Higher Education and Teaching Commons^™

Who We Are: Focus On… Student Identity, Yarina Aguilar Becerra, Cecilia Diojuan, Jasmine Walker, Neera Malhotra, David Peterson Del Mar, Vicki Reitenauer

University Studies Faculty Publications and Presentations

In short

• Increasingly, professionals in higher education are acknowledging the short- and long-term impacts on individuals and communities of institutional failures to create welcoming, inclusive, and caring environments for traditionally underrepresented students.
• Student voices, reflecting on their lived and felt experiences in college, have been less frequently present in the discussions about inclusion in higher education.
• Listening to students from underrepresented groups has the potential to redefine and renew how we understand education and ourselves, offering a template and a foundation for the dense network of relationships that a student-focused institution of higher education ought to aspire to and build …

Edd Graduate Perspectives: Uplifting Our Own Voices, Staci B. Martin, Kara Gournaris, Zafreen Jaffery, Lisa Janie Hatfield, Su-Jin Sue Jung, Li Xiang, Ingrid Anderson, Micki M. Caskey

Education Faculty Publications and Presentations

The purpose of this essay is to share the voices of EdD graduates who are often underrepresented or missing in the literature. To begin, we invited EdD graduates to co-author this article about the connection among their EdD program experiences and interactions and their activism. We included our definition of activism and posed three open-ended questions. Six program graduates and one professor agreed to organize the graduates’ responses by the question topics and salient themes. We asked about our experiences in the EdD program and how these influence—positively and negatively—what we are doing now (post-program). We found (a) relationships with …

Disrupting The Deficit Gaze: Equity Work With University Supervisors, Maika J. Yeigh

Education Faculty Publications and Presentations

Teacher candidates commonly experience tensions within their clinical field placement classroom. Recently, candidates have brought forward tensions around the use of a deficit gaze (Dudley-Marling, 2007) on students and their families by their mentor teachers. Where candidates of the past would ignore negative framing, current candidates want to disrupt the status quo. This conceptual article describes one EPPs attempt to support teacher candidates “disruption” of instances where a mentor teacher used a deficit-lens toward students and/or their families. Clinical supervisors were offered professional development to support teacher candidates and guide them to disrupt in ways that maintained the professional relationship …

Teaching "In Their Best Interest": Preservice Teachers' Narratives Regarding English Learners, Amanda T. Sugimoto, Kathy Carter, Kathleen J. Stoehr

Curriculum and Instruction Faculty Publications and Presentations

In the United States, teachers are increasingly working with English Learners (ELs) in mainstream classrooms. Several areas of focus have been proposed to guide the preparation of teachers for working with ELs, including: language related knowledge, skills, and dispositions. This narrative study examined how field-based experiences shaped 49 preservice teachers' dispositions toward ELs. An iterative and thematic analysis of collected narratives found that preservice teachers often completed their practicum in classrooms that did not model positive dispositions or pedagogical practices toward ELs. These findings have implications for the tasks and experiences given to preservice teachers during their preparation sequence.

Communities Of Practice In Higher Education: Transformative Dialogues Toward A Productive Academic Writing Practice, Janelle De Carrico Voegele, Dannelle D. Stevens

Curriculum and Instruction Faculty Publications and Presentations

Because faculty have advanced degrees, it is often assumed that they have perfected the skills needed to be productive, successful academic writers. In reality, many faculty struggle with the demands of academic writing and the resulting loss of energy for teaching and other aspects of their roles. This article reflects on the impact of an academic writing program through a community-of-practice lens. We describe the program and its elements, its development into a thriving cross-discipline writing community, the role of central program elements such as accountability and dialogue, and the benefits stemming from a learning-community emphasis across program elements

Seeking Mutual Benefit: University And Districts As Partners In Preparation, Amy Daggett Petti

Education Faculty Publications and Presentations

This article reports the research findings of a qualitative study that employs case study research methods to examine a newly-formed university district- teacher union partnership. Examination of the question "How do we better prepare teachers" led to the formation of a university-district-association (teacher union) partnership, which led to a new question: How do the roles of principal and liaison in a Professional Development School affect pre-service and tenured teacher learning? The school-university partnerships' mission was to design a mutually beneficial program of teacher preparation and tenured teacher professional development. Findings determined that there were significant perceived mutual benefits; notable benefits …

The Value Of Midterm Student Feedback In Cross-Disciplinary Graduate Programs, G.L.A. Harris, Dannelle D. Stevens

Education Faculty Publications and Presentations

End-of-course student evaluations are frequently used to evaluate university faculty teaching. However, employing midterm student feedback has been found to be instrumental in informing faculty about instructional quality and improving student learning outcomes. This study examined and compared the effects on classroom instruction of using a midterm student feedback (MSF) survey in the graduate courses of two faculty, an untenured professor in public administration and a full professor in education. The researchers gathered data from 122 students over two years for three courses in 6 classes—4 in public administration, 2 in education. Results indicate that midterm student feedback offered insight …

Differences In U.S. Medical School Faculty Job Satisfaction By Gender, Sarah A. Bunton

Educational Leadership and Policy Faculty Publications and Presentations

Increased demands on academic medical faculty have raised awareness about faculty satisfaction and vitality, in part because of the demonstrated empirical link between job satisfaction and retention. Evidence suggests that faculty are affected by their perceptions of what is valued and rewarded in their work environments, and that supportive environments can foster faculty satisfaction. Given the high costs of faculty turnover, it is imperative to understand the factors that contribute to the retention of faculty. A previous Analysis in Brief (AIB) examined key areas of U.S. medical faculty job satisfaction and the disconnect for some faculty between what they value …

An Exploration Of Part-Time U.S. Medical School Faculty: A Thematic Overview, Sarah A. Bunton, April Corrice

Educational Leadership and Policy Faculty Publications and Presentations

Despite the fact that many medical schools have increased their reliance on part-time faculty over the past several decades and that the number of part-time faculty is likely to continue to increase in the future, scant information about their experiences, satisfaction, and engagement exists in the literature. First. This report contains salient themes from focus groups with part-time faculty in academic medicine designed and conducted to provide insight into the issues that comprise workplace satisfaction for these faculty and to explore the unique concerns that they may face. In the report we first present a summary of the reasons faculty …

Perceptions Of The Promotion Process: An Analysis Of U.S. Medical School Faculty, Sarah A. Bunton, April Corrice

Educational Leadership and Policy Faculty Publications and Presentations

Faculty satisfaction is important to medical schools for myriad reasons, including the empirical links between job satisfaction and increased organizational performance, faculty retention, productivity, and patient care. Half of U.S. medical faculty leave their academic medical centers within 10 years, and the resulting loss of these faculty poses financial and human capital costs to the institution. Additionally, the academic medicine workplace has changed significantly in recent decades, resulting in increased demands for research, teaching, patient care, and administration on faculty. To be effective, medical school leaders and researchers must remain abreast of the issues that comprise workplace satisfaction for their …

Retention Of Full-Time Clinical M.D. Faculty At U.S. Medical Schools, April Corrice, Shannon Fox, Sarah A. Bunton

Educational Leadership and Policy Faculty Publications and Presentations

Physician and faculty retention have garnered increased attention in recent years, in part because academic medical centers are grappling with the lost human and financial capital associated with turnover. Medical schools (and their departments) face significant financial costs when they lose faculty members. For example, one school demonstrated the average costs of replacing a single generalist and specialist totaled $115,554 and $286,503, respectively. In addition, with projected workforce shortages of over 90,000 physicians looming,2 physician faculty turnover will likely have workforce implications, especially within certain specialties. In response to these concerns, this Analysis in Brief (AIB) examines retention rates of …

An Exploration Of The Satisfaction And Experiences Of Part-Time U.S. Medical School Faculty, April Corrice, Sarah A. Bunton

Educational Leadership and Policy Faculty Publications and Presentations

Despite the fact that many medical schools have increased their reliance on part-time faculty over the past several decades, scant information about the experiences and job satisfaction of parttime faculty exists in the literature. This Analysis in Brief is an exploratory study to provide insight—from the part-time faculty perspective—into the unique issues facing this faculty group and suggestions they offer for improving the workplace. Understanding the part-time faculty members’ experience is important, as they serve a significant and permanent role in the medical school workforce. When used appositely, these part-time medical school faculty appointments can benefit both individuals and institutions. …

Trends In Tenure For Clinical M.D. Faculty In U.S. Medical Schools: A 25-Year Review, Sarah A. Bunton, April Corrice

Educational Leadership and Policy Faculty Publications and Presentations

The number of faculty in academic medical centers, and clinical enterprises in particular, has expanded profoundly over the past several decades. During this expansion, the prevalence of tenure systems and the actual numbers and proportions of tenured positions in U.S. medical schools have garnered much attention. Some commentators have remarked that tenure, as a system, is vanishing from schools and that the opportunity for tenure-track appointments is declining, especially for clinical faculty. This Analysis in Brief presents data on the current status of tenure systems, the changing distribution of clinical M.D. faculty on tenure-eligible tracks, and trends in numbers of …

Clinical Faculty Satisfaction With The Academic Medicine Workplace, Sarah A. Bunton, April Corrice, William T. Mallon

Educational Leadership and Policy Faculty Publications and Presentations

Faculty members in US academic medical centers face multiple pressures, including increasing clinical productivity while also providing quality education to medical students and residents. With the resulting potential for decreased job satisfaction and burnout, understanding these issues is paramount—especially given the associations of job satisfaction and important outcome measures like quality of patient care and retention. The turnover of these faculty could rise and pose great financial and human capital costs to institutions. Despite the challenging context in which clinical faculty find themselves, current understanding of the facets of clinical faculty workplace satisfaction, especially by specialty area, is limited. We …

The Relationship Between Tenure And Guaranteed Salary For U.S. Medical School Faculty, Sarah A. Bunton

Educational Leadership and Policy Faculty Publications and Presentations

Across all types of higher education in the United States, tenure has been historically linked to the concepts of academic freedom and economic security. In medical schools, however, the link between tenure and a financial guarantee has changed appreciably over the past decade into something much more tenuous. In the current economic environment where medical schools operate with limited and, arguably, unstable bases of “hard” funding, the liability of a financial guarantee to tenured faculty presents schools with a fiscal risk they often must manage. Accordingly, schools continue to revise their policies and increasingly provide no financial guarantee at all, …

U.S. Medical School Faculty Job Satisfaction, Sarah A. Bunton

Educational Leadership and Policy Faculty Publications and Presentations

Concerns about the vitality of faculty careers at U.S. medical schools have been well documented, as medical school leaders and researchers have raised awareness about overall career satisfaction, faculty stress and burnout, and struggles with recruitment and retention. Previous research has demonstrated an empirical link between job satisfaction and retention as well as job dissatisfaction and intent to leave an organization. This Analysis in Brief examines key areas of medical faculty job satisfaction and dissatisfaction and the disconnect for some faculty members between what they value in the workplace and actual workplace opportunities.

Challenges And Strategies Of Medical School Expansion, Sarah A. Bunton, William T. Mallon

Educational Leadership and Policy Faculty Publications and Presentations

The early twenty-first century will be known as a period of great expansion of medical education in the United States. Current projections indicate at least a 20 percent increase in the number of M.D. matriculants in U.S medical schools by 2013 over the 2002 benchmark.Most of this planned expansion has come from larger enrollments at existing medical schools. This Analysis in Brief explicates the major models of expanding class size at existing medical schools and examines several challenges of medical school expansion.

Job Satisfaction Of Us Medical School Faculty With A Focus On Internal Medicine Departments, April Corrice, Sarah A. Bunton

Educational Leadership and Policy Faculty Publications and Presentations

As demands on academic medical faculty have risen, medical school leaders and researchers have raised awareness about and attention to job satisfaction, faculty stress and burnout, and struggles with recruitment and retention. This increased attention is important because researchers have consistently demonstrated an empirical link between job satisfaction and retention as well as between job dissatisfaction and intent to leave an organization (1–4). Given the high costs of faculty turnover (5–7), it is essential to understand the factors that contribute to the satisfaction of medical school faculty. Using responses from a faculty satisfaction survey administered to full-time faculty at 10 …

Community College National Center For Community Engagement Accent On Student Success: Engaged Together For Service (Assets) Initiative Report, Christine M. Cress

Educational Leadership and Policy Faculty Publications and Presentations

This report is the first year of data findings (of a three year grant project) involving nine of the ten community colleges (one college did not submit data) who received funding from the Community College National Center for Community Engagement through a Learn and Serve America Higher Education grant as part of the Corporation for National and Community Service in an effort to expand the field of service-learning and civic engagement in diverse communities nationwide. The grant is intended to address two dimensions of this effort: 1) training and technical assistance; and 2) facilitation of sub-grantee projects in meeting community …

The Continued Evolution Of Tenure Policies For Clinical Faculty At U.S. Medical Schools, Sarah A. Bunton, William T. Mallon

Educational Leadership and Policy Faculty Publications and Presentations

For the past several decades, financial uncertainty, changes in health care delivery and reimbursement, and changing workforce needs have prompted medical schools to continually refine their appointment and tenure policies. This Analysis in Brief examines recent data for medical school clinical faculty by describing tenure systems, the financial guarantee associated with tenure, and probationary period length. Data come from two sources: first, responses to the AAMC’s 2005 Faculty Personnel Policies Survey of the 125 LCME-accredited U.S. medical schools. The survey instrument consists of questions about policies and procedures related to appointment, tenure, and compensation structures for medical school faculty. Deans …

A Rough Guide To Interdisciplinarity: Graduate Student Perspectives, Jessica K. Graybill, Sarah Dooling, Vivek Shandas, John Withey, Adrienne I. Greve, Gregory L. Simon

Institute for Sustainable Solutions Publications and Presentations

A widely held belief is that only through interdisciplinarity can academics effectively address today's complex ecological problems, because these problems demand cross-disciplinary efforts and specialized knowledge from natural and social scientists. Innovative interdisciplinary research and curricula have been created to train a new generation of scientists to engage with complex issues. It seems critical that those most affected by interdisciplinary education—doctoral students—provide feedback about such innovations. Without understanding students' experiences in interdisciplinary programs, faculty will not know whether they are "getting it right" for future generations of interdisciplinarians. From our experiences as doctoral students, we provide reflections and perspectives on …

The Impact Of Research Centers On Faculty Work Life, Sarah A. Bunton, William T. Mallon

Educational Leadership and Policy Faculty Publications and Presentations

Research centers are a common mechanism for facilitating scientific work in medical schools, but little is known about how faculty operate in these milieux. Given that centers and institutes span the boundaries of traditional departments, center-affiliated faculty members can find themselves with two ties to the medical school— one through their academic department and one through the research center. Some commentators have asserted that this fluidity of faculty roles and allegiances produces positive benefits while others have argued the opposite. This Analysis in Brief examines the impact of organized research centers on faculty productivity and work life. We administered the …

Recent Trends In Basic Science Department Reorganizations, Sarah A. Bunton

Educational Leadership and Policy Faculty Publications and Presentations

The past several decades have seen a rapid and profound expansion of knowledge within the biomedical sciences. Achievements in molecular biology, human genetics, and neuroscience, among others, have contributed to the realization that the complexity of science now lends itself to interdisciplinary and collaborative efforts. This transformation of biomedical science has led to questions regarding the organization of academic departments in U.S. medical schools around traditional basic science disciplines. Some have proposed that the discipline-based department impedes scientific progress and a new structure that breaks down boundaries is needed. Others believe that traditional basic science departments continue to foster valuable …

Engineering Education Through Service-Learning In Developing Communities: Two Case Studies, Evan A. Thomas, Andrew Azman

Mechanical and Materials Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

This paper provides case studies of two service learning projects that University of Colorado at Boulder (CU-Boulder) students are integrating into their academic experience. The projects focus on developing communities and are managed under the auspices of Engineers Without Borders-USA (EWB-USA), a group founded by Dr. Bernard Amadei, Professor of Civil Engineering at CU-Boulder. These projects expand students? understanding of the social value of their chosen profession, and expose them to a type of engineering significantly different than what is presented in most of their classes. Specifically, focusing on developing communities provides students with the opportunity to design solutions to …

The Functions Of Centers And Institutes In Academic Biomedical Research, William T. Mallon, Sarah A. Bunton

Educational Leadership and Policy Faculty Publications and Presentations

In this Analysis in Brief, we report on the findings from a 2004 survey of directors of research centers and institutes located at research-intensive medical schools and their parent universities, who identified their unit’s primary mission as basic, clinical, or other type of research. While many assertions have been made about the functions that centers and institutes perform, or do not perform, our findings indicate that their missions and roles are varied, complex, and nuanced. The 604 research centers and institutes in the study conduct a variety of tasks. For the purposes of this analysis, we define “some effort” to …

Essay Review Of Higher Education’S Imperative: Rising To The Challenge Of Educating Citizens, Priya Kapoor, Dilafruz Williams

Communication Faculty Publications and Presentations

This article provides a review of the book, "Educating Citizens: Preparing America's Undergraduates for Lives of Moral and Civic Responsibility" by by Anne Colby, Thomas Ehrlich, Elizabeth Beaumont, & Jason Stephens.

Distress Under Duress: The Relationship Between Campus Climate And Depression In Asian American College Students, Christine M. Cress, Elaine Kimiko Ikeda

Educational Leadership and Policy Faculty Publications and Presentations

Student perceptions of negative campus climate were predictive of Asian American students’ depression levels in spite of students’ entering proclivities toward depression and in spite of varying institutional types. In addition, these findings were consistent whether individual Asian American perceptions of campus climate were entered into the equation or whether institutional levels of campus perceptions (which included all racial and ethnic groups) were entered into the equation. Therefore, higher education institutions that are perceived by students to discriminate against individuals based on race or ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, or disability may put their Asian American students at risk for severe …

Transforming Technology Management Courses For Web Delivery, Wayne Wakeland

Systems Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

This paper explores the ramifications of using web technology in teaching technology management courses, computer-based modeling and simulation courses in particular. The emphasis is on what works, but disappointments are also mentioned. Web technology is being used to supplant lectures with self-paced materials and lab exercises that enable students to take courses remotely and asynchronously. Web-based exams are also discussed.

Teaching Systems Science In High School Compared To Graduate School, Wayne W. Wakeland

Systems Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

This paper compares System Dynamic models built by graduate students to those built by high school students. The motivation behind this comparison is to explore the question: "How effectively is feedback-oriented system dynamics being taught in secondary schools compared to graduate school?" The paper will also speculate regarding implications for other systems concepts.

Assessing Second Language Proficiency In An American University, Suwako Watanabe, Patricia Wetzel

World Languages and Literatures Faculty Publications and Presentations

There are currently two nation-wide trends that impinge significantly on language teaching and assessment at the university level in the U.S. One is the general wave of education reform, the other is the so-called "proficiency" movement in language teaching. That being said, these two categories are much too broad in their definitions and implications to be of any use in discussing what we wish to address here: actual practice in the second language classroom. We will therefore begin by constraining the relevant characteristics of each of these. We will then proceed to discuss their ongoing implications for what actually happens …