Teacher Education and Professional Development Commons^™

Transforming Introductory Psychology: Trading Ownership For Student Success, Randall E. Osborne, William Browne, Susan J. Shapiro, Walter F. Wagor

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

As colleges struggle to maintain enrollments, many have shifted from a primary focus on recruitment of new students to an increased focus on retaining students once they begin attending the college or university. An examination of introductory courses on our campus, however, revealed significant differences between faculty perceptions of student skills and the actual skills students brought into the classroom. This prompted shifts in the manner in which we teach introductory psychology on our campus in order to enhance the skills necessary for success in survey courses and to provide a foundation of learning and thinking skills that would translate …

“It's Hard Work!”: Faculty Development In A Program For First–Year Students, Martha L. A. Stassen

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

Academic programs designed specifically for first-year students provide an important opportunity for faculty growth. This chapter contributes to the limited literature on this topic through a qualitative analysis of interviews with faculty members who taught in an experimental living-learning community for first-year students at a Research I Public University. The analysis suggests atleast four dimensions of faculty growth as a result of their involvement in first-year programs. In addition to outlining the types of impact this experience has on the faculty involved, the article suggests the implications of these findings for faculty development.

The Influence Of Disciplinary Differences On Consultations With Faculty, Virginia Lee

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

In recent years researchers have begun to investigate the nature of disciplinary differences in higher education and their implications for teaching and learning. While researchers have studied several aspects of disciplinary differences, they have given comparatively little attention to the significance of these differences for faculty development. After reviewing selective, representative studies from the literature on disciplinary differences, this paper develops a general framework for determining how the characteristics of a discipline influence the dynamics of the consulting relationship using the example of the hard sciences. It explores what kinds of discipline-specific knowledge will be important for consultants and under …

The Emeritus Teacher, Raymond J. Dagenais, Betty E. Steffy, Billie J. Enz

Publications & Research

Mary, Clara, and Harry are part of what they call "the gray brigade." They met 6 years ago at a Retired Teachers Association meeting, warmed up to one another immediately, and began a lasting friendship. The trio has reached the emeritus phase of the Life Cycle of the Career Teacher model. They cared passionately about their profession when they were teachers, and that passion continues today. All are actively involved in helping schools improve and children succeed. Each of them goes about this quest in a very different way. Mary is a political activist well known in the halls of …

The Effects Of A Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy Intervention On Irrational Beliefs And Burnout Among Middle School Teachers In The State Of Iowa, Shirley Anderson

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of a Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT) bibliotherapy intervention on the level of burnout and irrational beliefs. This study specifically examined the impact of a REBT bibliotherapy intervention on middle school teachers' irrational beliefs and level of emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and personal accomplishment, using the Maslach Burnout Inventory-Educators Survey (Maslach, Jackson, & Schwab, 1986) and the Irrational Beliefs Test (Jones, 1968).

The subjects in this study consisted of 167 middle school teachers in the State of Iowa. These teachers taught sixth, seventh, or eighth grade or a combination of these …