Higher Education and Teaching Commons^™

It Works For Me: Shared Tips For Teaching, Charlie Sweet, Hal Blythe

Hal Blythe

Why bother to read yet another book about teaching? What can you possibly gain that will prepare you to meet those daily moments of truth? Perhaps this book's title suggests the answer. It Works for Me: Shared Tips for Teaching is not a treatise on pedagogical theory, nor is it designed to dictate a set of rules for success in the classroom. Its purpose is not to provide you with a complete program for better teaching. It Works for Me is simply a collection of practical tips drawn from the real-life experiences of some outstanding college teachers across the disciplines. …

Volume 12, Number 01, Don Forrester Editor

Reaching Through Teaching

Full text of Volume 12, Number 01 of Reaching Through Teaching.

Regional Disparities In Kentucky Academic Index Scores, Edward B. Reeves, Harold Harty

Faculty Research at Morehead State University

Recent newspaper articles by columnist Bill Bishop in the Lexington Herald-Leader point to persistent regional disparities in achievement in Kentucky public schools. In spite of a mandate to create educational equality, the Kentucky Education Reform Act (KERA) has not eliminated inequalities in school performance scores and the problem may even be getting worse according to Mr. Bishop. The objective of the present study is to determine what disparities exist among Kentucky’s eight Service Center Regions. The analysis uses school Academic Index scores, from 1992-93 to 1996-97, averaged by region. The regional averages (or means) are compared descriptively along with the …

Volume 11, Number 02, Lana Wachniak Editor

Reaching Through Teaching

Full text of Volume 11, Number 02 of Reaching Through Teaching.

Promoting Science Teacher Education Through Dissonance And Discrepancy, Nelofer Halai, Alan E. Wheeler

Institute for Educational Development, Karachi

While inquiry in science teaching has found a great deal of acceptance (Colletet and Chiapetta, 1989), there is a growing recognition that educators need a wider repertoire of inquiry strategies applicable to various situations. One promising approach is through the use of so-called ‘dissonant’ or ‘discrepant events’. This concept of discrepancy can be traced to the early work of Festinger (1975) and his Theory of Cognitive Dissonance in which he stated that the creation of dissonance is psychologically very uncomfortable and motivates individuals to actively reduce the level of dissonance and thereby return to a state of greater equilibrium or …

Urban University Adjunct Faculty Perceptions Of Professional Development Needs, Merodie Anne Hancock

Theses and Dissertations in Urban Services - Urban Education

The purpose of this study was to determine Old Dominion University adjunct faculty members' perceptions of their professional development needs. A three-round Delphi technique was employed as the primary research tool. An initial stratified sample of 120 current adjunct faculty members was selected by college associate deans. The research was conducted with 57 adjunct faculty members completing all three rounds of the study.

The first research question was to ascertain Old Dominion University adjunct faculty members' perceptions of their professional development needs toward teaching for an urban university. Sixteen development needs were derived representing all of the inputs from respondents. …

Do Contextual Effects Bias Kentucky School District Accountability Index Scores?, Edward B. Reeves

Faculty Research at Morehead State University

Kentucky’s system of high-stakes accountability raises the question: Should teachers and school administrators be held accountable for student test results if the scores are influenced by external factors over which these educators have no control? The goal of the present study is to investigate if such external factors, or “contextual effects,” bias the accountability index scores. The issue is important because school districts, schools, and educators should be assessed in a fair manner. The focus of the study is on the Kentucky school district accountability index scores for the 1992-94 and 1994-96 biennia. District scores, rather than school scores, were …

Taking Instruction Online: The Art Of Delivery, Donna R. Everett

Faculty Research at Morehead State University

The notion that people seek to make meaning out of their world, whether it is the classroom or the living room, is not a new one. Educational philosophers and learning theorists have attempted to explain how learners learn and construct meaning from instruction or the classroom. Stimulus-response theorists (Thorndike, Guthrie, Pavlov—as cited in Hilgard & Bower, 1966; Watson, 1960; and Skinner, 1960) view learners as reactive, passive robots only responding when stimulated by something outside of themselves. Reese & Overton (1970) propose to call this the mechanistic world view—any change in the learners comes from outside of themselves. Organismic theorists …

On Becoming A Greek Poet, Charles Hartman

English Faculty Publications

Presents the essay `On Becoming a Greek Poet,' which deals with experiences in teaching poetry in Athens, Greece.

Enhancing Multicultural Education Through Higher Education Initiatives, Porter L. Troutman Jr.

Trotter Review

This paper describes a comprehensive initiative intended to increase multicultural education and the amount of ethnic diversity among college of education faculty and undergraduate teacher education students at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV). The paper details six components of the on-going initiative: 1) staff development: to enhance the sensitivity of college of education faculty regarding cultural issues, 2) a minority mentoring program: to provide a stronger support system for under-represented populations enrolled in the teacher education program, 3) the multicultural education project (MCE): a collaborative effort with the public school district in multicultural education, 4) the College of …

Preparing White Undergraduate Pre-Service Teachers To Teach African-American Students: What Does It Take?, Frances Y. Lowden

Trotter Review

A strong appreciation and knowledge of diverse cultures is vital in delivering what the Association for Childhood Education International position paper identifies as the curricular areas that should be addressed in a preparation program for teachers of young children. Thus, undergraduates must develop: 1) an acquaintance with great music, art and literature, 2) a knowledge of health, safety and nutrition, 3) an understanding of the physical and biological aspects of the world and the universe 4) a knowledge of mathematical concepts 5) an ability to read with comprehension, then to analyze, interpret, and judge a wide range of written material, …

Traits And Conditions That Accelerate Teacher Learning, Susan Barduhn

Susan Barduhn

Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Thames Valley University, London.

Dialogue: A Qualitative Study Of A Faculty Development Intervention To Assist Faculty In Exploring The Practitioner Assumptions That Impact Their Role In Higher Education And Medical Education, Donna M. Qualters

Educational Studies Dissertations

The Dialogue study is concerned with understanding how Dialogue could be applied to faculty development. Dialogue is a structured form of group interaction developed as an organizational behavior tool (Isaacs, 1993) which creates space for practitioner assumptions to be probed and insight into practice be achieved. It provides an intervention for faculty at the pre-contemplative stage of change (Prochaska, 1986), who are not motivated to modify their practice. The study focused on self-selected multi-discipline faculty from a four year institution and a public medical school. Participants ranged in experience from one to thirty five years of practice. This study was …

Volume 11, Number 01, Lana Wachniak Editor

Reaching Through Teaching

Full text of Volume 11, Number 01 of Reaching Through Teaching.

How Can We Make Our Mathematics Lessons Meaningful And Enjoyable?, Takbir Ali

Book Chapters / Conference Papers

No abstract provided.

Teachers' Understanding Of Word Problems, Mir Afzal Tajik

Book Chapters / Conference Papers

No abstract provided.

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 …

Academic Civility Begins In The Classroom, Roger G. Baldwin

Professional and Organizational Development Network in Higher Education: Archives

Values and traditions supporting academic civility are learned in the classroom. This essay discusses the role of the college professor in promoting civil discourse and nurturing overall academic civility.

Can Games Help Develop Mathematical Thinking?, Dilshad Ashraf, Habib Hussain, Abdul Ghafoor, Dulshon Shamatov

Book Chapters / Conference Papers

No abstract provided.

Problem-Based Learning: Preparing Students To Succeed In The 21st Century, Barbara J. Duch, Deborah E. Allen, Harold B. White Iii

Professional and Organizational Development Network in Higher Education: Archives

College graduates who can think critically, solve complex problems, communicate clearly, and work effectively in teams will be prepared for the challenges of the 21st century. Problem-based learning (PBL) helps students develop these crucial skills.

Keys To Using Learning Groups Effectively, Larry K. Michaelsen

Professional and Organizational Development Network in Higher Education: Archives

Irrespective of such factors as subject matter and class size, small group work can produce positive motivational and learning outcomes. The key is appropriately managing the variables discussed in this essay.

Adding Online Computer Methods To Your Repertoire Of Teaching Strategies, Nancy A. Diamond

Professional and Organizational Development Network in Higher Education: Archives

On-line teaching methods offer interesting strategies for teaching whatever you already want to teach. This essay describes a broad range of on-line methods and details the elements necessary for their optimal use.

Relating Student Experience To Courses And The Curriculum, Virginia S. Lee

Professional and Organizational Development Network in Higher Education: Archives

This essay offers a rationale for incorporating students’ personal experience into the curriculum and techniques for doing so to facilitate both cognitive and affective curricular objectives.

The Critical Match Between Motivation To Learn And Motivation To Teach, Ronald Teeples, Harvey Wichman

Professional and Organizational Development Network in Higher Education: Archives

Student motives to learn cannot be effectively understood as something independent of prevailing pedagogies, which are shaped by motives to teach. The authors discuss bringing these two aspects of motivation into closer congruence.

Developing A Philosophy Of Teaching Statement, Nancy Van Note Chism

Professional and Organizational Development Network in Higher Education: Archives

Suggestions are presented for preparing a statement about one’s philosophy of teaching in relationship to the preparation of a teaching portfolio. Included are ideas on developing several common components of such statements.

Writing To Learn, Judith Kalman, Calvin Kalman

Professional and Organizational Development Network in Higher Education: Archives

The authors explain a technique that discourages the viewing of material as an agglomeration of disembodied facts and fosters students’ awareness of the concepts underlying the topics being discussed.

Masochism: Disciplines Of Desire; Politics Of Power; Aesthetics Of Cruelty, Ruth Walker, Natalya Lusty

Ruth Walker

No abstract provided.

It Works For Me: Shared Tips For Teaching, Charlie Sweet, Hal Blythe

Charlie Sweet

Why bother to read yet another book about teaching? What can you possibly gain that will prepare you to meet those daily moments of truth? Perhaps this book's title suggests the answer. It Works for Me: Shared Tips for Teaching is not a treatise on pedagogical theory, nor is it designed to dictate a set of rules for success in the classroom. Its purpose is not to provide you with a complete program for better teaching. It Works for Me is simply a collection of practical tips drawn from the real-life experiences of some outstanding college teachers across the disciplines. …