Other Education Commons^™

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.

Investigating Community Factors As Predictors Of Rural 11th-Grade Agricultural Science Students’ Choice Of Careers In Agriculture, Omolola A. Adedokun, Mark Balschweid

Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education, and Communication: Faculty Publications

This study investigates the links between community contexts/factors and rural 11th-grade agricultural science students’ choice of careers in agriculture. A logistic regression model was developed and tested to examine the extent to which nine measures of community contexts (i.e., membership in FFA, membership in 4-H, community attachment, community satisfaction, length of residency in the community, positive perception of local community, preference for residing close to nature, and participation in volunteer activities) influence the odds of a student choosing a career in agriculture. The results show that the major community factors influencing the choice of agriculture related careers are membership in …

Investigating Community Factors As Predictors Of Rural 11th-Grade Agricultural Science Students’ Choice Of Careers In Agriculture, Omolola A. Adedokun, Mark Balschweid

Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education, and Communication: Faculty Publications

This study investigates the links between community contexts/factors and rural 11th-grade agricultural science students’ choice of careers in agriculture. A logistic regression model was developed and tested to examine the extent to which nine measures of community contexts (i.e., membership in FFA, membership in 4-H, community attachment, community satisfaction, length of residency in the community, positive perception of local community, preference for residing close to nature, and participation in volunteer activities) influence the odds of a student choosing a career in agriculture. The results show that the major community factors influencing the choice of agriculture related careers are membership in …

Sayre: Undergraduate Catalog 2008-2009, Southwestern Oklahoma State University

Undergraduate Catalogs

This catalog describes courses offered at Southwestern Oklahoma State University at Sayre, Oklahoma during the 2008-2009 academic year.

Ethical Guidelines For Educational Developers

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

Ethical guidelines for educational developers prepared by Mintz, Smith, & Warren, January 1999. Revised March 1999, September 1999, and March 2000.

Evaluating Teaching: A New Approach To An Old Problem, L. Dee Fink

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

The approach to evaluating the quality of teaching described in this chapter starts by developing a Model of Good Teaching. This model is then used to create a set of evaluation procedures based on four key dimensions of teaching: design of learning experiences, quality of teacher/student interactions, extent and quality of student learning, and teacher’s effort to improve over time. The challenges and benefits of using these procedures are discussed.

Grounded Theory Research In Faculty Development: The Basics, A Live Example, And Practical Tips For Faculty Developers, Michael Sweet, Rochelle Roberts, Joshua Walker, Stephen Walls, John Kuscera, Shana Shaw, Janet Riekenberg, Marilla Svinicki

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

While autobiographical narratives and case study reflections remain vital to faculty development research, we must also make substantive efforts to build theory in our field. Researchers making claims about collective meanings of observed behaviors and the mechanisms that underlie them (i.e., theoretical claims about social behavior) must be disciplined in how they identify and organize the evidence they use to support those claims. Such systematic, inductive theory-building in the social sciences is called “grounded theory” research. This chapter presents the basics of grounded theory research, describes a grounded theory research program currently being executed by faculty developers, and offers practical …

Supporting The Scholarship Of Teaching And Learning At Liberal Arts Colleges, Dolores Peters, David Schodt, Mary Walczak

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

Although the liberal arts college, with its traditional focus on teaching, may seem like a natural environment for the scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL), few such institutions participate in national SoTL initiatives. Our associates’ experience since 2001 suggests a model for supporting SoTL in teaching-intensive contexts based on faculty ownership, a focus on general education, and some emerging rules of engagement. Because faculty reward systems must validate SoTL if it is to become part of the institutional culture, we also describe one department’s efforts to reform its review criteria in order to define scholarly activity broadly.

Marketing Plans For Faculty Development: Student And Faculty Development Center Collaboration For Mutual Benefit, Victoria Mundy Bhavsar, Steven J. Skinner

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

Our faculty development center engaged senior-level business students as consultants to help us inform instructors about our resources. The students argued that organizational and marketing tasks are critical to our pedagogical work as they create opportunities for the pedagogical work to occur. This chapter describes the collaboration, the students’ recommendations, and the center’s response. Engaging students, our ultimate clients, in setting priorities for our center was a powerful learning experience for both us and them. Other centers may wish to use our experiences as impetus to collaborate with students on their campuses.

Thawing The Chilly Climate: Inclusive Teaching Resources For Science, Technology, Engineering, And Math, Katherine A. Friederich, Sherill L. Sellers, Judith N. Burstyn

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

Although universities are aware of the need to promote diversity in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), this awareness has not translated into significant changes in classroom environments. Many STEM instructors would like to offer equal opportunities for success to all of their students, but they are not sure where to begin. We describe an effective group of teaching tools that can empower STEM faculty and graduate students to modify their courses to address diversity at their own pace. These resources extend from awareness exercises to recommendations for action and have been useful tools for course design, teaching assistant training, …

Co-Teaching As A Faculty Development Model, Andrea L. Beach, Charles Henderson, Michael Famiano

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

Co-teaching is a promising and cost-effective approach to promoting fundamental research-based instructional change. In this chapter, we discuss the theoretical underpinnings of co-teaching and describe our initial experience with it. A new instructor (MF) co-taught with an instructor experienced in physics education research-based reforms (CH). An outsider (AB) conducted separate interviews with each instructor and observed several class sessions. Results include immediate use of research-based instructional practices by the new instructor and a significant change in teaching beliefs over time. Recommendations are made for implementing co-teaching as part of a faculty development program.

Promoting Learning–Focused Teaching Through A Project–Based Faculty Development Program, Susanna Calkins, Greg Light

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

This chapter describes how we incorporated project-based learning into a yearlong faculty development program at a research-intensive private university located in the Midwest. This inquiry-based approach fosters critical reflection on teaching and promotes learner-focused teaching in a manner that encourages deeper student approaches to learning. We use case studies, drawn from critical accounts of faculty projects, to illustrate a model that depicts how faculty understand improvement in their teaching and to identify key program elements that facilitated the adoption of learning-focused teaching practices by our participants.

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 …

Report On Proposals Submitted And Funded, July 1, 2006 - June 30, 2007, Office Of Research And Sponsored Programs. Morehead State University.

Office of Research and Sponsored Programs Reports and Publications

Report on Proposals Submitted and Funded for July 1, 2006 - June 30, 2007.

Librarianship And The Fulbright Fellowship: Challenges And Opportunities For American Librarians And Polish Libraries, Maria Anna Jankowska

E-JASL: Electronic Journal of Academic and Special Librarianship (1999-2009, Volumes 1-10)

Abstract

This article reports on personal observations and experiences gathered while teaching, working and consulting with librarians, students, and faculty during the author’s Fulbright Senior Fellowship in Poland. It discusses multiple opportunities and rewards for American librarians willing to serve as Fulbright Fellows including professional growth, knowledge sharing, meeting new people, experiencing new library cultures, traveling, and increasing the appreciation and visibility of librarians to the academic world. Additionally, it presents a short history of Polish academic libraries and the challenges they are currently facing.

Swosu One Hundred And Third Annual Spring Convocation, Southwestern Oklahoma State University

Graduation Programs

This is the program for the SWOSU One Hundred and Third Annual Spring Convocation Exercises, held at the Milam Stadium on Saturday, May 12, 2007, 10:00 am. Opening Remarks were presented by President John M. Hays.

Program And Abstracts Celebration Of Student Scholarship, 2007, Office Of Research And Sponsored Programs. Morehead State University.

Office of Research and Sponsored Programs Reports and Publications

Program and Abstracts from the Celebration of Student Scholarship from April 12-17, 2007.

Annual Report Of Research And Creative Productions, January To December, 2006, Research And Creative Productions Committee. Morehead State University

Office of Research and Sponsored Programs Reports and Publications

2006 Annual Report of Research and Creative Productions, Morehead State University, Division of Academic Affairs, Research and Creative Productions Committee.

Weatherford: Undergraduate Catalog 2007-2008, Southwestern Oklahoma State University

Undergraduate Catalogs

No abstract provided.

Annual Report Of External Funded Grants And Contracts From July 1, 2006 To June 30, 2007, Office Of Research And Sponsored Programs. Morehead State University.

Office of Research and Sponsored Programs Reports and Publications

Annual Report of Externally Funded Grants and Contracts from July 1, 2006 - June 30, 2007.

Introduction, Volume 25 (2007), Douglas Reimondo Robertson

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

Introduction to volume 25 (2007) of To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development, by Douglas Reimondo Robertson of Highland Heights, Kentucky.

It All Started In The Sixties: Movements For Change Across The Decades—A Personal Journey, R. Eugene Rice

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

A combination of memoir and social commentary, this chapter explores changes in higher education throughout five decades—1960s: utopian quest for learning communities; 1970s: faculty development movement; 1980s: focus on the academic workplace; 1990s: broadening the understanding of scholarship; and 2000s: new pathways and the engaged campus. This chapter provides a context for the careers and work of faculty, academic administrators, and faculty development specialists (both new and experienced) as well as for the Professional and Organizational Development Network in Higher Education (POD).

Living Engagement, Bell Hooks, Douglas Reimondo Robertson

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

In this “talking chapter” bell hooks reveals, through dialogue about her thoughts and experiences related to college teaching and learning, a profound and robust perspective on what could be called “deep” faculty development. Topics include engaged pedagogy, therapeutic conversations, spiritual practice, difference, conflict, and love.

Surviving To Tenure, James M. Lang

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

For most new faculty, anxiousness about the tenure application begins from the first day on the job. Surviving the six intervening years on the tenure track requires a range of time- and career-management skills that new faculty may only learn piecemeal along the way. New faculty need help in five specific areas in order to survive their path down the tenure track: 1) developing teaching strategies that will fit their personalities and reach as many students as possible, 2) managing their time to allow for research and publication, 3) determining what and how many service commitments to make, 4) existing …

The Abcs Of Fractal Thinking In Higher Education, Edward Nuhfer

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

All learning establishes and often stabilizes neural networks in the brain. These carry both cognitive and affective attributes and have fractal form. Fractal networks produce many actions and products that exhibit fractal qualities. Awareness of such qualities provides a unifying key to understanding and applying educational knowledge. It represents a marked shift in perception that differs from thinking customarily employed in considering information as a specialist. This alternate perspective helps professionals in higher education draw on diverse information from specialty research and apply it more effectively.

Toward A Scholarship Of Teaching And Learning In Educational Development, Peter Felten, Alan Kalish, Allison Pingree, Kathryn M. Plank

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

Educational development traditionally has been a practice-based field. We propose that as a profession we adopt the methods of the scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL), so often shared with our clients, in order to look through a scholarly lens at the outcomes of our own practice. Using SoTL approaches in our work would deepen the research literature in our field and improve the effectiveness of decisions we make about where to spend limited time and resources. In this chapter, we explore what it might mean for individual developers, and for our professional community, to apply SoTL methods to our …

Action Research For Instructional Improvement: Using Data To Enhance Student Learning At Your Institution, Constance E. Cook, Mary Wright, Christopher O'Neal

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

Action research is a powerful tool that can be used by teaching centers to improve teaching and learning. This chapter describes an action research project conducted at the Center for Research on Learning and Teaching at the University of Michigan. The project concerns retention and attrition in science gateway courses, with particular attention given to the role of the teaching assistant. This chapter concludes with a discussion of six principles for teaching center staff who wish to conduct their own action research projects.

Moving From The Scholarship Of Teaching And Learning To Educational Research: An Example From Engineering, Ruth A. Streveler, Maura Borrego, Karl A. Smith

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

In The Advancement of Learning , Huber and Hutchings (2005) state that the “scholarship of teaching and learning . . . is about producing knowledge that is available for others to use and build on” (p. 27). Can viewing the scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL) as an educational research activity help make SoTL findings more available and easier to build on? This chapter describes a program that prepared engineering faculty to conduct rigorous research in engineering education. Project evaluation revealed that engineering faculty had difficulty making some of the paradigm shifts that were presented in the project.