Knoche, 2003) recognizes the transactional nature of young children’s development and the important role parents play in pre-school readiness and school-age success. In the Getting Ready model, collaborative partnerships between parents and professionals are encouraged to promote parent’s competence …

Nefdc Exchange, Volume 18, Number 2, Fall 2007, New England Faculty Development Consortium

New England Faculty Development Consortium Exchange

Contents

Message from the President - Judy Miller, Clark University

From the editors - Tom Thibodeau, New England Institute of Technology, and Jeanne Albert, Castleton State College

NEFDC Fall Conference, Friday, November 9, 2007, Worcester, Massachusetts; theme: Engaged Learning: Fostering Student Success; keynote speaker: George Kuh, Indiana University

Engaged Learning: The Foundation for Student Success, Note from our Fall Conference Keynote Speaker - George Kuh, Indiana University

Fall Conference Agenda

Learning Through Community Engagement - Kevin R. Kearney, Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences

Reciprocal Mentoring - Mathew L. Ouellett and Susan E. McKenna, University of Massachusetts Amherst

Helpful …

Evaluation Of An Adult Education Technology Program, Iwasan D. Kejawa

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Theses and Other Student Research

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the adult education technology program at a chartered alternative adult education center in Florida. The adult education center had a low rate of students passing the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT). This study examined the impact of the use of computer technology in an effort to improve student learning in mathematics, reading, and science. Computers at the institution were used by all students for tutorials to prepare them for the FCAT and to obtain a high school diploma. The research questions for this study were as follows: 1. Is the education technology …

Nefdc Exchange, Volume 18, Number 1, Spring 2007, New England Faculty Development Consortium

New England Faculty Development Consortium Exchange

Contents

Message from the President - Judith Kamber, Northern Essex Community College

From the editors -

Encounters With George: Information Literacy and Mathematics at Berkshire Community College - Karen Carreras-Hubbard and Annette Guertin, Berkshire Community College

Achieving Information Literacy Goals Through Collaboration - Pamela Bedore, University of Connecticut, Avery Point

Teaming Up! The Sociology/English Composition I /Librarian Embed Experience at Northern Essex Community College - Linda A. Desjardins, Northern Essex Community College

Common Learning Outcomes for First-Year Information Literacy - Mary Adams, University of Massachusetts Dartmouth; Gabriela Adler, Bristol Community College; Susan Berteaux, Massachusetts Maritime Academy; Marcia Dinneen, Bridgewater State …

2007 Survey Of Summer Sessions Students At The University Of Nebraska-Lincoln, Paul Savory

Department of Industrial and Management Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

During Summer 2007, UNL Summer Sessions (FlexEd) surveyed summer students to learn about their experience in taking a summer course(s). The survey results will offer confirmation of what we are doing well and will provide guidance on areas of improvement and better strategies for marketing UNL summer opportunities. A total of 227 students completed the survey. Fifteen summer classes were selected to complete a paper-based or electronic version of the survey. The classes were from three different summer sessions and used different delivery mechanisms (on-campus, studio, distance education).

Assessing The Professional Development Needs Of Distance Librarians In Academic Libraries, Mary Cassner, Kate Adams

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries: Faculty Publications

Professional development is essential for academic librarians to keep current with skills, knowledge, and competencies in rapidly changing times. The authors surveyed distance librarians in academic libraries to determine their professional development needs. Respondents were asked to indicate which professional development activities they are currently participating in and those they are likely to engage in within the next five years. Findings from the survey will inform library administrators, distance librarians, and professional associations of the professional development needs of distance librarians.

When Motivating Generation Y In The Classroom, Jim Westerman

Professional and Organizational Development Network in Higher Education: Archives

Generation Y students have matured and developed in an artificial, technologically-centered environment significantly different from what prior generations have experienced. This essay examines the impact of this environment on student classroom expectations and provides suggestions for how faculty can adapt their pedagogy to be successful.

Student Plagiarism: How To Maintain Academic Integrity, Ludy Goodson

Professional and Organizational Development Network in Higher Education: Archives

Plagiarism detection tools undermine academic integrity when they ignore student copyright protections, contribute to a vendor’s unauthorized commercial gains, fail to detect many forms of plagiarism, and require instructors to do the real detection. By becoming aware of these realities and possibilities, instructors can develop more effective strategies to reduce plagiarism while simultaneously enhancing students’ academic performance.

Information Literacy: Imperatives For Faculty, Leora Baron-Nixon

Professional and Organizational Development Network in Higher Education: Archives

With the burgeoning of information, and especially the unfettered growth of online information, long-held assumptions about students’ access to and interaction with information have to be re-evaluated. Faculty play a key role in ensuring that information literacy skills are acquired and practiced at all levels of instruction.

When Disability Enters A Teacher’S Life, Must The Teacher Stop Teaching?, Laura L. B. Border

Professional and Organizational Development Network in Higher Education: Archives

Disabilities are usually discussed in academe in the context of the undergraduate student population; nevertheless, graduate students and faculty also represent a certain percentage of persons with disabilities. This essay presents a case study and an analysis of a consultation with a graduate instructor, inviting us to examine the issues of disability in the life of a teacher.

Microteaching To Maximize Feedback, Peer Engagement, And Teaching Enhancement, Barbara J. Millis, Gosia Samojlowicz

Professional and Organizational Development Network in Higher Education: Archives

A proven, highly structured microteaching model that goes beyond mere presentation skills and “shooting-from-the-hip” group feedback has successfully prepared both faculty and graduate students for their teaching responsibilities. This approach uses a three-part process: (1) presentation; (2) one-on-one feedback from mentor while the group, using structured roles, prepares feedback; and (3) group feedback that is both constructive and consensus-based.

Everything You Always Wanted To Know About Student Writing (But Were Afraid To Ask), Michael Reder

Professional and Organizational Development Network in Higher Education: Archives

What should all faculty know about using and assigning writing inside and outside of the classroom? This essay offers ideas for faculty to use writing to help students learn material, strategies for designing and sequencing formal written assignment, and a well-tested (and time-saving) framework for offering students feedback on their writing.

Opening The Door: Faculty Leadership In Institutional Change, Rick Holmgren

Professional and Organizational Development Network in Higher Education: Archives

As faculty, we too often feel overwhelmed by an excessive workload, an unfriendly administration, and an unforgiving evaluation system. In this essay, we explore initiatives we can reasonably expect to implement to create an institutional environment in which we can develop and flourish as teachers.

Pre/Post Assessment Of Abilities, Paul Savory

Department of Industrial and Management Systems Engineering: Instructional Materials

One approach to assess if students are learning in a course is to conduct a pre-test, post-test assessment of the course material. By comparing the two results, one can make an assessment of the knowledge learned in the course. For certain types of courses, it can be a challenge in defining an assessment instrument that measure student knowledge. This example is one I have developed for my IMSE 440/840 (Discrete Event Computer Simulation) course. Students are asked rate their ability for key course objectives defined on the course syllabus. I administer it on the first day of the course and …

Incorporating Course-Level Evidence Of Student Learning Into Program Assessment, Nancy Simpson, Laurel Willingham-Mclain

Professional and Organizational Development Network in Higher Education: Archives

Assessment works well when it draws on faculty expertise and is integrated into students’ daily learning experiences. This essay argues for course-embedded assessment and outlines sound practices, practical steps, and examples.

Montessori Education And Its Scientific Basis, Carolyn P. Edwards

Department of Child, Youth, and Family Studies: Faculty Publications

Review of: Angeline Stoll Lillard, Montessori: The Science Behind the Genius, Oxford University Press, 2005.

Montessori education is the subject of Angeline Lillard’s book. Montessori, a brilliant figure who was Italy’s first woman physician, created an approach that reflected a late 19th century vision of mental development and theoretical kinship with the great European progressive educational philosophers, Jean-Jacque Rousseau, Johann Pestalozzi and Fredrich Froebel (Edwards, 2002 and Edwards, 2003). The many parallels between her ideas and those of the American progressive, John Dewey, her contemporary, are due to the fact that their ideas grew out of shared theoretical roots …

Teaching Portfolios For Graduate Students: Process, Content, Product, And Benefits, Laura L. B. Border

Professional and Organizational Development Network in Higher Education: Archives

The graduate student teaching portfolio is an excellent tool to guide graduate students in their development and success as they begin to clarify who they are, what they want to teach, and where they want to teach.

Laughter-Piece Theatre: Humor As A Systematic Teaching Tool, Ronald A. Berk

Professional and Organizational Development Network in Higher Education: Archives

Humor can be used to bring students and deadly boring content to life. It can hook your students, engage their emotions, and focus their minds and eyeballs on learning.

Leveling The Field: Using Rubrics To Achieve Greater Equity In Teaching And Grading, Dannelle D. Stevens, Antonia Levi

Professional and Organizational Development Network in Higher Education: Archives

Rubrics can be used to assure greater consistency in grading and as a teaching tool to promote greater equity, especially with students who are first generation and /or non-native speakers of English.

Student Teams, Teaching, And Technology, Ruth Federman Stein, Sandra N. Hurd

Professional and Organizational Development Network in Higher Education: Archives

Using student teams in the classroom actively involves students in the learning process. This essay describes the planning necessary for effective use of teams and the impact of technology on the team learning environment.

Using Student-Centered Assessment To Enhance Learning, Joseph "Mick" Lalopa

Professional and Organizational Development Network in Higher Education: Archives

Student-centered assessment allows students to participate in their growth as learners and helps build valuable self-assessment skills.

From Passive To Active Learning: Helping Students Make The Shift, Marilla Svinicki

Professional and Organizational Development Network in Higher Education: Archives

Being active and self-directed as a learner makes for better learning and retention, but what does that mean for students and for instruction?

Class Exercise For Assessing Abilities And Providing A Structure For A Course, Paul Savory

Department of Industrial and Management Systems Engineering: Instructional Materials

I developed this class exercise to assess students abilities and to highlight the range of questions/issues that they will learn in my IMSE 440/840 (Discrete Event Computer Simulation) course. I draw a picture of the case scenario for students and explain the system’s operation to them. I then ask that they complete the questions regarding the system and/or how they would analyze it. Following class, I develop a summary of the range of student answers. At the next class session, I share the range of answers and share what my answers would be and how these questions/topics relate to what …

Assessing Students’ Online Learning: Strategies And Resources, Patricia Comeaux

Professional and Organizational Development Network in Higher Education: Archives

Explore key strategies used by experienced online instructors, and learn about the wealth of resources for designing assessment instruments integral to online learning.