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Full-Text Articles in Higher Education and Teaching
The Use Of Song To Open An Educational Development Workshop: Exploratory Analysis And Reflections, Lawrence Lesser, Song An, Daniel Tillman
The Use Of Song To Open An Educational Development Workshop: Exploratory Analysis And Reflections, Lawrence Lesser, Song An, Daniel Tillman
To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development
Song has been used by faculty of many disciplines in their classrooms and, to a lesser extent, by educational developers in workshops. This paper shares and discusses a new song (about an instructor’s evolving openness to alternatives to lecture only teaching) and its novel use to open an educational development workshop. Self reported participant data from an exploratory survey suggest that the song was most effective in reducing stress as well as in increasing motivation, morale, engagement, and connection. Practical implications and implementation considerations are discussed regarding the song as well as related creative work.
Subjectivities In The Sandbox: Discovering Biases Through Visual Memo Writing, Bethany Lisi
Subjectivities In The Sandbox: Discovering Biases Through Visual Memo Writing, Bethany Lisi
To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development
Having insider status at an organization under study can present a researcher with benefits and challenges. Insider researchers may have access to honest dialogue with study participants but may also be vulnerable to uncomfortable conversations and organizational conflicts. Insider researchers also have to contend with their own biases they bring to a study. By using the reflexive practice of memo writing, insider researchers can be mindful of their own subjectivities during data collection and analysis. The purpose of this article is to share one approach to memo writing that incorporates visuals into the analysis and reflection. Through my use of …
A Faculty Wellness Workshop Series: Leveraging On Campus Expertise, Thomas M. Brinthaupt, Arielle Neal, Sheila Otto
A Faculty Wellness Workshop Series: Leveraging On Campus Expertise, Thomas M. Brinthaupt, Arielle Neal, Sheila Otto
To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development
Centers for Teaching and Learning (CTL) that suffer from funding and staffing issues must rely on outside resources to enhance their effectiveness. Even if funds and staff are adequate, most CTL can improve their reach and effectiveness by the partnerships they establish across their campuses. In this article, we describe a faculty wellness workshop series that illustrates the strategic leveraging we have been able to accomplish on our campus. The series included free standing faculty workshops devoted to stress management (partnering with Counseling Services), work life balance and workplace civility (with members of our faculty learning communities), voice coaching (with …
Improv(Ing) The Academy: Applied Improvisation As A Strategy For Educational Development, Jonathan P. Rossing, Krista Hoffmann Longtin
Improv(Ing) The Academy: Applied Improvisation As A Strategy For Educational Development, Jonathan P. Rossing, Krista Hoffmann Longtin
To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development
Improvisational theater training (or “improv”) is a strategy employed by many business leaders and educators to cultivate creativity and collaboration amid change. Drawing on improv principles such as “Yes, And…” and “Make your scene partners look good,” we explore the ways in which educational developers might apply principles of improv in 3 contexts: teaching and building classroom community, organizational development, and research collaboration. Faculty developers who successfully engage the principles of improv have the potential to help colleges and universities respond more effectively to complex problems and to manage the uncertainty of the future. By highlighting successful applications of improvisation …
Beyond Survival: Educational Development And The Maturing Of The Pod Network, Leslie Ortquist Ahrens
Beyond Survival: Educational Development And The Maturing Of The Pod Network, Leslie Ortquist Ahrens
To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development
Scholarship about the growth of educational development has charted major shifts in developers’ focuses and roles through time and, especially in recent years, has explored the professionalization of the field around the globe. This essay uses a lifecycle analogy to consider the development of one organization, the POD Network (The Professional and Organizational Development Network in Higher Education). After a brief and heady “start up phase,” and a long organizational “adolescence,” characterized by growth and by increasing formalization of processes, governance, and strategy, the POD Network is on the brink of entering a phase of greater maturity.
Toward A New Creative Scholarship Of Educational Development: The Teaching And Learning Project And An Opening To Discourse, Martin Springborg, Cassandra V. Horii
Toward A New Creative Scholarship Of Educational Development: The Teaching And Learning Project And An Opening To Discourse, Martin Springborg, Cassandra V. Horii
To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development
This invited essay of To Improve the Academy’s special feature on Creative Scholarship presents one example of creative scholarship in educational development as a forward to other forms and approaches in the special feature. This example, the Teaching and Learning Project, merges documentary and art photography traditions with faculty consultation. Following a review of the literatures of visual interpretation and instructional consultation, along with their intersection, the essay presents the Teaching and Learning Project in three ways: (a) as images, analyzed using the disciplinary grounding of the visual arts; (b) as a consultation methodology and an educational development practice; and …
Encouraging Faculty Attendance At Professional Development Events, Dakin Burdick, Tim Doherty, Naomi Schoenfeld
Encouraging Faculty Attendance At Professional Development Events, Dakin Burdick, Tim Doherty, Naomi Schoenfeld
To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development
For faculty development events to have the greatest impact on campus practice, faculty developers need to attract and include as many faculty members as possible at their events. This article describes the testing of a checklist regarding faculty attendance at professional development events through a survey of 238 faculty members at small colleges in the United States. The results demonstrate the influence of social relationships upon faculty attendance at teaching and learning events, the difficulties of scheduling such events, and motivational differences between full-time and adjunct faculty. The use of food as a motivator for attendance is also appraised. The …
A Teaching Conference Of One’S Own: Inviting Faculty Into The Scholarly Work Of Teaching, Julie Sievers
A Teaching Conference Of One’S Own: Inviting Faculty Into The Scholarly Work Of Teaching, Julie Sievers
To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development
This essay examines the value of creating a peer-reviewed conference on teaching at one’s own campus. A conference created by faculty and for faculty is an effective way to address several challenges faced by many teaching centers, especially the challenge of involving a wide range of faculty in scholarly approaches to teaching. I cite experience and data from my center’s work in this area over the past six years and contextualize it amidst the literature on the scholarship of teaching and learning.
Systems Alignment For Comprehensive Faculty Development In Liberal Arts Colleges, Vicki L. Baker, Laura G. Lunsford, Meghan J. Pifer
Systems Alignment For Comprehensive Faculty Development In Liberal Arts Colleges, Vicki L. Baker, Laura G. Lunsford, Meghan J. Pifer
To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development
Using an alignment framework, the authors explore faculty development initiatives in liberal arts colleges in order to understand the connection between organizational priorities and processes as connected to faculty members’ stated needs. The study draws on mixed methods data from The Initiative for Faculty Development in Liberal Arts Colleges (IFDLAC), including survey andinterview data from the 13 member institutions of the Great Lakes Colleges Association (GLCA).The authors offer future implications for faculty development practice.
Creating A Supportive Teaching Culture In The Research University Context: Strategic Partnering And Interdisciplinary Collaboration Between A Teaching Centerand Academic Units, Marie Kendall Brown, Patricia A. S. Ralston, Kathy B. Baumgartner, Melissa A. Schreck
Creating A Supportive Teaching Culture In The Research University Context: Strategic Partnering And Interdisciplinary Collaboration Between A Teaching Centerand Academic Units, Marie Kendall Brown, Patricia A. S. Ralston, Kathy B. Baumgartner, Melissa A. Schreck
To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development
This paper describes 2 “strategic partnering” and “interdisciplinary collaboration” case studies between a Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL) and an academic unit at a mid-sized metropolitan research university in the American Midwest. These faculty development partnerships were developed to meet the unique needs of faculty members who share a discipline area, present current information on specific teaching topics in order to deepen pedagogical knowledge and skills, provide opportunities for faculty to form a collegial group, and advance unit-specific goals relative to faculty development. The work is grounded in literature about the characteristics of a supportive teaching culture, characteristics of …
Just Ask: Using Faculty Input To Inform Communication Strategies, Krista Hoffmann Longtin, Megan M. Palmer, Julie L. Welch, Emily C. Walvoord, Mary E. Dankoski
Just Ask: Using Faculty Input To Inform Communication Strategies, Krista Hoffmann Longtin, Megan M. Palmer, Julie L. Welch, Emily C. Walvoord, Mary E. Dankoski
To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development
Faculty members today are bombarded with information, yet limited in time and attention. Managing communication with faculty is an increasingly important function of faculty development offices. This study explored how communication frameworks can be paired with web design principles and attention economics to increase the effectiveness of communication with faculty members. We developed and tested communication approaches designed to enhance faculty members’ identification and involvement with our programs. The advantages, disadvantages, and effectiveness of each model are presented. Ultimately, the study reframed our understanding of communication strategies, not as static tools, but rather as opportunities to engage faculty.
Developing Scholarly Teachers Through An Sotl Faculty Fellowship, Beth A. Fisher, Michelle D. Repice, Carolyn L. Dufault, Denise A. Leonard, Regina F. Frey
Developing Scholarly Teachers Through An Sotl Faculty Fellowship, Beth A. Fisher, Michelle D. Repice, Carolyn L. Dufault, Denise A. Leonard, Regina F. Frey
To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development
The increasing interest in incorporating evidenced based teaching in higher education has created a pronounced need for faculty to learn the theory and practice of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL). This article describes a program designed to prepare faculty to (a) draw on existing SoTL studies when designing and implementing evidenced based teaching methods, (b) design SoTL studies to test the effectiveness of those methods, and (c) integrate their new knowledge of SoTL into the practice of “scholarly teaching.” This program has proven to be a successful model for incorporating evidenced based teaching into undergraduate science, technology, engineering, …
Emotion In The Classroom: An Update, Janine Bowen
Emotion In The Classroom: An Update, Janine Bowen
To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development
Fourteen years ago, POD member Edward Vela drew attention to the role of emotion in learning. In particular he emphasized the need for faculty to express positive emotions in the classroom. Since then researchers continue to measure the effectiveness of positive emotion in student learning but the field of emotion in the classroom has expanded since Vela's essay. The purpose of this article is to not only update Vela's citations on emotion and learning but to provide a broader perspective on the topic and assist faculty developers. Ashkanasy's five level model frames the discussion.
Peer Collaboration: Improving Teaching Through Comprehensive Peer Review, Shelley L. Smith
Peer Collaboration: Improving Teaching Through Comprehensive Peer Review, Shelley L. Smith
To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development
This article includes a brief rationale and review of the literature on peer review of teaching (PRT). Based on that literature review, it offers a proposal for an optimal formative review process that results in a teaching portfolio that would reflect a faculty member’s efforts and successes in a critically reflective PRT process, and contributes to ongoing teaching improvement. It then looks at potential areas of faculty resistance and concern and offers a discussion of potential strategies to overcome those concerns.