Higher Education and Teaching Commons^™

Exploring The Application Of Best Practices To Ta Awards: One University's Approach, Laurel Willingham-Mclain, Deborah L. Pollack

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

This chapter explores how to adapt best practices from the general literature on teaching awards in higher education to graduate student teaching assistant (TA) awards. Although most criteria apply, they must be fitted to the career stage and aspirations of TAs. The Duquesne University Graduate Student Award for Excellence in Teaching serves as a case study demonstrating how these practices can be modified to both recognize excellent teaching and promote the professional development of graduate student instructors.

Expeditionary Learning: A Low–Risk, Low–Cost, High–Impact Professional Development Model, Chris Carlson-Dakes, Alice Pawley

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

We describe a low-risk, low-cost, high-impact professional development program to help faculty, instructional staff, postdoctoral fellows, and graduate students create space in their lives to explore the diversity of their campus community and reflect on beliefs about teaching and learning in higher education. Along with small group discussions, participants have “expeditions” onto campus to explore learning situations and academic life in ways that they have never before experienced. We describe our theoretical model, programmatic and evaluation structure, and some participants’ insights into why they participated and what they learned from our first implementation.

Learning Communities For First–Year Faculty: Transition, Acculturation, And Transformation, Harriet Fayne, Alice Ortquist-Ahrens

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

To enhance new faculty members’ chances for teaching and career success, Otterbein College piloted a yearlong learning community program and encouraged first-year faculty to participate. Four new faculty members took part in opportunities designed to enhance their teaching, to orient them more fully to a new institution and student body, to foster collegial community, to encourage reflective practice, and to introduce them to the scholarship of teaching and learning. This qualitative case study tracks their developmental trajectory, which led them from an initial concern with self and survival to an eventual focus on student learning.

Building It For Them: Faculty–Centered Program Development And Emanagement, Bonnie B. Mullinix

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

This article documents the effectiveness of a responsive, multilevel, web-based system for identifying and responding to faculty interest and needs for training and development. A case-based description illustrates the advantages of using a web-facilitated approach to schedule sessions according to faculty interest and availability. From needs assessment survey, to session design and scheduling, to registration, communication, and monitoring of participation, to evaluation and feedback, this integrated system has proven effective in engaging faculty. Data collected over two years of program implementation is shared and implications for the design, facilitation, and evaluation of such approaches are considered.

Introduction. Volume 24 (2006), Sandra Chadwick Blossey

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

Introduction to volume 24 (2006) of To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development, by Sandra Chadwick Blossey of Rollins College.

A Theory–Based Integrative Model For Learning And Motivation In Higher Education, Chantal S. Levesque, G. Roger Sell, James A. Zimmerman

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

The shared mission of higher education institutions is to develop educated persons who are able to make connections and build on knowledge acquired across disciplines and fields and through various life experiences. This chapter offers a theory-based model that can be used by researchers and practitioners to enhance academic learning and motivation. Educators can create learning environments that move students from external regulation to self-determined forms of motivation. This model is used to describe conditions that enhance/restrict learning. It also has the potential to be used to interpret research on teaching and learning in higher education.

Ied And The University Partnership: The Oxford Experience, Richard Pring

Book Chapters / Conference Papers

No abstract provided.

Reconceptualising The Professional Development Of In-Service Science Teachers In Pakistan, Nelofer Halai

Book Chapters / Conference Papers

Pakistan is a society in transition in more ways than one: politically it is still trying to find its place in the democratic nations of the world; economically it is taking steps to move closer to a market-based economy; and socially it is nurturing a more liberal and just society by reining in the religious extremists. In the aftermath of 9/11 stress has been on educational reform in a number of areas including – updating curriculum, improving access to schooling and developing teacher education. Teacher as the agent of reform is slowly gaining currency in Pakistan. The Institute for Educational …

The Establishment Of Aga Khan University-Institute For Educational Development, Sadrudin Pardhan, Dennish Thiessen

Book Chapters / Conference Papers

No abstract provided.

Continuing Professional Development And The Relevance Of The Ied Model In East Africa, Jane Rarieya, Fred Tukahirwa

Book Chapters / Conference Papers

No abstract provided.

About The Authors, Volume 24 (2006)

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

About the editors and authors of volume 24 (2006) of To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development.

Preface, Volume 24 (2006), Sandra Chadwick Blossey

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

Preface to volume 24 (2006) of To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development, by Sandra Chadwick Blossey of Rollins College.

Monster At The Foot Of The Bed: Surviving The Challenge Of Marketplace Forces On Higher Education, Raoul A. Arreola

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

The impact of technology on society has caused a paradigm shift in the basic support for higher education. Where higher education was traditionally supported as a function of government, the knowledge explosion and global economy resulting from the impact of computer and other technologies is moving the underlying support of higher education to the marketplace. There is evidence that traditional academic strategies and practices that were successful under the old paradigm may no longer be working. Twelve suggestions are offered for revolutionary changes that the academy must make in order to survive, even thrive, in the new paradigm.

A Different Way To Approach The Future: Using Chaos Theory To Improve Planning, Marc Cutright

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

Strategic planning is a good idea that gets a bad name from dubious efforts carrying the title. Much of this rap comes from half-hearted exercises, but some of it comes from efforts that founder due to faulty or limited conceptions of how the future “works.” Chaos theory is an alternative approach and metaphor with potential to let us see the future and its dynamics in new ways. Cognizance of chaos’s nature and underlying structure might help us do planning in new, nonintuitive, and more successful ways.

Perceptions Of Faculty Developers About The Present And Future Of Faculty Development At Historically Black Colleges And Universities, Phyllis Worthy Dawkins, Andrea L. Beach, Stephen L. Rozman

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

The development of faculty at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) has been a challenge and commitment since their inception before and after the civil war. Historically, faculty have assumed many roles, but they primarily sought to address the needs of black students. The HBCU Faculty Development Network, founded in 1994, has been instrumental in providing a platform to showcase accomplishments and challenges in education at this unique group of colleges and universities. To address future needs, we surveyed the membership to explore current program goals and influences, practices, and new directions. The results are compared with data for the …

Preparing Faculty For Pedagogical Change: Helping Faculty Deal With Fear, Linda C. Hodges

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

How receptive faculty are to changing their pedagogical approach is a complex issue, but one factor that impedes change is the fear of taking a risk. Underlying this fear may be the fear of loss, fear of embarrassment, or fear of failure. Addressing these issues can empower faculty to be more innovative in their teaching. Drawing on research literature, personal teaching narratives, and my own work in faculty development, I discuss some of these underlying fears. I then offer concrete strategies for working with faculty to enable them to overcome these emotional barriers and embrace change.

An Electronic Advice Column To Foster Teaching Culture Change, Donna M. Qualters, Thomas C. Sheahan, Jacqueline A. Isaacs

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

First-year engineering students receive most of their teaching from instructors outside of engineering. As a result, these instructors are typically not a teaching community with a shared commitment to engineering student learning. Retention of engineering students is strongly tied to the quality of teaching, thus addressing collective teaching quality is important. This chapter describes the development of a carefully crafted, electronically distributed advice column on teaching developed by an interdisciplinary editorial team, written under the pseudonym Jonas Chalk. Surveys of Chalk Talk readers indicate that this is an effective means to promote teaching culture change.

Practicing What We Preach: Transforming The Ta Orientation, Patricia Armstrong, Peter Felten, Jeffrey Johnston, Allison Pingree

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

Brookfield (1995), Schön (1983), and others articulate the necessity and complexity of being critically reflective in our work. Indeed, the value of critical reflection is inherent to educational development as a field in that we frequently encourage such thinking in our consultations with instructors. But practicing what we preach can be difficult. This chapter reflects on an experiment in the transformation of a teaching assistant orientation, a central event of our teaching center. We not only describe and assess the process of revising this orientation, but we also reflect on the implicatiom of this case for broader programming issues in …

Faculty Competency By Design: A Model For Institutional Transformation, Helen M. Clarke, Philip E. Bishop

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

For a decade, Valencia Community College has striven for a faculty development program with direct impact on student learning. The college succeeded by designing faculty learning with the same logic we apply to student learning. Valencia’s program for new tenure-track faculty focuses on significant faculty learning outcomes, a learning-centered pedagogy, high standards of scholarship, and continuous program assessment. The college’s Teaching/Learning Academy and a coordinated tenure process have cultivated new learning leaders and created a fresh partnership among deans and faculty members. This developing process of new-hire faculty development has been pivotal to Valencia’s learning-centered transformation.

Bibliography, Volume 24 (2006)

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

Bibliography for volume 24 (2006) of To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development.

Volume 17, Number 01, G. William Hill Editor, Linda M. Noble Editor

Reaching Through Teaching

Full text of Volume 17, Number 01 of Reaching Through Teaching.

Nefdc Exchange, Volume 16, Number 2, Fall 2005, New England Faculty Development Consortium

New England Faculty Development Consortium Exchange

Contents

Message from the President - Judith Kamber, Northern Essex Community College

From the editors - Tom Thibodeau, New England Institue of Technology, and Steve Berrien, Bristol Community College

Praising the Profession - Thomas S. Edwards, Thomas College

Faculty Development for Community College Leadership - Charles Kaminski, Berkshire Community College

Literacy Identity and Diversity - Melissa M. Juchniewicz, Northern Essex Community College

Connecting with Others

Dwell in Possibility - Bill Searle, Asnuntuck Community College

Meet Our New Board Members

NEFDC Fall Conference, Friday, November 4, 2005, Westford, Massachusetts; theme: Beyond Tolerance: Diversity and the Challenge of Pedagogy in American Higher …

Elements Of Credible Research, Charles Eberly

Faculty Research & Creative Activity

This paper is developed from a speech I gave before the 100th anniversary convention of the National Panhellenic Association. The organization was concerned about the questionable ethics of articles published about the college fraternity and sorority at that time.

Elements Of Credible Research, Charles G. Eberly

Faculty Research & Creative Activity

This paper is developed from a speech I gave before the 100th anniversary convention of the National Panhellenic Association. The organization was concerned about the questionable ethics of articles published about the college fraternity and sorority at that time.

Volume 16, Number 02, G. William Hill Editor, Linda M. Noble Editor

Reaching Through Teaching

Full text of Volume 16, Number 02 of Reaching Through Teaching.

Teaching And Trading: Local Voices And Global Issues From Central Asia, Sarfaroz Niyozov, Duishon Shamatov

Institute for Educational Development, Karachi

No abstract provided.

Nefdc Exchange, Volume 16, Number 1, Spring 2005, New England Faculty Development Consortium

New England Faculty Development Consortium Exchange

Contents

From the NEFDC President: The Heart of the Matter - Thomas S. Edwards, Thomas College

Transforming Your Good Idea into a Compelling Conference Proposal - Judith E. Miller, Clark University

Learning the Infield Fly Rule: Limits of the “Silver Platter” Method - Rob Schadt, Boston University School of Public Health

Discovering New Ways to Teach: Our Experience in an Instructional Skills Workshop Facilitators Training Program - Patricia Cook and James M. Gentile, Manchester Community College

The Bad and the Good About Improving Student Retention in Online Learning - Elaine Garofoli

Connecting with others

Learning Disabilities in Higher Education: An …

Volume 16, Number 01, G. William Hill Editor, Linda M. Noble Editor

Reaching Through Teaching

Full text of Volume 16, Number 01 of Reaching Through Teaching.

Nefdc Exchange, Volume 15, Number 2, Fall 2004, New England Faculty Development Consortium

New England Faculty Development Consortium Exchange

Contents

Message from the President: The College is My Classroom - Thomas Edwards, Thomas College

Review of Robert Boice: Advice for New Faculty Members—Nihil nimus - Eric Kristensen, University of Ottawa

From the editors, Sue Barrett, Boston College, and Susan Pasquale, UMass Medical School

From Nepal to Iceland and Back Distance Learning Characteristics of Two Cultures - Karen A. Lemone, Worcester Polytechnic Institute

Building Community with Technology - Elise Martin, Middlesex Community College, and Charles Kaminski, Berkshire Community College

Two Hours and Fifteen Minutes - Tom Thibodeau, New England Institute of Technology

Elections to NEFDC Board

Learning Disabilities in Higher …

Obesity, Educational Attainment, And State Economic Welfare, Martin W. Sivula Ph.D.

Higher Education

For the first time in history, estimates of the overweight people in the world rival estimates of those malnourished. The World Health Organization (WHO, 2002) ranked obesity among the top 10 risks to human health worldwide. In the early 1960s, nearly half of the Americans were overweight and 13% were obese. Today some 64% of U.S. adults are overweight and 30.5% are obese. Even more alarming, twice as many U.S. children are overweight than were twenty years ago, a 66% increase. Non-communicable diseases impose a heavy economic burden on already strained health systems. Health is a key determinant of development …