Teacher Education and Professional Development Commons^™

Triangulating Research That Focuses On Decolonizing And Race-Based Educational Theories, Beth Dotan

The Nebraska Educator: A Student-Led Journal

The normalization of white cultural and societal educational standards often produce uniform consumers of knowledge. In an effort to seek modification from conventional educational belief systems, this literature review looks at a collection of critical, race-based, and anti-/ de-colonial epistemologies and challenges traditions of inquiry. The research: 1) articulates how national culture perpetuates divisiveness through race and racism in colonized American society and institutions, 2) contemplates the amalgamation of Jewishness and whiteness, and 3) considers utilizing critical theory and social justice views to decolonize educational methodologies as a path to implement change. Historical context and the diverse array of scholarship …

Supporting Faculty As Writers And Teachers: An Integrative Approach To Educational Development, Jennifer Ahern-Dodson, Monique Dufour

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

In this article, we explore how supporting faculty writers can also help them to become more effective teachers of writing in their disciplines. Based on over ten years of facilitating and studying faculty at our writing retreats, we demonstrate how understanding and improving their own writing experiences can spark insight into their students as writers. Furthermore, we suggest that helping faculty make this “turn to teaching” exemplifies the potential for an integrative model of educational development, one that leverages connections across faculty roles and responsibilities.

Place-Based Educational Development: What Center For Teaching And Learning Spaces Look Like (And Why That Matters), Laura Cruz, Karen Huxtable-Jester, Brian Smentkowski, Martin Springborg

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

This study seeks to explore the physical spaces centers for teaching and learning (CTLs) occupy; with an emphasis on gaining a better picture of what CTL spaces look like; where they are located; how they developed: and what these spaces represent. We gathered visual, empirical, and qualitative data to take the first steps towards developing a shared vision of not only of our physical spaces, but also as a jumping off point for further analysis of the CTL as a meaningful place.

What Really Matters For Instructors Implementing Equitable And Inclusive Teaching Approaches, Tracie Marcella Addy, Philip M. Reeves, Derek Dube, Khadijah A. Mitchell

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

Supporting instructor implementation of equitable and inclusive teaching approaches is a critical area of focus in educational development. However, there is limited empirical evidence on factors that either support or hinder instructors’ implementation of inclusive teaching. The results of this national survey study reveal several predictors of instructors’ utilization of inclusive teaching approaches and reported obstacles faced. For this sample, knowledge of inclusive teaching was a statistically significant predictor of implementation, as was being from a non-STEM discipline. Responses highlighted promising approaches, several of which can inform the efforts of educational developers.

Longitudinal Impact Of Faculty Participation In A Course Design Institute (Cdi): Faculty Motivation And Perception Of Expectancy, Value, And Cost, Cara Meixner, Melissa Altman, Megan Good, Elizabeth Ben Ward

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

Course design institutes (CDIs), which systematically guide faculty through the (re)design of courses, often transpire in an intensive residency or learning community format. Little is known, to date, of the long-term impact of such initiatives, particularly in the context of faculty motivation. This longitudinal study explores changes in faculty attitudes toward teaching, offering insight into the multifaceted gains and limiting factors influencing motivation as conceptualized by the expectancy-value-cost model (Barron and Hulleman, 2015). Findings reveal that CDI engagement bolsters the value placed on teaching, but arrives at a noteworthy cost to faculty. Implications for CTLs and instructional faculty are explored.

Where Are The Students In Efforts For Inclusive Excellence? Two Approaches To Positioning Students As Critical Partners For Inclusive Pedagogical Practices, Alison Cook-Sather, Tracie Marcella Addy, Anna Devault, Nicole Livitskiy

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

Most educational development for inclusive excellence does not draw directly on the experiences and perspectives of students. This article presents two different approaches to positioning undergraduate students as critical partners in developing inclusive pedagogical practices. Co-authored by the directors of and student partners who participated in each approach, the article defines inclusive excellence and inclusive teaching and provides selected examples of partnership work that strives for equity and inclusion. It then describes our different approaches, discusses potential benefits of launching student-faculty partnership work through these approaches, and offers recommendations for developing pedagogical partnership efforts for inclusive excellence at other institutions.

Preparing The Next Generation Of Institutional Leaders: Strategic Supports For Mid-Career Faculty, Vicki Baker, Caroline Manning

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

Calls for leadership development and associated supports for faculty members are growing in prominence in higher education. Yet, traditional leadership development efforts in higher education fail to account for both individual and institutional needs as critical to fostering a leadership pipeline with multiple entry points. This manuscript offers succession management and onboarding as important and necessary steps to facilitating a more deliberate, strategic approach to supporting the next generation of institutional leaders – mid-career faculty members.

#Iteachmsu: Centering An Educator Learning Community (Elc), Erik Skogsberg, Makena Neal, Melissa Mcdaniels, Madeline Shellgren, Patricia Stewart

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

Many scholars recommend preparing faculty for educator roles. Faculty Learning Communities, The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL), and teaching centers represent common preparatory approaches. But faculty and teaching assistants report time, disciplinary disconnects, and lack of incentives as ongoing barriers. Inspired by K-12’s professional learning networks and “hashtag activism,” the authors’ university launched #iteachmsu. #iteachmsu combines practices of social networking with a digital and in-person teaching “commons.” Through #iteachmsu, the authors hope to further shift campus cultures in the age of COVID-19, centering teaching and learning as a valuable and ongoing focus for an educator learning community (ELC).

Cultivating An Institutional Culture That Values Teaching: Developing A Repository Of Effective Practices, Lindsay Shaw, Jill Grose, Erika Kustra, Lori Goff, Donna Ellis, Paola Borin

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

Educational researchers developed an online repository of effective practices contributing to or enhancing the teaching culture at multiple higher education institutions as part of a larger project exploring institutional teaching culture. The repository was designed to be a companion document to the Institutional Teaching Culture Perception Surveys (ITCPS), a resource for administrators, educational developers, and Centers for Teaching and Learning (CTL) striving to cultivate institutional cultures that support the development of teaching and learning. This paper outlines the methods for developing this repository, summarizes findings, identifies some of the practices included and highlights areas for future development.

Advice For Educational Counselors, Advisors, Faculty, And Staff: Paving The Pathways To Post-Secondary Education: Removing Barriers And Creating Opportunities For Students Of Color (Soc) And First-Generation College Students (Fgcs) To Flourish, Amanda R. Morales, Edmund T. Hamann

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Faculty Publications

The purpose of this Equity Tool is to guide education stakeholders with roles in various parts of high school students’ development, in developing shared understandings to discuss the transition from high school to higher education.

For supplemental guidance, please see the companion pamphlet for Students of Color and First Generation College Students: Advice for Students of Color and First-Generation Students: Successful Transitions from High School into and Within College/University

Exploring The Factors Affecting The Development Of Reading Habits Among Children, Zaheer Ahmad, Dr. Muhammad Tariq, Qaiser Iqbal, Tahira Akbar Sial

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

This study explores the factors affecting the reading development of middle schools' students studying in private schools. A quantitative study with the help of survey design was conducted on parents whose children were enrolled in 6^th to 8^th grades in private middle schools of Lahore, Pakistan. The research findings indicated that excessive use of screens such as mobile, TV, and electronic games are the major problems parents face in the promotion of reading habits among children. The other difficulties include the excessive curriculum textbooks, lack of interest by parents, high cost of reading material, lack of school-level practices, …

Academic Libraries Support E-Learning And Lifelong Learning: A Case Study, Sivankalai S

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

E-learning has proven to be the best method for corporations, primarily when MNCs conduct training programmes for their workforce worldwide. In e-learning, a teacher no longer directs students; instead, a step-by-step guide has replaced the teacher. The idea of web 2.0, life-long learning, open education, and social constructivism is often linked with this term. Librarians can benefit from e-learning as well as students and researchers. Staff training through additional online programmes assists employees in learning the latest ideas, handling new challenges, and meeting reader demands. E-learning is becoming more and more popular each year at universities across Canada. E-learning is …

Reading Ability, Study Habits And Students’ Academic Performance In Social Studies, Juliana Uloma Iheakanwa, Sunday Obro, Williams Pius Akpochafo

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

This study investigated reading ability, study habits and students’ academic performance in Social Studies. The study was an expos-facto study. The researcher employed a stratified and multi-sampling technique to sample 1103 students. The questionnaire was the instrument utilised to gather data. The Cronbach Alpha was utilised for the determination of the instrument reliability, and a reliability value coefficient value of 0.78 for Reading Fluency, 0.90 for Passage Recall and 0.92 for question Answering and 0.76 for Study habit was obtained. Data generated were evaluated employing correlation co-efficient of determination for the research questions, while the multiple regression and linear regression …

A Study Of Teacher Educators’ Skill And Ict Integration In Online Teaching During The Pandemic Situation In India, Subaveerapandiyan A, R Nandhakumar

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

Information and communication technology prompted the sharing of information over the world. For its impact on education, the government and the authorities like the University Grants Commission in India have energized the higher education institutions in India to implement online education during the pandemic situation. This paper attempts to know the teaching faculties' ICT skills and related online class skills in higher educational institutions in India. In India, like developing countries, quick as the lightning change in traditional to fully online classes are like a rumble of thunder because faculties are adopting this situation but students are challenging to adopt. …

Plotting The Literature On Learning Outcomes And Academic Performance In Higher Education From 2001 To 2020: A Scientometric Analysis, Muhammad Shoaib, Nusrat Ali, Behzad Anwar, Bilal Shaukat

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

This paper aims to evaluate the teaching skills, learning skills, learning outcomes, and academic performance using scientometrics analysis from 2001 to 2020. The scientometrics method and a total of 7536 published documents were found. The results reveal that the topic of academic performance and article as a type of published document was highly used. The high majority of these published documents are published in the English language and gradually increased in the number of published documents in terms of the year. Further, the author Chamorro-Premuzic T is the top author with 1139 citations and Univ. Grandada at top of twenty …

Research Visualization On Teaching, Language, Learning Of English And Higher Education Institutions From 2011 To 2020: A Bibliometric Evidences, Dr. Muhammad Shoaib, Mr. Nusrat Ali, Dr. Behzad Anwar, Dr. Shamshad Rasool, Dr. Raza-E Mustafa, Mr. Shi Zici

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

No abstract provided.

How A Small Teaching Center Made A Big Impact During The Pandemic Crises, J. A. Carter, Bradford Mallory, Brenda Refaei, Ruth Benander

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

For many faculty developers, 2020’s challenges changed our approach to our work. We found that by expanding our networks and relying on our collaborative spirit, we were able to adapt quickly and effectively to changing events. Each member of our four-person Learning + Teaching Center (LTC) team brings expertise and skills for faculty development. We employ a holistic approach to faculty development that not only provides programming for teaching improvement but also addresses the social and emotional needs of faculty and staff. The challenges of 2020 forced faculty and staff to work remotely, which necessitated more programming in how to …

In Search Of Silver Linings: Strategies For Preparing Future Faculty During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Tazin Daniels, Elizabeth Bailey, Anoff Nicholas Cobblah

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

In this article, we describe our experience as a racially and disciplinarily diverse, relatively junior program team who embraced the opportunity to transform a 20-year-old professional development seminar for graduate students into a remote offering in response to COVID-19. Our efforts to support our participants and champion an institutional move toward equitable and effective virtual programming are situated alongside the psychological tolls of remote work, a global health crisis, and ongoing racial violence across the United States. We recount our experience using, as a helpful metaphor, Lewin’s change model, which describes the process of “unfreezing,” “changing,” and “refreezing” long-standing assumptions …

Holding Tight To Our Convictions And Lightly To Our Ways: Inviting Shared Expertise As A Strategy For Expanding Inclusion, Reach, And Impact, Kylie Korsnack, Leslie Ortquist-Ahrens

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

When the global pandemic forced campuses across the United States to send students home in March 2020, instructors were thrown into triage mode, forced to rapidly transition their on-the-ground classroom curriculum to a format that could be completed remotely by students spread out across the country. At the same time, centers for teaching and learning (CTLs) also entered triage mode, puzzling over how to quickly but effectively provide appropriate training and meaningful support to prepare faculty for this rapid transition (Aebersold et al., 2020). The situation’s urgency, coupled with the significant constraints many CTL directors already experienced, necessitated creative, flexible, …

Growing Pains (And Opportunities): Launching A Center For Teaching And Learning During A Global Pandemic, Johanna Inman

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

This article provides a summary of the steps that were taken to launch a new center for teaching and learning (CTL) during the COVID-19 pandemic. Analysis of these steps explain how the inaugural director leveraged the pivot to emergency remote teaching to capitalize on faculty interest for educational development and increase collaboration between non-academic units that support teaching. Discussion also includes how strategic planning guided this process and ultimately garnered new staffing for this small center-of-one.

Transcending Adversity: Trauma-Informed Educational Development, Mays Imad

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

The purpose of this article is to reflect on the pertinence and utility of using a trauma-informed lens in educational development. A trauma-informed approach is a framework grounded in an understanding of and responsiveness to the impact of trauma. After I describe the primary source of traumatic stress many faculty members are experiencing, I offer trauma-informed suggestions for how educational developers can help mitigate the effects of that stress. Importantly, in order to do this work of supporting faculty effectively and sustainably, it is critical that educational developers continue to attend to their own well-being. The overarching theme of this …

Fractal Reflection: Cultivating Community And Meaning In Times Of Crises, Deandra Little, Joshua Caulkins, Eric C. Kaldor, Lindsay Wheeler

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

The Pandemic Educational Development Research Collaborative (PEDRC) formed in April 2020 to record research-participants’ experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic and systemic racism crises and includes 18 educational developers across various 4-year institutions, types of centers, and positions in the field. The novel research methodology used by PEDRC, called “fractal reflection,” includes an iterative process of reflection, analysis, and meaning-making at the individual, paired, and group levels. However, this methodology served as more than just a means to collect data; it also provided a set of effective reflective practices to support educational developers managing the emotional labor of their work in …

Rebuilding A Teaching Conference In A Pandemic: User-Centered Guiding Principles And Lessons Learned, Laura A. Lukes, E. Shelley Reid

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

The COVID-19 pandemic challenged educational developers, like instructors across the world, to pivot their traditionally face-to-face faculty development programs to online formats. At the Stearns Center for Teaching and Learning at George Mason University (classified as research-intensive and the largest public institution in Virginia, United States), we faced the challenge of reimagining our annual pedagogy conference that scaled from 497 registered in 2019 when it was face-to-face to over 800 in 2020 as it was moved online. Under pressures of limited resources and increased uncertainty, leaders can find it difficult to imagine pathways toward innovation rather than just daily responses …

What Happens When You Close The Door On Remote Proctoring? Moving Toward Authentic Assessments With A People-Centered Approach, Sarah Silverman, Autumn Caines, Christopher Casey, Belen Garcia De Hurtado, Jessica Riviere, Alfonso Sintjago, Carla Vecchiola

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

The COVID-19 pandemic made traditionally proctored in-person exams impossible. This article provides a summary of the arguments against institutional adoption of remote proctoring services with a focus on equity, an account of the decision to avoid remote proctoring on the University of Michigan–Dearborn campus, and conclusions and suggestions for other teaching and learning professionals who would like to take a similar approach. Remote proctoring services require access to technology that not all students are guaranteed to have, can constitute an invasion of privacy for students, and can discriminate against students of color and disabled students. Administrators and teaching and learning …

How A Flexible Teaching “Camp” Answered Our Pandemic Teaching Emergency, Patricia Dineen

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, faculty scrambled to move courses online and to master technology tools seemingly overnight. Keeping a focus on course design and teaching techniques became a central challenge for a center for teaching and learning (CTL) in the midst of the emergency move to online and blended learning. This article chronicles one CTL’s design and implementation of a virtual Forward Looking Explorations in Teaching Camp (FLEX Camp) that aimed to address pedagogy and technology simultaneously by immersing faculty in learning experiences. It details the planning process, learning goals, key activities, assessment methods, and lessons learned …

Anth 110: Introduction To Anthropology: A Peer Review Of Teaching Benchmark Memo, Taylor A. Livingston

UNL Faculty Course Portfolios

This portfolio examines the extent to which the learning outcomes for Introduction to Anthropology (ANTH 110) were met through course assessments. The primary goal of this course is for students to engage with anthropological content, by introducing students to an anthropological perspective, which requires looking at issues from multiple contexts (holism), and having students add this to their “tool kit” to help them make sense of what they believe, why they believe it, and how to make sense of the world around them and their place in it. The alignment of outcomes and assessment was analyzed through an examination of …

A Peer Review Of Teaching Benchmark Portfolio For Mued 403 Student Teaching Seminar, Danni Gilbert

UNL Faculty Course Portfolios

This portfolio examines the course planning and delivery of MUED 403—Student Teaching Seminar. Taken concurrently in the final semester of the music education degree with full-time student teaching field experiences, in addition to fulfilling the ACE 10 requirement, this course provides an analysis of PK-12 music teaching with special attention to teacher certification, selected legal aspects of education, current issues in education, and professional communication. I chose this course for the Peer Review of Teaching Project to determine whether undergraduate music education students could successfully complete an action research project during their student teaching semester and if so, whether the …

Vbms 403: Integrated Principles And Prevention Of Livestock Diseases, Christina L. Topliff

UNL Faculty Course Portfolios

This portfolio documents the teaching objectives, strategies, assessments, and changes implemented for VBMS 403: Integrated Principles and Prevention of Livestock Diseases, an Achievement-Centered Education (ACE) 10 Capstone course taught during the Spring Semester through the School of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Teaching methods and course activities included traditional lecturing with quizzes and examinations, in-class discussions, short reading assignments, and the generation of a scholarly term paper demonstrating broad knowledge, technical proficiency, information collection, synthesis, interpretation, and presentation. This portfolio documents the qualitative and quantitative methods used to assess the course learning objectives (goals). My …

Crpl 495/895: Introduction To Transportation Planning (Crpl 463/863: Land Use And Transportation), Daniel P. Piatkowski

UNL Faculty Course Portfolios

This portfolio presents the results of the first year, peer review of teaching process for CRPL 495/895, Introduction to Transportation Planning. The course is split-level course for advanced undergraduates and graduate students, and has been offered at the University of Nebraska Lincoln since 2016. The course is an elective in the Masters of Community and Regional Planning graduate program. The course introduces students to the connections between Transportation and Land Use planning, and their impacts on urban form, health, sustainability, and social justice, and the planning tools available to influence this process. The course also addresses planning for multiple modes …

Peer Review Of Teaching Portfolio - Sped 990: Intervention Design Lll, Susan J. Loveall

UNL Faculty Course Portfolios

This portfolio documents the development of SPED 990: Intervention Design III, a doctoral course being taught for the first time in the Spring of 2021 in the Department of Special Education and Communication Disorders. The primary goals motivating my creation of this benchmark portfolio included: 1) deciding what to teach and how to teach it for the course’s first iteration, 2) understanding how this course fits into my department’s broader curriculum and doctoral training program, 3) upon completion of the course, reflecting on what worked and what didn’t to improve the course for future semesters, and 4) continuing my professional …