Teacher Education and Professional Development Commons^™

Faculty Development That Transforms The Undergraduate Experience At A Research University, Kathleen S. Smith

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

Rethinking the undergraduate experience at research universities is a necessary goal for the new millennium according to the Boyer Commission on Educating Undergraduates (1998). Faculty development efforts provide a starting place for a transformation of the traditional teaching-learning model. This essay describes the faculty development support structure included in a FIPSE sponsored program to promote learning by inquiry. The Center for Undergraduate Research Opportunities (CURO) at the University of Georgia meshes teaching and research so that undergraduate students become participants in the strengths of a research university by becoming part of a community of learners.

The Case For Sophisticated Course Syllabi, Michael J. Strada

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

Just as the last thing a fish would notice is water, academics tend to overlook the value of a comprehensive course syllabus. It seems too prosaic for some instructors to take seriously. Despite operating largely in obscurity, a nascent body of literature appreciative of the syllabus’ latent potential is emerging. The distinguishing features of model syllabi are traced here, and their respective benefits analyzed. First and foremost, good syllabi enhance student learning by improving the way courses are taught. But the potential of syllabi can also be tapped by using them more prominently in the faculty evaluation process. Much slower …

The Role Of A Teaching Center In Curricular Reform, Constance Ewing Cook

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

Instructional consultants can play a crucial role in curricular reform. They gather evaluation and assessment data about the current curriculum so that faculty decisions about improvements are based on empirical evidence. They organize and facilitate meetings and retreats at which faculty make curricular decisions, and they provide pedagogical expertise and resources to help with course design and enhancement. They also provide ongoing data for formative evaluation of the new curriculum. Examples from the University of Michigan’s Center for Research on Learning and Teaching illustrate instructional consultants’ contributions to the curricular reform process.

Technology And The Culture Of Teaching And Learning, Sean Courtney

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

Faculty development professionals in postsecondary institutions face many challenges helping faculty adapt to the new forms of information technology. Chief among them is understanding how technology is forcing us to rethink current classroom practices. To aid this effort, this essay identifies and analyzes six key dimensions of traditional cultures of teaching and learning and attempts to show how technology, particularly computer-mediated forms, is transforming their meaning and potential impact.

Developing New Faculty: An Evolving Program, Gloria Pierce

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

This essay describes the evolution of a program for the development of new faculty at a public teaching university. The year-long process of orienting the newest professors to the campus and assisting them with their scholarship and teaching results in additional (albeit unplanned and unexpected) benefits, such as professional renewal of senior faculty who serve as advisors and enhanced functioning of the university itself. Vital to the program’s success is the productive involvement of key campus constituencies and responsiveness to feedback.

Publish, Don't Perish: A Program To Help Scholars Flourish, Tara Gray, Jane Birch

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

Faculty often believe that if they do not publish, they will perish. Faculty developers can respond to this need by helping faculty increase their scholarly productivity. Research shows that faculty are more productive if they write for 15-30 minutes daily, organize their writing around key sentences, and get extensive feedback on drafts. This article evaluates a program hosted on two campuses that aimed at supporting 115 faculty achieve these goals. Throughout the program, participants kept records of time they spent writing and the number of pages they wrote and at the end of the program, they were surveyed. These data …

Designing Teaching Portfolios Based On A Formal Model Of The Scholarship Of Teaching, Carolin Kreber

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

Many universities now encourage, and some even require, faculty to submit a teaching portfolio as part of their tenure application package. How to evaluate these portfolios, however, remains an unresolved issue, particularly if the task is to make a judgment about whether what is demonstrated in the portfolio reflects engagement in the scholarship of teaching. The thesis of this chapter is that judgments regarding the validity and truthfulness of a teaching portfolio can be made by assessing the extent to which the author has attended to an agreed-upon process of knowledge construction and validation in teaching. A model of the …

Strengthening Collegiality To Enhance Teaching, Research, And Scholarly Practice: An Untapped Resource For Faculty Development, Gerlese S. Åkerlind, Kathleen M. Quinlan

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

Collegiality lies at the intersection of various aspects of academic practice, including teaching as well as research. As such, assisting junior faculty in learning to build their collegial networks becomes a powerful point of intervention for faculty developers, even for those who focus on teaching development. Data from interviews with faculty engaged in both teaching and research, plus our experiences in conducting a series of career building initiatives are analyzed to identify junior faculty perceptions of the role of collegiality and barriers to establishing collegial ties. Two main barriers are identified: 1) knowing that collegiality and networking is important, and …

Faculty Quality Of Life, Sally S. Atkins, Kathleen T. Brinko, Jeffrey A. Butts, Charles S. Claxton, Glenda T. Hubbard

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

An interdisciplinary research team conducted a formal assessment of campus culture and faculty quality of life at Appalachian State University. Interviews with a stratified random sample of full-time, tenure-track faculty revealed five themes: 1) the importance of human relationships, 2) the deep commitment of faculty to student learning, 3)general satisfaction with academic life, 4) the personal sacrifice of faculty members for their work, and 5) perceptions of incongruence between institutional rhetoric and action. Recommendations are offered for readers to apply to their own universities to help faculty, staff, students, and administrators work together toward becoming an institution that is a …

Getting Administrative Support For Your Project, Joan K. Middendorf

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

For faculry development professionals to succeed with projects, we need the help of key administrators. More than anyone else, they can link our efforts to campus priorities, help us understand the decision-making system, and facilitate our efforts. This essay describes six steps for gaining and maintaining administrative support for projects. The steps entail 1) knowing administrator needs, 2) identifying likely supporters, 3) maintaining good working relationships, 4) involving the sponsors, 5) evaluating the sponsors’ commitment, and 6) recognizing the support of sponsors. Collaboration with administrators and application of the stages is illustrated with a case study of Indiana University’s Freshman …

Bibliography, Volume 19 (2001)

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

Bibliography to volume 19 (2001) of To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development.

Back Matter

The Journal of the Assembly for Expanded Perspectives on Learning

Back Matter

Front Matter

The Journal of the Assembly for Expanded Perspectives on Learning

Editors' Message

Morris Berman tells the story of his maternal grandfather, who, when he was five years old in 1883 or 1884, was sent to a Jewish elementary school in Belorussia. On the first day of class, the teacher startled the young boy by taking each child's slate and smearing the first two letters of the Hebrew alphabet—aleph and beys—on it in honey. His grandfather's first lesson consisted of eating the letters off the slate. The symbolism of this act is complex, Berman muses, but central to the ritual is the belief that what is real must be taken into …

Imperfection: The Will-To-Control And The Struggle Of Letting Go, W. Keith Duffy

The Journal of the Assembly for Expanded Perspectives on Learning

As I found myself beginning to appropriate my students' writing more and more, I wondered if this was evidence of a spiritual imbalance—an unwillingness to acknowledge my own imperfection as a teacher and human being.

A Poetics Of Student Writing, Dennis Young

The Journal of the Assembly for Expanded Perspectives on Learning

Focusing on student reflective essays about learning writing, I rely on depth psychology and hermeneutics to illustrate the image-making, poetic dimension of student work.

Being There: Revising The Discourse Of Emotion And Teaching, Dale Jacobs

The Journal of the Assembly for Expanded Perspectives on Learning

This essay explores the fine line that exists between teacher engagement and teacher burnout and suggests strategies for teachers and mentors of teachers to help negotiate this line.

Front Matter

The Journal of the Assembly for Expanded Perspectives on Learning

Front Matter

Felt Sensing Of Speech Acts In Written Genre Acquisition, Randall Popken

The Journal of the Assembly for Expanded Perspectives on Learning

This paper theorizes about the experiential dimension of acquiring rhetorical genres—specifically the way developing writers rely on felt sensing when they encounter the "core" of genres: illocutionary speech acts.

Teacher Growing Pains, Carolina Mancuso

The Journal of the Assembly for Expanded Perspectives on Learning

Reflecting on a teacher education course which incorporated experiential learning in an exploratory pedagogy, the author examines how the relationship between teachers and students can affect both personal and professional lives, particularly in periods of individual transition.

Flow, Centering, And The Classroom: Wisdom From An Ancient Friend, Lorie Heggie

The Journal of the Assembly for Expanded Perspectives on Learning

Understanding "flow" and drawing on the metaphor of the dialectic that occurs between horse and rider can guide us to create a centered classroom.

Connecting, Helen Walker, Laura Milner, Candace Walworth, Dave Waddell, Vic Kryston, Richard L. Graves

The Journal of the Assembly for Expanded Perspectives on Learning

Laura Milner—Steve's Story.

Candace Walworth—War & Peace in a Two-Car Garage.

Dave Waddell—Caring.

Vic Kryston—Ralph and the Unexpected Fix.

Richard L. Graves—The Abraham Dream.

Reviews, Lisa Tyler, Fran Claggett, Bruce Novak, Neal Lerner

The Journal of the Assembly for Expanded Perspectives on Learning

Lisa Tyler. Writing and Healing: Toward an Informed Practice. (Charles M. Anderson and Marian M. MacCurdy, eds., 2000).

Fran Claggett. Revisioning Writers' Talk: Gender and Culture in Acts of Composing. (Mary Ann Cain, 1995).

Bruce Novak. Tomorrow's Children: A Blueprint for Partnership Education in the 21st Century. (Riane Eisler, 2000).

Neal Lerner. Stories from the Center: Connecting Narrative and Theory in the Writing Center. (Lynn Craigue Briggs and Meg Woolbright, eds., 2000).

Discredited Metaphors Of Mind Limit Our Vision, Marilyn Middendorf

The Journal of the Assembly for Expanded Perspectives on Learning

Teachers will be intrigued by recent discoveries in "the brain sciences" and the new metaphors of consciousness they suggest.

Back Matter

The Journal of the Assembly for Expanded Perspectives on Learning

No abstract provided.

The Impact Of A Formal Public School Instrumental Music Instruction Program On An Eighth Grade Middle School Student's Reading And Mathematics Achievement, Gerard D. Babo

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

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Preface, Volume 18 (2000), Matthew Kaplan

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

Preface to volume 18 (2000) of To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development, written by Matthew Kaplan of the University of Michigan.

Introduction, Volume 18 (2000), Matthew Kaplan

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

Introduction to volume 18 (2000) of To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development, written by Matthew Kaplan of the University of Michigan.

Diversity And Its Discontents: Rays Of Light In The Faculty Development Movement For Faculty Of Color, Edith A. Lewis

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

Two faculty development conferences held within a six-day period during October 1998 yielded important experiences and lessons for faculty and professionals interested in working with faculty of color. This paper, written from the standpoint of a faculty member of color, outlines the strengths and challenges of working on these issues in higher education institutions.

The Challenge And Test Of Our Values: An Essay Of Collective Experience, Kay Herr Gillespie

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

Departing from a specific experience at the 1998 POD conference, the values of the organization—most specifically and directly the “valuing of peopk”—were challenged and put to the test of whether or not we genuinely and sincerely strive to actualize our values. This situation is generalizable to our daily professional and personal lives, and the essay invites readers’ reflection through an examination of our values in combination with the story. The challenge continues, and the test is not finished.

On The Path: Pod As A Multicultural Organization, Christine A. Stanley, Matthew L. Ouellet

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

Since 1993, the Professional and Organizational Development Network (POD) has made an increasingly stronger commitment to becoming a multicultural organization. Poised at the entrance to a new century, it seems useful to examine the current standing of this goal in the context of the overall growth and development of POD. In this article the authors take stock of the organization’s history related to multiculturalism, discuss POD’s current organizational strengths and challenges related to models of multicultural organizational development, and offer suggestions for further progress on the path to becoming a multicultural organization.