Teacher Education and Professional Development Commons^™

Faculty Development In Community Colleges: A Model For Part–Time Faculty, Mary Rose Grant

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

Historically, part-time faculty have not received the same development opportunities as fall-time faculty. This study surveyed current practices in faculty development for both full-time and part-time faculty in 232 public two-year colleges throughout the United States. Over 90% reported that they had a formal faculty development program for both faculty cohorts, funded with 1%–5% of their operating budgets. About one half of the colleges designated a faculty development coordinator, used needs assessment to determine program content, and evaluated program outcomes. Results of this study were used to design a generic model for part-time faculty development.

Reforming Elementary Science Teacher Preparation: What About Extant Teaching Beliefs?, Julie A. Thomas, Jon E. Pedersen

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

A common maxim in the educational profession is that one teaches the way one is taught. Indications are that preservice teachers' beliefs, attitudes, and practices may be linked to previous experiences. Calderhead and Robson (1991) underscored this concern by asserting that teachers use good teachers as models for developing their own images as teachers. Others have argued that the images held by teachers are used as frames of reference for their own teaching practices. In this article, preservice teachers' perceptions of themselves as science teachers are examined. The assertion is made that a long history of stereotypical science learning experiences—in …

Claiming Opportunities: A Handbook For Improving Education For English Language Learners Through Comprehensive School Reform, Maria Coady, Edmund T. Hamann, Margaret Harrington, Maria Pacheco, Samboeun Pho, Jane Yedlin

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

For the last decade, the national comprehensive school reform movement has been a focus of efforts to make public education accessible and effective for all students. Comprehensive reform strives to improve schooling for all children through integrated, well-aligned, school- wide changes in instruction, assessment, curriculum, classroom management, school governance, professional development, technical assistance, and community participation. As a sign of its continuing support for comprehensive school reform, Congress formally incorporated the Comprehensive School Reform program (CSR) into the Elementary and Secondary Act (No Child Left Behind, or NCLB) of 2001.

The last decade has also seen a dramatic increase in …

The Call To Play, Margaret A. Macintyre Latta, Karl Hostetler

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

This article explores the nature of play and its presence and potential in teaching and learning encounters. Play is portrayed as a movement that can characterize the process of learning and teachers’ reflections on their practice. The exercise of techne and phronesis are found to be key but problematic elements in this movement. The paper is in the form of a conversation, a medium calling the authors themselves to play with the play that might occur in classrooms. Thus, the authors’ play is itself a subject for inquiry. Their interplay warrants considering play to be an elemental activity for reconceptualizing …

The National Honors Report, Volume Xxiv, Number 2, Summer 2003

The National Honors Report

LEARNING COMES TOGETHER

1. The Age of Discovery and the Age of Transition: Discovery and Research in the New Millennium by William Knox ... l Knox asks us to rethink the idea of discovery in an age when a new discovery one minute becomes old news in the next. What will the future hold in an age of accelerated contact? How are honors programs to respond to such rapid change?

2. Travels with Noah by Brian Adler ... 5 Several journeys with Adler's son, Noah, lead to a discovery about monuments of the intellect as well as existing, physical monuments. …

Bumble Boosters: Doing Science As A Community Of Learners, Douglas A. Golick, Marion D. Ellis

Department of Entomology: Faculty Publications

Bumble bees are an excellent organism for engaging high school students in research. They are a recognizable insect and an important pollinator, and much remains to be discovered about the biology of many species. Bumble Boosters was a teaching and research project funded by the Nebraska Lottery’s Educational Innovation Fund. The project began in June 1999 and ended in June 2002.

Home/School/Community Collaboration: Connections For Kids, Susan M. Sheridan

Nebraska Center for Research on Children, Youth, Families, and Schools: Presentations

“Community”
The Importance of Connections for Kids
Relationships & Engagement
Parent Engagement
Indicators of Parent Engagement
Beyond Parent Engagement: The Importance of Continuity
From an “Engaged Parent” to an “Engaged Partnership”
Defining Characteristics of Engaged Partnerships
Role of the School Psychologist

Nefdc Exchange, Volume 14, Number 1, Spring 2003, New England Faculty Development Consortium

New England Faculty Development Consortium Exchange

Contents

Message from the President - Jeff Halprin, Nichols College

Keynote speaker, fall conference 2003: Parker Palmer, American Association of Higher Education; theme: The Courage to Teach

Teaching In Community at Northern Essex Community College - Judith Kamber, Northern Essex Community College

6th Annual Faculty Development Roundup, June 6, 2003. Nichols College

Universal design - Lisa Isleb, Worcester Polytechnic Institute

Board of Directors

Determining Critical Subject Matter Content For A Safety Certification Program For Youth Employed In Agricultural Production, Robbie R. Ortega, Roger L. Tormoehlen, William E. Field, Mark Balschweid, Krisanna L. Machtmes

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

Purdue University is conducting research to evaluate the effectiveness of an interactive CD-ROM and Internet-based curriculum teaching teenaged youth critical production agricultural safety and health-related information required under the Federal Hazardous Occupations Order. Selected community-based teaching strategies were evaluated and compared for their effectiveness in developing knowledge, changing attitudes and behaviors and improving practices related to the safe operation of agricultural tractors and machinery. This paper summarizes the methodology and outcomes of research conducted to identify and validate the core safety-related competencies upon which the curriculum was based. A preliminary set of competencies was developed using mandated training requirements, past …

Reflections On The Field: Imagining The Future Of The Anthropology Of Education If We Take Laura Nader Seriously, Edmund T. Hamann

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

The large corpus of scholarship of cultural anthropologist Laura Nader is relevant to the contemporary practice of the anthropology of education. In particular, her work is relevant to contemporary debates about methodology and what constitutes “scientifically based” education research; to the prospect and need for more cross-fertilization within the discipline of anthropology; and for the proud assertion of anthropology’s distinctive suitability for understanding and responding to many contemporary educational challenges, including how to have anthropologically derived insights more favorably compete in the “marketplace of ideas” against less empirically grounded claims and strategies.

Ethnic Identity In Transition: Chinese New Year Through The Years, Elaine Chan

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

Multiculturalism has been identified as the key educational issue of the epoch. However, despite studies acknowledging the importance of multiculturalism and multilingualism in school contexts and research that attests to the importance of teachers learning about individual students’ experiences of culture rather than generalizing knowledge about culture groups to individual students, there exists only a small, and mostly recent, literature examining ethnic identity experientially. In the spirit of work done by Phillion (1999, 2002), He (1998, 2002a, b), and Hoffman (1989) examining the complexities of factors shaping a sense of ethnic identity, I examine here the experiences of first-generation Chinese …

Improving Teaching Through Classroom Action Research, Gwynn Mettetal

Professional and Organizational Development Network in Higher Education: Archives

This essay discusses how to conduct small, in-class research projects on student learning in order to document teaching effectiveness and select appropriate teaching strategies.

Helping Students Help Each Other: Making Peer Feedback More Valuable, Linda B. Nilson

Professional and Organizational Development Network in Higher Education: Archives

Student peer feedback can be emotionally biased, misinformed, and/or superficial. This essay discusses two types of feedback that yield neutral, valid, and detailed information and enhance students’ audience awareness.

Teaching Circles: Making Inquiry Safe For Faculty, Laurel Black, Mary Ann Cessna

Professional and Organizational Development Network in Higher Education: Archives

How can I improve my teaching? Pressured by a need for high student ratings and administrative demands for excellence in teaching, faculty find a haven and room to learn in teaching circles.

Creating A Culture Of Co-Learners With Problem-Based Learning, Kristi L. Arndt

Professional and Organizational Development Network in Higher Education: Archives

Problem-based learning requires a significant shift in the roles and responsibilities traditionally assigned to teachers and students. This essay examines the challenge of truly empowering students as self-directed learners.

Achieving Teaching And Learning Excellence Through Faculty Learning Communities, Milton D. Cox

Professional and Organizational Development Network in Higher Education: Archives

The impressive learning outcomes of student learning communities can be replicated for faculty learning communities (FLCs). This essay describes FLCs and ways they enhance faculty and student learning.

Team Teaching: The Learning Side Of The Teaching-Learning Equation, Mary Jane Eisen, Elizabeth J. Tisdell

Professional and Organizational Development Network in Higher Education: Archives

Emphasizing shared ownership of teaching and learning through collaboration, this essay explores the multi-directional process of adult learning in different types of learning situations including on-line education.

Leading Culturally Sensitive Classroom Discussions Following September 11, Devorah Lieberman

Professional and Organizational Development Network in Higher Education: Archives

his essay focuses on strategies for facilitating successful classroom discussion related to the events of 9/11. These suggestions are based on strategies implemented on several campuses across the country.

Unlearning: A Critical Element In The Learning Process, Virginia S. Lee

Professional and Organizational Development Network in Higher Education: Archives

Research has shown that prior knowledge is a critical determinant in learning. This essay explores the role of student misconceptions and how instructors should address them during the learning process.

The National Honors Report, Volume Xxiii, Number 4, Winter 2003

The National Honors Report

ASSESSMENT

Figuring It Out

Introduction

1. "Just a Buzzword?" by Margaret Brown ... 1 In the next article by Ron Dotterer he asks if assessment will still be a hot topic in 2008-and he was writing in 1988. What is the answer?

Why Do It?

2. "Assessment: A Retrospective Look" by Ron Dotterer ... 2 In this article, Ron Dotterer, at that time honors director at Susquehanna University and a member of the NCHC Executive Committee, provides an overview of assessment, which he calls "a new and improved brand name" for evaluation. Assessment, Dotterer asserts, focuses too much on outcomes. …

The National Honors Report, Volume Xxiv, Number 1, Spring 2003

The National Honors Report

THE GEOGRAPHY OF HONORS

1. Think, Believe, Act on a Himalayan Scale by Rosalie Otero … 1 In Rosalie Otero's Presidential Speech, she reminds us that we learn through the quest for learning. Setting our sights higher is the challenge of honors: finding a new and different view of the world and getting there with groups more and more diversified and through means expanding to include virtual journeys.

2. Earl Brown: Colleague, Leader, and Friend by Bob Spurrier … 6 A tribute to former Executive Secretary Treasurer Earl Brown upon his reaching the top of his profession, thanks to the …

Preservice Elementary School Teachers’ Understandings Of Theory Based Science Education, Edmund A. Marek, Timothy A. Laubach, Jon Pedersen

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

Undergirding the science education program examined in this study is a theoretical foundation based upon four cornerstones that reflect scientific inquiry. These four cornerstones are best represented by four key questions: (a) What is science; (b) What are the goals or standards for elementary school science education; (c) What theory describes how elementary school children construct knowledge; and (d) What teaching approach represents the discipline of science, achieves the goals of elementary school science education and accommodates to how children construct knowledge? The learning cycle (Barman & Kotar, 1989; Bentley, Ebert,& Ebert II, 2000; Lawson, Abraham, & Renner, 1989; Marek …

Constructivism: Defense Or A Continual Critical Appraisal – A Response To Gil-Pérez Et Al., Mansoor Niaz, Fouad Abd-El-Khalick, Alicia Benarroch, Liberato Cardellini, Carlos E. Laburu, NicoláS Marín, Luis A. Montes, Robert Nola, Yuri Orlik, Lawrence C. Scharmann, Chin-Chung Tsai, Georgios Tsaparlis

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

Abstract. This commentary is a critical appraisal of Gil-Pérez et al.’s (2002) conceptualization of constructivism. It is argued that the following aspects of their presentation are problematic: (a) Although the role of controversy is recognized, the authors implicitly subscribe to a Kuhnian perspective of ‘normal’ science; (b) Authors fail to recognize the importance of von Glasersfeld’s contribution to the understanding of constructivism in science education; (c) The fact that it is not possible to implement a constructivist pedagogy without a constructivist epistemology has been ignored; and (d) Failure to recognize that the metaphor of the ‘student as a developing scientist’ …

The Risk Of Intelligent Design, Lawrence C. Scharmann

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

Alternative explanations to evolution are very popular these days. An articulate advocacy exists for the Intelligent Design (ID) theory, led nationally by the Seattle-based Discovery Institute and academicians like Michael Behe (1996), Phillip Johnson (1997), and William Dembski (1998). In many U.S. communities science teachers are besieged with requests by local boards of education to include ID and evidence against evolution. Whether national or local, those representing the latest attacks on biological evolution demand such alternatives out of fairness, for religious reasons, or to protect a basic freedom of choice. The motives of individuals making these demands notwithstanding, the consequences …

Falling Into It: Novice Tesol Teacher Thinking, Mark K. Warford, Jenelle Reeves

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

The authors conducted a qualitative study in order to understand the preconceptions novice TESOL teachers might have about teaching English language. Long interviews were conducted with nine students (six native English Speakers and three non-native speakers (NNS)) enrolled in one of two courses offered in a TESOL teacher education program. None of the participants had experience as an in-service teacher. Inductive analysis of tape transcripts suggested the presence of several conceptual themes discussed in the teacher thinking literature. Findings suggest that novice TESOL teachers, like their more experienced counterparts, have a system of metaphors to conceptualize teaching. The apprenticeship of …

Preface, Volume 21 (2002), Catherine M. Wehlburg

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

Preface to volume 21 (2003) of To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development, by Devorah Lieberman of Portland State University.

Introduction. Volume 21 (2003), Catherine M. Wehlburg

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

Introduction to volume 21 (2003) of To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development, by Devorah Lieberman of Portland State University.

September 11, 2001, As A Teachable Moment, Edward Zlotkowski

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

The Opening Plenary at the 2001 POD Conference was given by Edward Zlotkowski. Using the reactions to the events of September 11, 2001, as an example, he urged those in higher education to search out opportunities for academically based civic engagement and to focus on Boyer’s concept of the scholarship of engagement.

The Day After: Faculty Behavior In Post–September 11, 2001, Classes, Michele Dipietro

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

What is the best thing to do in the classroom in the face of a tragedy like the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001? What should instructors do to help students, if anything? This article describes the results ofa faculty survey at Carnegie Mellon University. Faculty reported what actions they took in the classroom to help their students (or their rationales for not mentioning the attacks), and their degree of confidence on the effectiveness of their behaviors. Statistical techniques are used to assess the significance of some trends, and implications for faculty developers are discussed in light of cognitive, motivational, …

Internationalizing American Higher Education: A Call To Thought And Action, Deborah Dezure

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

In the wake of the World Trade Center disaster, many faculty developers are asking themselves what they do to promote international peace and understanding. But even before these events, there has been an indication that there was a pressing need to focus on global competencies as an important part of higher education for the 21st century. The purpose of this essay is threefold: 1) to summarize the research on the status of internationalization on American campuses, 2) to make the case for the active involvement of faculty developers in internationalizing higher education, and 3) to offer strategies with which we …