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INNOVATIVE HIGHER EDUCATION
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Peter Sloat Hoff, "Hutchins's University of Utopia: Institutional Independence, Academic Freedom, and Radical Restructuring"
In a crisis-plagued world looking to higher education for knowledge, wisdom, and solutions, higher education itself is stumbling. Its transformational thinking has frozen up like an overstressed computer program; and we need, in effect, to "push the reset button." In 1953, the renowned and controversial president of the University of Chicago, Robert M. Hutchins, authored a refreshing and provocative work, The University of Utopia, containing ideas that still challenge today's paradigms. He argued for institutional independence over "accountability," "outcomes," and "stakeholders." He indicted educational evils he called "industrialization," "specialization," "philosophical diversity," and "social and political conformity" and suggested ways to defeat them. Although his 56-year-old thoughts on reconceptualizing the multiversity are not a panacea, they could help higher education make a fresh start. This essay reintroduces the modern reader to Hutchins's iconoclastic and stimulating ideas in the hope of restarting the stalled agenda for educational reform.
Prudence Merton, Jeff Froyd, M. Carolyn Clark, and Jim Richardson, "A Case Study of Relationships between Organizational Culture and Curricular Change in Engineering Education"
We examined two curricular change efforts at a small, midwestern engineering and science college in order to explore how organizational culture influences curricular change processes. We found that the failure of one effort (measured by inability to sustain the curriculum over time) and the success of the other (the curriculum continues to be offered by the institution) were directly linked to how well the change strategies aligned with the culture of the institution.
Ann Sherman and Leo Mac Donald, "Service Learning Experiences in University Science Degree Courses"
This article describes a study about a service learning project at a small undergraduate university. We examined how professors and students became involved in service learning through course work and related activities. This study sought to find out why participation in service learning is low in post-secondary education science and mathematics courses. Participants described challenges to participation as well as benefits which, if emphasized, may allow for some growth in participation by science degree students.
Silvia Gilardi and Edoardo Lozza, "Inquiry-based Learning and Undergraduates' Professional Identity Development: Assessment of a Field Research-based Course"
Innovative strategies in inquiry-based learning are recognized as improving the quality of higher education learning, but there is a need to explore whether and how these strategies promote the development of professional identity among undergraduates. In this article we describe an inquiry-based course, situated in a European context, which is designed to support students' professional identity development through reflective practice; and we present the assessment of students' learning outcomes. Results highlight the key roles of field research, peer groups, and a narrative approach in promoting positive student attitudes toward reflecting on their production of knowledge and in developing their professional identity.
Robert Orr, Mitchell R. Williams, and Kevin Pennington, "Institutional Efforts to Support Faculty in Online Teaching"
Effective processes, practices, and infrastructure are essential components of successful online teaching and learning efforts; and they lead to a sense of faculty ownership of online teaching as well as enhanced support from an institution's administration. The institution's recognition of faculty members' efforts to teach online in relation to the traditional concepts of scholarship, tenure, and promotion is an important motivational factor for sustaining effectiveness in the online learning environment. This study examined institutional efforts to alleviate or overcome challenges faced by faculty members in creating and teaching online courses, and we investigated faculty members' perceptions regarding these institutional efforts.
Lee A. Swanson, "Value Perceptions as Influences upon Engagement"
This study was designed to assess whether changes in stakeholders' perceptions about the value generated by an institution might influence the nature of their engagement with it. Quantitative and qualitative analysis of research data revealed a positive correlation between stakeholders who believed an institution generated social or economic value and those who had higher levels of involvement with it. The results also indicated that the nature of this stakeholder engagement with the institution would change if their perceptions were altered regarding the value it generated. These important new insights fill a gap in institutional-stakeholder engagement theory and can help inform leaders as they consider engagement strategies.
J. Patrick Biddix, Patricia A. Somers, and Joseph L. Polman, "Protest Reconsidered: Identifying Democratic and Civic Engagement Learning Outcomes"
Using a case study approach, the authors examine the democratic and civic engagement learning outcomes of a campus protest. The conceptual framework is built on the ideas outlined in Learning Reconsidered (Keeling, 2004) and modeled in its pragmatic follow-up, Learning Reconsidered 2 (Keeling, 2006). Results suggest student and campus administrator actions during a campus protest support democratic aims, student development, and digital age democracy. Recommendations for campus educators are included. This study extends previous discussion on activism's journey from detrimental to developmental (Astin, 1999; Chambers & Phelps, 1993; Hamrick, 1998; Hunter, 1988) by mapping the learning environment through the interaction of protestor and university and by incorporating new forms of activism.
David DiRamio, Ryan Theroux, and Anthony J. Guarino, "Faculty Hiring at Top-Ranked Higher Education Administration Programs: An Examination Using Social Network Analysis"
Using network analysis we investigated faculty hiring at 21U. S. News top-ranked programs in higher education administration. Our research questions were as follows. Do top programs hire from each other? Are faculty from the "outside" finding positions at top programs? Mixed results hint at implications for the "health" of the hiring network. Closed systems in higher education may produce unintended consequences as graduate programs look to expand into new global markets.
Whitney Ransom McGowan and Charles R. Graham, "Factors Contributing to Improved Teaching Performance"
This article focuses upon the quality and scholarship of teaching as it pertains to educational and faculty development. We outline what more than 200 faculty members at one institution have done over a three-year period to make significant and sustained improvements in their teaching, surprisingly with minimal effort. The top three factors leading to improvement were active/practical learning, teacher/student interactions, and clear expectations/learning outcomes. We provide practical applications for change and suggestions for future research.
Shouping Hu, Kathryine Scheuch, and Joy Gaston Gayles, "The Influences of Faculty on Undergraduate Student Participation in Research and Creative Activities"
Using data collected from surveys of college juniors and seniors and faculty members in related academic departments, this study examined whether faculty teaching and research orientations, as well as faculty external funding, had any impact on undergraduate student participation in research and creative activities. The results of the study indicated that faculty research orientation and external funding were indeed positively related to student participation in research activities. However, faculty members' teaching orientation was not significant. Further analyses indicated that faculty teaching and research orientations had different impacts on a range of research and creative activities by undergraduate students. The findings from this study provide insight on ways of improving college teaching and learning as well as informing the development of institutional academic policies related to faculty and undergraduate education.
Jualynne E. Dodson, Beronda L. Montgomery, and Lesley J. Brown, "'Take the Fifth': Mentoring Students Whose Cultural Communities Were Not Historically Structured Into U.S. Higher Education"
This article presents a description of the African Atlantic Research Team as exemplary of ten years of successful mentoring of undergraduate and graduate university students who are focused on a Ph.D. in disciplines traditionally associated with academic research and teaching. The team is distinctive because it is multi-disciplinary in composition, the majority of its members are from communities historically excluded from structures of U.S. higher education, and its activities focus on members working collaboratively and collectively through most areas of their academic learning and socialization. Though the numbers of this case study are small, 95% of team members successfully completed their bachelor's degree with majors that facilitate their application for graduate study in disciplines linked to academic research, writing, and university instruction. These undergraduate majors differ from those focusing upon social problems or applied or professional majors. Eighty percent of the team members applied for graduate study, and only one did not attend graduate school.
Johnny Goldfinger, "Democracy Plaza: A Campus Space for Civic Engagement"
This article examines "Democracy Plaza," a campus space dedicated to written and spoken communication about issues of public concern. The Plaza gives students opportunities to become civically engaged through self-expression and the exchange of ideas. A series of chalkboards on the Plaza allows them to write their thoughts and read the comments of others, and events where students can speak and deliberate about important civic matters are hosted in this space. This article discusses the concept of Democracy Plaza and its development, maintenance, and utilization as a campus space for civic engagement.
Maria L. Blanton and Despina A. Stylianou, "Interpreting a Community of Practice Perspective I Discipline-Specific Professional Development in Higher Education"
Through this study we explored a community of practice framework applied to faculty professional development at a mid-size state university in order to examine the issues unique to discipline-specific professional development in higher education. Through content-focused professional development activities conducted by the authors, several key areas were identified that point to challenges in building a faculty community of teaching practice: (a) the need for a culture of professional development, (b) developing old-timers and recruiting newcomers, (c) the need for teaching scholars to coordinate professional development, (d) challenging the "culture of service", and (e) the need for a language to mediate thinking about practice.
Phyllis Blumberg, "Maximizing Learning Through Course Alignment and Experience with Different Types of Knowledge"
Consistency among the objectives, learning activities, and assessment exercises results in aligned courses, which give students direction and clarity and yield increased learning. However, instructors may not check for course alignment. This article describes a concrete way to determine course alignment by plotting the course components on a table using the cognitive process levels from a revised taxonomy of learning objectives. Once instructors realize that courses are misaligned, they can make adjustments. By giving students experience with varied types of knowledge, which is the other part of this taxonomy, they also learn more. The types of knowledge include factual, conceptual, procedural, and meta-cognitive knowledge.
Eduardo C. Arellano and Mario C. Martinez, "Does Educational preparation Match Professional Practice: The Case of Higher Education Policy Analysts"
This study compares the extent to which higher education policy analysts and master's and doctoral faculty of higher education and public affairs programs match on a set of competencies thought to be important to higher education policy analysis. Analysts matched master's faculty in three competencies while analysts and doctoral faculty matched in five competencies. The findings suggest possible reasons why analysts and graduate faculty agree or differ on various competencies. Also, the findings raise important questions regarding the preparation of higher education policy analysts and the graduate programs that educate them. This study is an addition to the body of competency literature.
Susan A. Santo, Mary E. Engstrom, Linda Reetz, William E. Schweinle, and Kristine Reed, "Faculty Productivity Barriers and Supports at a School of Education"
All programs in a midwestern university recently embarked on a path to help increase the scholarly productivity of faculty. The effort to develop a research emphasis within the School of Education required determining the needs of tenure-track faculty regarding meeting the new requirements. The purposes of our study were to investigate these needs and identify the individual, environmental, and leadership factors that affect faculty productivity. Findings revealed a need to transform the School's service and teaching culture to a culture of research and scholarship. Recommendations for helping other schools of education to become more research-oriented are provided. While the study focuses on data from a particular School of Education, the implications may generalize to faculty productivity within other institutions, particularly within professional schools.
Katrina A. Meyer, "What's Yours is Mine: An Investigation of Current Copyright Policies of Education Journals"
This research investigated the current copyright policies of 21 education journals published by academic societies, universities and university presses, and commercial publishers. For the sample I chose only journals with a copyright policy on the journal or publisher web site, and I then analyzed the content of the policies in order to answer three research questions. (1) What is the nature of copyright for education journals? (2) What evidence exists for the adoption of various copyright innovations (e.g., use of Creative Commons, shared copyright)? (3) Is innovation widespread or limited to certain types of journals? The findings indicate that 16 journals (76%) had traditional "transfer of copyright" policies. However, five journals (24%) offered a range of innovations, including shared copyright, author-retained copyright, first publication rights, and use of Creative Commons licensing.
Jeni Hart and Matthew M. Mars, "Joint Appointments and the Professoriate: Two Houses but no Home?
Interdisciplinary work within higher education has increased significantly over past decades (Amey, 2004; Creamer & Lattuca, 2005). However, the professional implications of interdisciplinary research and instruction for the faculty members who engage in such academic work remain unclear. This study of science educators who hold appointments in two academic departments begins to address this empirical gap. The outcomes provide insight into the factors that influence the professional lives of these faculty members. The knowledge gained from the study will provide mentors, colleagues, and administrators insight into the challenges facing academics undertaking this work. Further, this research seeks to inform policy makers in regard to how tenure and promotion is determined for jointly appointed faculty in science education and other interdisciplinary fields.
Rashné R. Jehangir, "Cultivating Voice: First-Generation Students Seek Full Academic Citizenship in Multicultural Learning Communities"
Research has shown that first-generation, low-income college students experience both isolation and marginalization, especially during their first-year of college, which impacts their long-term persistence in higher education. In this article, I argue that learning community pedagogy designed with attention to multicultural curricula is one vehicle to address the challenges faced by these college students. Organized around the themes of identity, community, and agency, an interdisciplinary Multicultural Learning Voices Community (MLVC) was created at a large, public midwestern research university to provide TRiO students with challenging academic coursework that would connect with their lived experience and help them build bridges of social and academic integration during their critical first year of college. This article presents qualitative data from a multiple case study of seven cohorts of the MLVC, which captures students' perceptions of their experience.
Michael Harris and Roxanne Cullen, "A Model for Curricular Revision: The Case of Engineering"
The ability to teach one's self is a critical skill for workers in the 21st century because of the rapidity of change and innovation. To educate students to meet this challenge, we need to re-envision curriculum with the goal of producing graduates who have the ability to complete the transition from novice to expert after graduation and continue to deepen their expertise throughout their careers. Using engineering education as a model of current efforts in curricular revision, we present a method for curricular review based on learning types in order to design an undergraduate experience that is transformative and congruent with a learner-centered approach.
Michael S. Harris, "Message in a Bottle: University Advertising During Bowl Games"
Through this descriptive qualitative study of institutional advertisements aired on television during the 2006-2007 college football bowl season, I sought to understand the messages communicated by colleges and universities to external audiences. The findings demonstrate the focus on selling the private benefits of higher education and call into question the effectiveness of university marketing and branding efforts.
Benita J. Barnes and Ann E. Austin, "The Role of Doctoral Advisors: A Look at Advising from the Advisor's Perspective"
The doctoral advisor is said to be one of the most important persons—if not the single most critical person—with whom doctoral students will develop a relationship during their doctoral degree programs (Baird, 1995). However, we have limited knowledge regarding how doctoral advisors see their roles and responsibilities as advisors. Therefore, through in-depth interviews, we explored the perceptions of 25 exemplary doctoral advisors, who have graduated a large number of doctoral students, about their roles and responsibilities as advisors. We conclude this article with implications for doctoral education.
Miles McNall, Celeste Sturdevant Reed, Robert Brown, and Angela Allen, "Brokering Community-University Engagement"
Although substantial areas of agreement exist regarding the characteristics of effective community-university partnerships for research, there is little empirical research on the relationship between the characteristics of such partnerships and their outcomes. In this study, we explored the relationship between partnership characteristics and partnership outcomes. Analyses of the relationships between partnership dynamics and perceived benefits show that 1) effective partner management is associated with increased research on a community issue, problem, or need; 2) co-creation of knowledge is associated with improved service outcomes for clients; and 3) shared power and resources are negatively associated with increased funding for community partners' organizations. Our findings suggest that effective partnership management and opportunities for the co-creation of knowledge are practices that are worthy of deliberate cultivation within community-university partnerships for research.
Eva Erdosne Toth, Becky L. Morrow, and Lisa R. Ludvico, "Designing Blended Inquiry Learning in a Laboratory Context: A Study of Incorporating Hands-On and Virtural Laboratories"
This article reports on the development of a methodology that integrates virtual and hands-on inquiry in a freshman introductory biology course. Using a 2 time x 2 order-condition design, an effective combination (blend) of the two environments was evaluated with 39 freshman biology participants. The quantitative results documented no significant effect of presentation order but demonstrated a significant effect of the combined learning experience. The qualitative results showed a strong preference by students for the virtual work preceding the hands-on laboratory. The study provides practitioners an effective alternative to traditional instructional practices by combining virtual and hands-on inquiry learning
Summer Smith Taylor, "Effects of Studio Space on Teaching and Learning: Preliminary Findings from Two Case Studies"
Recognizing that traditional classrooms do not facilitate active learning, colleges and universities are increasingly converting traditional classroom space into studio space. Research indicates positive effects on student learning when studio classroom space is combined with active learning pedagogy, but the research does not separate the effect of the space from the effect of the pedagogy or address the effect of the space on teaching. The case studies described in this article suggest that studio space can launch teachers into active learning pedagogy and can increase the positive effects of that pedagogy on learning. Teachers and students perceived direct effects of the space itself.
Tammy Stone, "Departments in Academic Receivership: Possible Causes and Solutions"
This article explores the concept of academic receivership in U.S. colleges and universities. Academic receivership occurs when control of an academic department or program is removed from the faculty and an outside chair is put in place by the college or university administration. A literature review is supplemented by a small survey to assess how common receivership is and how it is administered. Combined, these elements allow for a discussion of the warning signs that a department is becoming dysfunctional and a procedure to guide a department through the receivership process.
Dieter J. Schonwetter, Debra L. Dawson, Judy Britnell, "Program Assessments: Success Strategies for Three Canadian Teaching Centers"
Program assessments are an essential part of the ongoing survival of teaching centers performed by faculty development personnel at institutions of higher education. Little research is available to guide developers in performing these assessments. In this article we describe assessments conducted at three Canadian universities and highlight the theoretical models used to guide the process. Reflections on the strengths and challenges are discussed for each program assessment for the purpose of assisting faculty developers in performing similar program assessments of their faculty development offices.
Karri A. Holley and Barrett J. Taylor, "Undergraduate Student Socialization and Learning in an Online Professional Curriculum"
Using data collected from a qualitative case study of an online baccalaureate nursing program, we examined the influence of online degree programs on undergraduate student socialization and learning. We considered how components of socialization—knowledge acquisition, investment, and involvement—are influenced by the online context. The findings suggest the importance of considering non-academic influences in regards to nontraditional student experiences. The theoretical intersection of online learning and undergraduate student development offers new and significant areas of research, specifically related to the pedagogical role of faculty and the impact of social engagement. Implications for future research and practice are offered.
Kay Pippin Uchiyama and Jean L. Radin, "Curriculum Mapping in Higher Education: A Vehicle for Collaboration"
This qualitative study makes the case for the implementation of curriculum mapping, a procedure that creates a visual representation of curriculum based on real time information, as a way to increase collaboration and collegiality in higher education. Through the use of curriculum mapping, eleven faculty members in a western state university Teacher Licensure program aligned and revised the teacher education curriculum across a sequence of courses. An increase in collaboration and collegiality among faculty emerged as an unintended outcome as a result of participation in the project.
Katrina A. Meyer, "The 'Virtual Face' of Institutions: What Do Home Pages Reveal About Higher Education?"
This research investigated the use of home pages by 40 higher education institutions, of which 10 each were Doctoral/Research, Master's, Baccalaureate, and Community Colleges. The institutions were also grouped by region and were drawn from 40 different states. Using an instrument based on criteria for evaluating web sites (Gurak, 2001), the descriptive study answered three research questions. (1) How are higher education institutions using their home pages? (2) How well do these home pages perform? (3) What does higher education's "virtual face" say about higher education in general? Findings indicate that institutions use their home pages for students and for functionality; and, while many home pages were well-designed, a minority were messy, required users to hunt for important services, and were difficult for the inexperienced user. The findings indicated that higher education's "virtual face" may indeed be functional for insiders, but it was confusing to users who are new to higher education or the web.
George M. Dennison, "Honors Education and the Prospects for Academic Reform"
Honors education has the potential to serve as the foundation for reform of undergraduate education. Calls for reform during the last three decades have not resulted in change, in large measure because of the failure to engage the faculty and students in the effort. While prescriptions for change have abounded, conditions on campus and within society at large have not proven favorable. This article suggests that the implementation of Honors education helps to create the conditions supportive of reform.
Elizabeth H. Dow, "Successful Inter-institutional Resource Sharing in a Niche Educational Market: Formal Collaboration Without a Contract"
Funded by an Institute for Museum and Library Services National Leadership grant, five universities developed a system to provide archives education courses-a niche curriculum-to each other. They use compressed video over Internet 2 in a resource-sharing collaboration across five states and two time zones. The original grant ran from 2002-2005, during which time the collaborative offered eight courses to 140 students. Between 2006 and 2008, it offered eleven courses to 177 students. This article details the administrative model, based solely on School- and Department-level agreements, which have enabled this resource-sharing collaborative to thrive after grant support ceased. While developed for archives education programs, the model could enhance any niche curriculum program.
Lorilee R. Sandmann and David J. Weerts, "Reshaping Institutional Boundaries to Accommodate an Engagement Agenda"
Key voices influencing higher education are increasingly aware of engagement in effecting change. Public research universities have missions compatible with engagement, but efforts to institutionalize it may conflict with their underlying values. Using boundary expansion as the analytical framework, this study compared the institutionalization of engagement at two types of public research universities. Land-grant universities implement engagement primarily through outreach and extension in specialized units. At urban or metropolitan universities, engagement is more often a university-wide agenda, impacting teaching, research, and partnerships. The difference between the two approaches can be explained by examining institutional capacity for boundary reshaping and expansion.
Erik E. Morales, "Exceptional Female Students of Color: Academic Resilience and Gender in Higher Education"
In researching the exceptional academic performance of thirty-one female and nineteen male low socioeconomic college students of color, three distinctly female approaches to exceptional achievement arose from the data. These included the inordinate degree of familial resistance faced by the females and their approaches to that resistance, the value and importance of post-college goals and ambition, and the presence of effective cross-gender mentoring relationships. The impact of racial, ethnic, class and gender-based identities in relation to academic performance is also explored.
Shouping Hu, George D. Kuh, and Shaoqing Li, “The Effects of Engagement in Inquiry-Oriented Activities on Student Learning and Personal Development”
Using data from the College Student Experience Questionnaire (CSEQ) research program between 1998 and 2004, this study examined the effects of student engagement in inquiry-oriented activities on a range of self-reported college outcomes. The results indicate that 1) engaging in inquiry-oriented activities has significant and positive effects on a global measure of gains; 2) engagement has positive effects on some college outcomes but negative effects on others; 3) the effects of inquiry-oriented activities are conditional, with some students benefiting more than others. This study reveals the complexity of the influences of inquiry-oriented activities on college students and points to implications for institutional policies and programs that may be effective in fostering desired college outcomes.
William C. Bosch, Jessica L. Hester, Virginia M. MacEntee, James A. MacKenzie, T. Mark Morey, James T. Nichols, Patricia A. Pacitti, Barbara A. Shaffer, Suzanne P. Weber, and Rosalie R. Young, “Beyond Lip-service: An Operational Definition of ‘Learning-centered College’”
Faculty, staff, and student perceptions of high-quality learning experiences were explored using focus groups attempting to define a “learning-centered” college. Common themes emerged suggesting that a successful learning community requires faculty-student collaboration, effective communication, critical thinking skills, reciprocal respect, faculty passion for learning, high expectations of both students and faculty, a variety of teaching and assessment strategies, and student engagement in and responsibility for learning. All groups stressed the need for learning opportunities outside the classroom in both intellectual and social situations. These themes provide a conceptual framework for future campus initiatives, which has broad relevance for other institutions.
James A. McLoughlin, Lih-Ching Chen Wang, and William A. Beasley, “Transforming the College through Technology: A Change of Culture”
In this article we address the implementation of sustainable technological change among the faculty, staff, and students in the College of Education and Human Services at a mid-western urban institution. We examine cultural factors common to institutions of higher education and then describe particular planning and implementation processes employed at one institution to move faculty and staff from a state of minimal technology use to one of substantial technological competence over a period of years. The process turns out to be robust and stable despite growth over time. We conclude with recommendations for other educational institutions facing similar needs for cultural change in the use of technology.
Norman Evans and Lynn Henrichsen, “Long-term Strategic Incrementalism: An Approach and a Model for Bringing About Change in Higher Education”
Innovation and reform are crucial to progress, but higher education institutions are by nature highly resistant to change. This article describes long-term strategic incrementalism, an approach to change advocated by Cuban (1999), and proposes a model based on this approach as a proven way of successfully carrying out change within higher education. The approach and model are illustrated through two cases involving reforms—one at the department level and another at the institutional level.
Susan K. Gardner, “Fitting the Mold of Graduate School: A Qualitative Study of Socialization in Doctoral Education”
Doctoral student attrition in the United States has reached alarming proportions, with reported rates of approximately 50 percent across disciplines (Nettles & Millett, 2006). Attrition rates of underrepresented populations have been reported at higher rates across disciplines (Council of Graduate Schools, 2004), pointing to a disparate experience for these students. Socialization has been shown to be a determining factor in doctoral student success and retention (Turner & Thompson, 1993) while not necessarily reflecting how the socialization experience differs by disciplinary and institutional contexts. Through this qualitative study I sought to understand the effects of the socialization process upon doctoral student success and retention in the disciplines of chemistry and history at two institutions. Results highlighted a disparate experience for women, students of color, students with families, part-time students, and older students. Suggestions for policy, practice, and further research are included.
Therese Huston and Carol L. Weaver, “Peer Coaching: Professional Development for Experienced Faculty”
The professoriate, as a whole, is growing older and more experienced; yet institutions often overlook the professional development needs of mid-career and senior faculty. This article, based on a review of the literature and the development of a peer coaching project, examines peer coaching as a professional development opportunity for experienced faculty that meets many of their immediate needs and offers a variety of longer-term benefits to their institution. Six recommendations for creating a peer coaching program emerge from the literature and the authors' experience.
Michael Harris and Roxanne Cullen, ldquo;Learner-centered Leadership: An Agenda for Action”
Institutions are attempting to revitalize undergraduate education through the shift of the dominant pedagogy to a learner-centered focus. While this is encouraging, it is crucial to acknowledge that most of the efforts and literature on the learner-centered paradigm have necessarily focused on strategies for faculty. It is, however, equally important for administrators to consider the impact of the paradigm shift on their roles. Professional development and leadership training that takes into account the need for both a technical shift and shift in perception is key to the success of the transition to a new paradigm.
Elizabeth Thomas and Diane Gillespie, “Weaving Together Undergraduate Research, Mentoring of Junior Faculty, and Assessment: The Case of an Interdiscpliinary Program”
Scholars in teaching and learning value student research and program assessment as strategies to promote excellence in undergraduate education. Yet, in practice, each can be complex and difficult to sustain. This case study demonstrates how undergraduate research, mentoring of junior faculty, and assessment can be integrated in ways that enrich the educational experiences of students and the professional development of faculty and improve research on teaching and learning. The authors describe a lively undergraduate research project that became tied to the mentoring of assistant professors and then to program assessment. We conclude with recommendations for implementing such a project in other academic settings.
Michaela Galles and Paul J. Olson, “A New Method of Linking Courses: A Theologian and a Sociologist Share Their Experience”
In this article we briefly address the rationale for linking courses and the types of student learning communities that exist in various institutions of higher education. We then describe a new method we used to link our theology (Protestant Churches in America) and sociology (Racial, Ethnic, and Gender Inequality) courses in which no students were enrolled in both courses. We discuss the practical aspects of our linkage and conclude by highlighting the evaluation of the linked courses. We found that the students went beyond the stated learning objectives and that all parties involved in the courses were satisfied with the new undertaking.
Tania Smith, “Integrating Undergraduate Peer Mentors into Liberal Arts Courses: A Pilot Study”
This article presents research and narratives on the integration of course-based peer learning assistants into seven courses. A new curricular peer mentoring program was piloted in the 2005-2006 academic year in an interdisciplinary liberal arts college at a large Canadian research university. Undergraduate students enrolled in a practicum course which supported their learning while they collaborated with the “host instructor” of the course in which they served as peer mentor. Assistants’ roles varied and included individual tutoring, help via email, online discussion facilitation, small group facilitation, in-class presentation and discussion facilitation, and extracurricular study groups. Their integration into scheduled class activities resulted in participating students’ perception of enhanced learning. Data included peer mentors’ assignments, host instructor feedback, and student surveys.
Claire Howell Major and Nathaniel Bray, “Exam Scams and Classroom Flimflams: Urban Legends as an Alternative Lens for Viewing the College Classroom Experience”
Campus-based urban legends have the potential to convey and construct student culture in higher education. Basic qualitative and humanistic research methods were used to collect, analyze, and interpret legends related to the academic experience of collegiate life.
Rietje von Dam-Mieras, Angelique Lansu, Marco Rieckmann, and Gerd Michaelsen, “Development of an Interdisciplinary, Intercultural Master's Program on Sustainability: Learning from the Richness of Diversity”
The purpose of this article is to describe a joint effort between three European and six Latin American universities to create an international Master's degree program on Sustainable Development and Management. Faculty members from these institutions are working together on this unusual and innovative project, which recognizes the importance of ICT (Information and Communication Technology) tools in international projects and programs. The article provides information about the ongoing interdisciplinary and intercultural dialogue and the learning process that is occurring throughout the development of the program.
Peggy E. Steinbronn and Eunice M. Merideth, “Perceived Utility of Methods and Instructional Strategies Used in Online and Face-to-face Teaching Environments”
The purposes of this study were to compare the instructional methods and strategies identified as useful in online teaching environments with those used in a face-to-face teaching environment, to investigate relationships between the perceived usefulness of instructional strategies and methods used by higher education faculty in both teaching environments, and to identify instructional methods transferred from an online to a face-to-face teaching environment. The following instructional methods were found to have a significant relationship with the instructional environment: student collaborative projects, student-to-student electronic discussions, lecture (direct instruction), questioning and feedback to students, and e-mail communication with the instructor.
L. Earle Reybold, “The Social and Political Structuring of Faculty Ethicality in Education”
This study examined the experience of faculty ethicality in education. Research questions focused on faculty characterizations of professional ethics, related socialization experiences, and responses to dilemmas. Interviews were conducted with 32 faculty members and analyzed using the constant comparative method. Findings describe the experiential dimensions of faculty ethicality and the influence of a higher education ethos on professional reasoning and decision making. The tenure and promotion process is the most influential dimension; but faculty reward systems in general, as well as personal and family identification, also help to structure ethicality. Four elements of academic ethicality are discussed: standard, information, diversity, and integrity.
Tricia Vilkinas, “An Exploratory Study of the Supervision of Ph.D./Research Students' Theses”
Twenty five faculty members were interviewed to determine how they supervised their Ph.D. students' thesis preparation. A content analysis of the interview data indicated that the majority of them were task-focused. They supported their students intellectually, emotionally, and structurally. Some academics considered their students as colleagues, and a few developed research teams. Watching the students grow and develop and doing research with them as colleagues were the most enjoyable aspects of the supervision process. The Integrated Competing Values Framework (ICVF) was used to illustrate how most of the study participants were task-focused and were not able to deliver paradoxical roles; nor were they able to reflect on their supervisory capabilities and learn from those reflections.
Margaret W. Sallee, “A Feminist Perspective on Parental Leave Policies”
This article focuses on the ways that three feminist theories—liberal feminism, cultural feminism, and feminist poststructuralism—might be used to craft parental leave policies. After examining each theory in detail, the article concludes by offering one example of an ideal parental leave policy that combines the best features of each theory to produce a policy that is responsive to faculty needs and works to change gender roles. Often faculty and administrators implement policies without truly thinking through the theories that underpin the policies. This article provides the tools to help create theoretically informed policy.
David J. Siegel, “A Network Approach to Preparing Underrepresented Students: The LEAD Model”
Results are reported from an empirical study of an interorganizational collaboration to prepare underrepresented students for elite postsecondary education and beyond. The LEAD (Leadership Education and Development) Program in Business is an initiative involving twelve U.S. universities, nearly forty multinational corporations, a federal government agency, and a nonprofit organization working together to introduce students to business education and careers in business. This article analyzes the conditions that give rise to the collaboration, its essential structural characteristics, and the consequences that flow from it.
Pauline Melgoza and Jane Smith, “Revitalizing an Existing Honor Code Program”
This article addresses academic integrity initiatives at a large research university. The article explains the rationale for the creation of the honor system office and its evolution to date. Data collected from academic violation cases during the program's first two years are included.
Kausi Sammalisto and Thomas Lindhqvist, “Integration of Sustainability in Higher Education: A Study with International Perspectives”
This study examined the impact of a procedure implemented and used at one Swedish university to promote integration of the concept of sustainability into courses. The study is based on a literature study and a case study at the University of Gävle in Sweden, where faculty members are asked to classify their courses and research funding applications regarding the contributions thereof to sustainable development. The results of the study indicated that this procedure can indeed stimulate faculty members to integrate sustainable development in their courses. It is clear that the reported changes in courses were also influenced by other factors such as the increased general awareness of environmental issues.
Page A. Smith and Alan R. Shoho, “Higher Education Trust, Rank and Race: A Conceptual and Empirical Analysis”
This study involved an analysis of faculty trust in a large southwestern institution. After reviewing the literature, a valid and reliable instrument to measure higher education faculty trust in administrators, colleagues and students is identified. The Higher Education Faculty Trust Inventory is employed to gauge various aspects of faculty trust. Significant trust differences between professors of varying academic ranks (i.e., adjunct, assistant, associate, and full professor) are found. However, there are no significant trust differences found in regard to race. Finally, the findings are discussed within a context of implications for future research and practice in higher education.
Patrick L. Bruch, Jeanne L. Higbee, and Kwabena Siaka, ”Multiculturalism Incorporated: Student Perceptions”
Multicultural education has transformed higher education both in terms of research and in terms of student experiences. Given the complexity of our institutions, the overall effects of these transformations are mixed. Building on the successes and strengths of multicultural education as it is currently incorporated in institutions and programs will involve better understanding how it is perceived, positively and negatively, by those who are experiencing it first hand. In this article we seek to contribute to this reflection through a discussion of a survey of students' perceptions of multiculturalism in a large first-year program in a research university.
Clifton F. Conrad, Jason Johnson, and Divya Malik Gupta, “Teaching-for-Learning (TFL): A Model for Faculty to Advance Student Learning” In light of the widespread recognition of the enduring challenge of enhancing the learning of all students—including a growing number of students representing diverse racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic backgrounds—there has been an explosion of literature on teaching, learning, and assessment in higher education. Notwithstanding scores of promising new ideas, individual faculty in higher education need a dynamic and inclusive model to help them engage in a systematic and continuous process of exploring and testing various teaching and assessment practices to ensure the learning of their students. This paper introduces a model—Teaching-for-Learning (TFL)—developed to meet this need.
Shouping Hu, George D. Kuh, and Joy Gaston Gayles, “Engaging Undergraduate Students in Research Activities: Are Research Universities Doing A Better Job?” Engaging undergraduate students in research activities has been advocated as an innovative strategy to improve American higher education (Boyer Commission, 1998). This study compared the frequency of undergraduate student research experiences at different types of colleges and universities from the early 1990s through 2004. The results indicate that the frequency of student research experiences increased since 1998 at all types of institutions and that students at research universities were not more likely than their counterparts elsewhere to have such experiences. The findings were consistent across major fields. To live up to their claims, research universities must find additional ways to involve undergraduates in research with faculty members.
Thomas F. Patterson, Jr., “The Rise and Fall of Innovative Education: An Australian University Case Study”
From 1980 to 1995, the University of Western Sydney at Hawkesbury (formerly Hawkesbury Agricultural College) in Richmond, New South Wales, Australia, pioneered an innovative undergraduate degree in Systems Agriculture based on experiential education, systems thinking, and adult learning theory. Today this program is in trouble and has reverted back to a more traditional teacher-directed approach. This article discusses the rise of the innovative education paradigm at Hawkesbury, the unique Systems Agriculture program itself, and its eventual decline. Reasons for both the shift to innovative education and its eventual downfall are explored. Implications for institutions of higher education contemplating innovative educational approaches are suggested.
Dawn Vreven and Susan McFadden, “An Empirical Assessment of Cooperative Groups in Large, Time-compressed, Introductory Courses”
We measured student knowledge and motivation at the beginning and end of a three-week general psychology course. Two large lecture sections (N = 215 and N = 154) were compared; one used a cooperative learning process, and one did not. Student knowledge significantly improved in both sections, but there was no additional benefit derived from using cooperative learning. Interestingly, student motivation significantly decreased in the cooperative learning section. With recognition of the study's limitations, we conclude that cooperative learning has limited efficacy in large enrollment, compressed courses.
Sarah A. Bunton and William T. Mallon, “The Impact of Centers and Institutes on Faculty Life: Findings from a Study of Life Sciences Faculty at research-Intensive Universities' Medical Schools”
This article reports on the impact of organized research centers on professional effort, productivity, and perceptions of work satisfaction for life sciences faculty members at research intensive universities' medical schools in the U.S. Results indicate that senior center-affiliated faculty members taught less but worked more total hours than peers not affiliated with centers. Senior affiliated faculty members were more productive than their non-affiliated peers and were more likely to be principal investigators on externally funded grants. Center-affiliated faculty members were more likely to be dissatisfied with their mix of activities and workload but more likely to be satisfied with job security and autonomy. Implications beyond this context are suggested.
A. J. Angulo and Susan K. Green, “Channel One Revisited: Prospective teachers and the Role of American Higher Education”
This study examined perceptions of college of education students and their experiences with Channel One, a privately-owned news service used in public education. Given that about one-third of middle and high schoolers in the U.S. view the broadcast every school day, the authors surveyed 172 freshmen to discern their views and attitudes toward Channel One programming and commercials and the role colleges and universities might play in relation to this media service. While most studies on Channel One have been conducted from a K-12 point of view, the goal of this study was to reconsider the topic from the perspective of prospective teachers and post-secondary education.
Michelle L. Toews and Ani Yazedjian, “The Three-ring Circus of Academia: How to Become the Ringmaster”
The three-ring circus of academia is made up of research, teaching, and service. It is also characterized by continuous action that must be facilitated by the academic ringmaster. Academic life is more difficult than most anticipate because the responsibilities are time-consuming, diverse, and conflicting. Therefore, this article focuses on strategies faculty members can develop to meet these pressing demands. Specifically, we begin with a discussion of how to balance research, teaching, and service. We then highlight strategies faculty members can use in becoming an effective academic ringmaster. We conclude with a discussion of life outside the “big top.”
Virginia S. Lee, Michael R. Hyman, and Geraldine Luginbuhl, “The Concept of Readiness in the Academic Department: A Case Study of Undergraduate Education Reform”
While there has been emphasis on the institution and individual classroom as loci of learning and reform, less attention has been paid to the academic department. However, precisely because its structure is so endemic to institutions of higher education, the academic department may be the most logical and potent site for change. Using a case study approach, this paper examines the conditions under which change in undergraduate education takes hold and flourishes in the academic department, advances the concept of readiness, and explores its implications for thos who wish to promote change in the department.
Mark R. Connolly, Jana L. Bouwma-Gearhart, and Matthew A. Clifford, “The Birth of a Notion: The Windfalls and Pitfalls of Tailoring an SoTL-like Concept to Scientists, Mathematicians, and Engineers”
Despite calls for greater agreement in defining the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL), terms that resemble SoTL are proliferating. An NSF-sponsored center for teaching and learning coined its own term, teaching-as-research (TAR), believing it would resonate better with research-active scientists, engineers, and mathematicians. To understand whether this was a wise strategy, we interviewed 43 participants from courses that sought to explain and demonstrate TAR. Our study found that participants defined TAAR with varying complexity and that disciplinary concepts generally provided “conceptual” handles” for making sense of TAR. However, tailoring a term to particular disciplines entails several challenging tradeoffs.
Haixia Xu and Libby V. Morris, “Collaborative Course Development for Online Courses”
Developing a course for online instruction requires content knowledge and understanding of the interativity, technological requirements, and possibilities in the asynchronous environment. Using a case study method, the researchers investigated the development of an online humanities course by a team of faculty and instructional designers. Data were collected through observation of face-to-face planning meetings, document analysis of group postings at the online site, and interviews with the team members. Using Berge's typology of online facilitator roles and Stark and Luttuca's framework on academic plans, this study examined the roles assumed by team members and the curricular decisions.
Christine A. Stanley and Nancy E. Algert, “An Exploratory Study of the Conflict Management Styles of Department Heads in a Research University Setting”
Conflict in the university setting is an inherent component of academic life. Leaders spend more than 40% of their time managing conflict. Department heads are in a unique position — they encounter conflict from individuals they manage and from others to whom they report such as a senior administrator in the position of dean. There are very few studies that seek to ascertain the conflict management styles of department heads and how these impact leadership and professional development. This qualitative research study explored the conflict management styles of 20 department heads across a variety of disciplines and with varying levels of experience at a public research extensive university in the South. Based on an analysis of conflict management styles, the article offers implications for the professional development of department heads.
Susan Rose and Joyce Bylander, “Border Crossings: Engaging Students in Diversity Work and Intergroup Relations”
As an innovative model for diversity education, Dickinson College designed the Crossing Borders program to encourage culturally diverse students to live, work, and study together in multiple contexts both within the United States and abroad. Envisioning a series of crossings, the program brings together up to 20 students from Dickinson College, a predominantly White Institution, and Xavier University, Dillard College, and Spelman College, three Historically Black Colleges/Universities, to spend four weeks studying together in Cameroon, West Africa. Students then study at Dickinson for one semester and at one of the Historically Black Colleges/Universities for one semester.
Keith R. Aronson and Nicole Webster, “A Model for Creating Engaged Land-Grant Universities: Penn State's Engagement Ladder Model”
The original mission of the state and land-grant university was to engage with communities to solve problems and improve the quality of life for the citizenry. Today, most state and land-grant universities have moved far away from their original mission and are struggling to become engaged with the communities they serve. In this case study, we highlight some of the steady progress toward engagement that has recently occurred at The Pennsylvania State University. We catalogue how strong vision and leadership; infrastructure reorganization; and the active involvement of faculty, students, and community partners have revitalized the land-grant mission at Penn State.
Linda C. Hodges and Katherine Stanton, “Translating Comments on Student Evaluations into the Language of Learning”
Written comments on student evaluations often seem idiosyncratic, lacking the power of numerical statistical data. These statements, however, may sometimes reveal intellectual challenges common to novice learners in our disciplines. Instructors can use these insights as part of a scholarly approach to teaching, making meaningful adjustments to future classes and informing curricular choices in productive ways. In this article we examine common student complaints in 3 particular situations: quantitative classes, writing-intensive courses, and classes taught using student-active formats. We discuss implications of these comments for faculty as they seek to promote students’ intellectual development.
Susan K. Gardner, Michael T. Hayes, and Xyanthe N. Neider, “The Dispositions and Skills of a Ph.D. in Education: Perspectives of Faculty and Graduate Students in One College of Education”
Twenty-two faculty and graduate students were interviewed in one college of education in order to understand what the college and its constituents view as the skills, habits of mind, and dispositions needed to obtain a Ph.D. in Education. Analysis of the data was conducted using professional socialization as a theoretical framework, allowing for an understanding of the different perspectives of this topic as viewed through a developmental lens. Implications for theory and practice are included.
Christopher Justice, James Rice, Wayne Warry, Sue Inglis, Stefania Miller, Sheila Sammon, “Inquiry in Higher Education: Reflections and Directions on Course Design and Teaching Methods”
Our five-year experiment with teaching and evaluating an inquiry course has led us to conclude that inquiry is a potent pedagogical tool in higher education, encouraging students to become self-directed and engaged learners. This article offers key ingredients and procedures for designing an inquiry-based course. It provides a pragmatic model of inquiry that describes the structure and function of such a course and the goals and learning objectives for students. This model of inquiry is widely applicable and will help faculty members from a variety of disciplines develop an innovative way of engaging and teaching students.
Erinn D. Lake and Andrew J. Pushchak, “Better Allocating University Resources to Create On-line Learning Environments for Non-Traditional Students in Underserved Rural Areas”
This article details one university's efforts to develop graduate courses and programs to better serve the needs of the increasing non-traditional student population in underserved rural areas. A detailed overview is presented, along with the strategic planning outcomes achieved. We hope this article will initiate dialogue among higher education professionals on ways to better meet the academic needs of non-traditional students in underserved rural areas.
Carrie B. Myers and Scott M. Myers, “Assessing Assessment: The Effects of Two Exam Formats on Course Achievement and Evaluation”
This research examines the effect of two testing strategies on academic achievement and summative evaluations in an introductory statistics course. In 2001, 63 students underwent an hourly midterm format; and in 2002, 68 students underwent a bi-weekly exam format. Other than the exam format, the class lectures and labs were identical in terms of content, structure, pace, and the cumulative final exam. Findings from the regression analyses show that students in the bi-weekly format performed better than the students in the hourly midterm format. On average, students who took the bi-weekly exams performed about 10 percentage points higher (one letter grade) on the exams during the semester and about 15 percentage points higher on the cumulative final exam compared to their peers who took hourly midterms. The benefits of the bi-weekly format were significantly greater among female students than male students. Finally, students in the bi-weekly format were less likely to drop the class and evaluated the class far more favorably.
Kathy K. Franklin and Jan Hart, “Idea Generation and Exploration: Benefits and Limitations of the Policy Delphi Research Method”
Researchers use the policy Delphi method to explore a complex topic with little historical context that requires expert opinion to fully understand underlying issues. The benefit of this research technique is the use of experts who have more timely information than can be gleamed from extant literature. Additionally, those experts place researchers in a specific moment, thus increasing the possibility of capturing change over time. One limitation of the policy Delphi is the difficulty in developing an accurate initial questionnaire to start the process. The purpose of this article is to identify benefits and limitations of this research method.
Russell J. Craig and Joel H. Amernic, “Power Point Presentation Technology and the Dynamics of Teaching”
This article presents a wide-ranging analysis of the use of PowerPoint technology in higher education. It addresses four overlapping issues. Has PowerPoint led to more effective learning? What impact has PowerPoint had on the dynamics of classrooms? What are some important aspects of the culture that accompanies PowerPoint? How has PowerPoint affected orality, visuality and literacy? The purpose of our article is to stimulate beneficial conversations about a prevalent educational software technology.
Lonnie D. Harvel, “Convenience is not Enough”
A recent survey of studies (Tenopir, Hitchcock, & Pillow, 2003) concluded “[b]oth faculty and students use and like electronic resources and most readily adopt them if the sources are perceived as convenient, relevant, and time saving to their natural workflow” (p. iv). However, the results of access studies show that actual use of online content is relatively low. This is because navigation to the online content in these various collections is not convenient, requires multiple steps in order to reach relevant content, and is not integrated into a student’s natural workflow. In our research, we have designed, implemented, deployed, and evaluated a method for making content available to students that targets the content to their current need.
Katrina A. Meyer, “When Topics are Controversial: Is it Better to Discuss Them Face-to-Face or Online?”
Ten students in a graduate-level course on Historical and Policy Perspectives in Higher Education held face-to-face and online discussions on five controversial topics: diversity, academic freedom, political tolerance, affirmative Action, and gender. Upon completion of each discussion, they assessed their comfort, honesty, concern for others’ feelings, similarity of feelings to others, and willingness to disagree and then compared the face-to-face and online discussions on these measures. Students’ assessments are complex and indicate that some topics did elicit feelings of discomfort, concern for others’ feelings, and willingness to disagree in the face-to-face discussions. However, despite these feelings, the majority of students continued to prefer the face-to-face discussions. Online discussions were valued to a lesser extent, but a consistent minority of students were more comfortable in that setting. The age and race of the student also created differences in responses.
Janette R. Hill, “Flexible Learning Environments: Leveraging the Affordances of Flexible Delivery and Flexible Learning”
The purpose of this article is to explore the key features of flexible learning environments (FLEs). Key principles associated with FLEs are explained. Underlying tenets and support mechanisms necessary for the implementation of FLEs are described. Similarities and differences in traditional learning and FLEs are explored. Finally, strategies and techniques for becoming a successful learner and facilitator in FLEs are presented.
Cassamdra C. Lewis and Husein Abdul Hamid, “Implementing Effective Online Teaching Practices: Voices of Exemplary Faculty”
This qualitative study explores the process of implementing effective online teaching practices through interviews with thirty exemplary instructors. Emergent themes include providing students with constructive feedback, fostering interaction and involvement, facilitating student learning, and maintaining instructor presence and organization. Analyses of the findings and implications for online instruction are presented.
David DiRamio and Mimi Wolverton, “Integrating Learning communities and Distance Education: Possibility or Pipedream”
As demands for accountability continue and increase, higher education administrators require tools for evaluating campus programs. Learning communities, as a course design strategy, have proven successful in confronting challenges associated with attrition and retention. Because high attrition is associated with online distance education, learning community principles might be applicable to online courses. The authors surveyed attendees at a learning communities conference to determine the appklicability of learning community principles to Internet learning and assessment. One the basis of their findings, they developed a rudimentary diagnostic tool for ascertaining whether online course design takes learning community principles into account.
Norah E. Dunbar, Catherine F. Brooks, and Tara Kubicka-Miller, “Oral Communication Skills in Higher Education: Using a Performance-Based Evaluation Rubric to Assess Communication Skills”
This study used The Competent Speaker, a rubric developed by the National Communication Association (S.P. Morreale, M.R. Moore, K.P. Taylor, D. Surges-Tatum, and R. Hulbert-Johnson, 1993), to evaluate student performance in general education public speaking courses as a case study of student skills and programmatic assessment. Results indicate that students taking the general education public speaking course are below satisfactory standards on five of the eight competencies defined by the National Communication Association and are above satisfactory standards on two of the eight competencies. Implications for this particular program, other communication departments, and communication across the curriculum in general education are discussed. We also offer suggestions for those in other disciplines or educational settings in the use of performance evaluation rubrics for assessing other student skills/knowledge and for training new teachers.
Tena L. McNamara and Rita L. Bailey,m “Faculty/Staff Perceptions of a Standrads-Based Exit Portfolio System for Graduate Students”
New standards for certification were recently developed for speech-language pathology graduate training programs by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. The new standards are outcomes-based rather than process-based. Using a collective case study approach, this article highlights the perceptions of faculty and staff regarding use of a standards-based exit portfolio system for students in a Speech-Language Pathology graduate program at a medium-sized, public university after two semesters of use.
Robert L. Williams, “Academic Freedom in Higher Education Within a Conservative Sociopolitical Culture”
This article examines the potential threat that a conservative sociopolitical culture poses to academic freedom in state colleges and universities. Already a number of states are considering legislation that would restrict professors’ rights to discuss political issues within their classes, especially political issues having religious or moral implications. The proposed legislation would permit professors to discuss political issues substantively linked to the official subject matter of courses, but would limit professors’ role in such discussion to one of political neutrality. The article addresses the possibility of discussing controversial sociopolitical issues in college and university classes without alienating an institution’s external support base.
Tracy L. Dietz, “The Effect of Data Analysis Modules in the Introductory Sociology Course: Lessons for the Social Sciences”
This article offers an evaluation of the implementation of the American Sociological Association’s Integrating Data Analysis Project in a large introductory sociology course. This project was designed following an examination of the curricula of 13 disciplines that revealed that sociology failed to integrate empirical, quantitative literacy components throughout the undergraduate curriculum. Thus, efforts to introduce students to data analysis early and often were established as a best practice in the discipline. Results revealed that the students found the modules helped them understand the empirical nature of sociology. The students expressed an interest in participating in future research projects in sociology and/or other disciplines. They were not overly anxious about the quantitative literacy components of the course. Including on-line data analysis strategies using publicly available data and complimentary software represent cost and time-effective methods of introducing quantitative literacy into the social science classroom. Many social and behavioral sciences other than sociology have also discovered that their students lack a clear understanding of the relationship between empirical research and substantive topics within the discipline. Consequently, the lessons learned from the efforts of the ASA could be applied across many disciplines to form a more cohesive curriculum for many disciplines.
Ann L. Wood, “Demystifying Accreditation: Action Plans for a National or Regional Accreditation”
As part of educational reform, many institutions of higher education are undergoing accreditation processes. Based on interviews, observations, and the author’s experiences in accreditation reviews, this discussion delineates three stages of planning for an accreditation process. Recommendations are organized by each stage of preparation into long- and short-term action plans with specific tasks. Analyzing the process of accreditation across institutions and programs led to the identification of common elements that can make planning an accreditation effective and efficient. This article maps the roles and responsibilities of accreditation stakeholders and the need for communication and collaboration throughout the process.
Sharon K. Gibson, “Mentoring of Women Faculty: The Role of Organizational Politics and Culture”
This article reports on a key finding of a phenomenological study on the mentoring experiences of women faculty. The study revealed the political climate of the organization as an essential attribute of this experience. Women faculty identified organizational culture and gender issues that affected the mentoring they received. This study suggests the need for human resource and organization development initiatives to facilitate the provision of academic mentoring for women faculty — individually, departmentally, and culturally — as a means to foster transformation and change in academic institutions.
Susan Poch and Mimi Wolverton, "Transfer Student Graduation Efficiency and University Administrators: New Bedfellows"
Accountability is an important focus for nearly all public higher education institutions. In 1997 the Washington State Legislature mandated an accountability measure designed to encourage public universities to increase student efficiency toward graduation. This accountability measure is assessed by a formula called the Graduation Efficiency Index. This qualitative study details the Graduation Efficiency Index's conception and ramifications for public higher education institutions. It further examines university administrators' perceptions of the Graduation Efficiency Index and transfer studentss impact on the ability of three public institutions to meet mandated accountability goals. We include implications for practice.
Laura Goodwin, Elizabeth Kozleski, Rodney Muth, Lynn K. Rhodes, and Kim Kennedy White, "Establishing a Center to Support Faculty Research"
This article describes the establishment in fall 2002 of a School of Education Research Center designed to support faculty in increasing productivity and quality in research. Details are provided about center goals, services, staffing, space, resources, and logistics during the first year of operation. In addition, data are shared about faculty usage of the Center, the level of faculty satisfaction with center services in the first year, and initial increases I faculty productivity. The article concludes with plans for continued data collection to monitor the impact of the Center, a discussion of lessons learned at this point in the Center's development, and possibilities for the evolution of the Center.
Marina Micari, Bernhard Streitwieser, and Gregory Light, "Undergraduates Leading Undergraduates: Peer Facilitation in a Science Workshop Program"
This article presents the results of a study investigating the experiences of undergraduates acting as peer leaders in an extensive peer-led team learning program in introductory undergraduate sciences and engineering courses. In an effort to understand the facilitator experience in the program better and to report initial findings on the benefits derived through a peer-facilitation experience, the study identified multiple areas in which peer facilitators reported experiences of growth and the ways in which they understood and responded to this growth.
Janet Moore Lindman and Maria Tahamont, "Transforming Selves, Transforming Courses: Faculty and Staff Development and the Construction of Interdisciplinary Diversity Courses"
Faculty/staff workshops provide a way of enhancing teaching and learning strategies and pedagogical techniques. We include faculty/staff development workshops designed to create team that taught interdisciplinary courses which address issues of diversity and democracy for first year students. Strategic planning of the workshop and responsiveness to participants' needs and interests engender collegiality, collaboration, and curricular change.
Diane Gillespie, Nives Dolsak, Bruce Kochis, Ron Krabill, Kari Lerum, Anne Peterson, and Elizabeth Thomas, "Research Circles: Supporting the Scholarship of Junior Faculty"
This article describes and assesses "Research Circles" as a mechanism for enhancing faculty collegiality and research. Recently established on our campus, these circles, composed of three to four faculty members, have had a particularly powerful effect on the new faculty members' adjustment to their tenure track positions, especially since they entered a context that might otherwise have been challenging: a new interdisciplinary upper-division campus with high expectations for teaching excellence. Based on the end-of-year evaluations, journals, and focus groups, the co-authors described themes that emerged from their participation in these circles. Circle participation not only facilitated faculty writing throughout their first year, but it also fostered the development of an interdisciplinary community which nurtured creativity and risk taking in writing.
Patricia L. Hardre, "Instructional Design as a Professional Development Tool-of-Choice for Graduate Teaching Assistants"
Institutions need effective and efficient methods of professional development for preparing graduate students to teach. These skills are important both for their immediate roles as teaching assistants (TAs) and for their eventual roles in the professoriate. An iterative process model from instructional design can function as a cognitive organizational framework for the development of teaching expertise. It facilitates expertise by supporting TAs in connecting new and existing knowledge about teaching and learning in meaningful ways that reflect the cognitive processes of expert teachers. Thus, it can support both the current and future development of teaching expertise and facilitate the application of knowledge in the form of teaching strategies.
Katrina A. Meyer, "Critical Decisions Affecting the Development of Western Governors University"
Interviews conducted with individuals involved in the early development and current operation of the Western Governors University allowed identification of 12 themes concerning early, formative decisions and decision-making processes. These themes were subsequently grouped into 5 categories: (1) politics, (2) organizational models, (3) changing mission, (4) multiple missions, and (5) experiencing innovation. Several factors, including the need to obtain financial support and to operate independently as a degree-granting institution, were influential in the decision to focus on competency-based curricula rather than providing a repository for distance learning courses offered by institutions in the West.
Michelle A. Maher, "The Evolving Meaning and Influence of Cohort Membership"
This study examined the experiences of 13 graduate students enrolled in a closed, lock-step master's degree of the education cohort program. Interview and observational data, collected over 10 months and across four courses, were qualitatively analyzed to explore students' understanding of the meaning of cohort membership and how that membership both shaped their educational experience and the development of peer and instructor relationships. Results indicate that both the meaning and influence of cohort membership were fluid and evolved as students progressed in their program, changing from an inconsequential to a significant meaning and from a modest to a deep influence.
Meredith Mountford, "The Journey Toward Transformational Learning in a Statewide Doctoral Program"
This article describes strategies for redesigning the University of Missouri's Statewide Cooperative Ed.D. Cohort Program in educational leadership. Results had suggested a need to redesign aspects of the program in order to achieve higher levels of cognitive learning outcomes inclusive of transformational learning. To help meet this objective, the areas targeted for redesign were the curriculum as it relates to issues of diversity and ethics, instruction as it relates to group dynamics and cohort models, and increased time and a forum for students to reflect on their leadership practices. This forum also allowed faculty to monitor and assess the transformational learning outcomes of their students. This article is meant to assist others who are interested in fostering higher levels of transformational learning outcomes within their programs.
Roger G. Baldwin and Melissa J. Baumann, "Options for Change: A Flexible Vehicle for Curriculum Evolution and Reform"
In this article we examine a flexible curricular approach known as the "Option." The Option enables students to supplement traditional majors with a coherent set of courses and other educational experiences in a related, often interdisciplinary field. Options can act as curricular bridges between mainstream academic fields and problems of professional practice. They can also give students experience with emerging subject areas (e.g. biomedical engineering). Options serve as laboratories for experimenting with new subject areas before incorporating them fully into the curriculum as majors and minors. Hence, Options promote creativity and risk-taking by providing a proving ground for potential new academic programs.
Timothy J. Weston, "Why Faculty Did-and Did Not-Integrate Instructional Software in Their Undergraduate Classrooms"
Using a comparative case study approach, the researcher followed 13 instructors for 2 years as they attempted to integrate the Visible Human Dissector, an educational software program, into their undergraduate anatomy courses. Instructors were motivated to use the software as a supplement for limited educational resources and because of its ability to provide students with novel educational experiences. Obstacles in technology access and services as well as organizational factors prevented integration. However, personal hesitancy and lack of confidence, posited to be a major obstacle to integration in the literature, played only a minimal role in slow integration for these instructors. The greatest obstacles to changes in instruction supported by the new technology were difficulties in finding computers to run the software in traditional anatomy laboratories.
Sue D. Achtemeier and Ronald D. Simpson, "Practical Considerations When Using Benchmarking for Accountability in Higher Education"
The qualitative study on which this article is based examined key individuals' perceptions, both within a research university community and beyond in its external governing board, of how to improve benchmarking as an accountability method in higher education. Differing understanding of benchmarking revealed practical implications for using it as an accountability tool. A change model is presented for enhancing the effectiveness of benchmarking in higher education communities.
Stephen L. Payne, Karynne L. M. Kleine, Jim Purcell, and Ginger Rudeseal Carter, "Evaluating Academic Challenge Beyond the NSSE"
The authors investigated student and faculty perceptions of academic challenge at their institution, based on early administrations of the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE). This analysis revealed that the NSSE did not fully capture many meanings of academic challenge held by these faculty and students. This study led to a proposal for the development of an internal assessment approach using a modification of the NSSE and other scale items on academic challenge and student engagement. The authors discuss several implications of this study for academic scholarship and for institutional policy concerning the assessment of academic challenge.
Anastasia S. Morrone and Terri A. Tarr, "Theoretical Eclecticism in the College Classroom"
In this article we argue that student learning is enhanced by "theoretical eclecticism," which we define as intentionally drawing on different theories of learning when making instructional decisions to provide students with the instructional support they need to be successful. We briefly review the literature on four views of learning and on learner-centered approaches to instruction and then integrate this literature with Barr and Tagg’s (1995) distinction between the instruction paradigm and the learning paradigm. Finally, we present examples from a teacher education course to illustrate how theoretical eclecticism can be used to support student learning.
Catherine B. Stevenson, Robert L. Duran, Karen A. Barrett, and Guy C. Colarulli, "Fostering Faculty Collaboration in Learning Communities: A Developmental Approach"
Colleges and universities are adopting learning communities to increase student learning and build cohesion. As learning communities grow in popularity, institutions need to invest in faculty development (Oates, 2001) and understand faculty experiences (Mullen, 2001). The University of Hartford created a program that prepared faculty for collaborative teaching in first-year learning communities. Faculty learned to engage in collaborative behaviors, to think outside disciplinary borders, and to employ a specific template as a heuristic for course development. Results of focus group research about the faculty experience and the impact of the experience on their pedagogy are summarized.
Mark A. Kretovics, Alicia R. Crowe, and Eunsook Hyun ,"A Study of Faculty Perceptions of Summer Compressed Course Teaching"
Students take summer and compressed courses for a variety of reasons and research indicates that learning outcomes in these courses are similar to those gained in traditional semester or quarter courses. This quantitative study was an attempt to clarify faculty perceptions about summer compressed courses. One hundred and fifty-one faculty members teaching at a large, multicampus institution completed a survey addressing teaching methodology, approaches to student assessment, and other pedagogical issues relating to such courses. It was determined that many faculty did make adjustments in teaching methods and approaches to student assessment. In addition, perceptions were different between experienced/tenured faculty and inexperienced/nontenured faculty.
Fred Piercy, Valerie Giddings, Katherine Allen, Benjamin Dixon, Peggy Meszaros, and Karen Joest, "Improving Campus Climate to Support Faculty Diversity and Retention: A Pilot Program for New Faculty"
We report on a series of pilot programs that we developed and carried out to support the success and satisfaction of new faculty, particularly faculty of color. We hope that others committed to retaining and supporting underrepresented faculty can apply our learning from this pilot project, as a whole or in part.
Danhua Wang, "Students’ Learning and Locus of Control in Web-Supplemental Instruction"
This multicase study investigated the learning experiences of four college students identified respectively as internal and external locus of control. They were taking a basic educational technology course that supplemented classroom teaching with two course web sites. Four categories that characterized their learning experiences suggested some relationship between locus of control and learning experience.
Sharon B. Buchbinder, Patricia M. Alt, Karen Eskow, William Forbes, Eva Hester, Miriam Struck, and Dianne Taylor, "Creating Learning Prisms with an Interdisciplinary Case Study Workshop"
With increasing specialization, most academic disciplines have become highly compartmentalized. Numerous organizations in higher education strongly encourage interdisciplinary collaboration at the faculty and student level. The purposes of this article are (a) to provide a conceptual framework for explaining how and why an interdisciplinary case study method is a catalyst for the development of students and faculty; (b) to document the conception, planning, organizing, and results of an interdisciplinary case study workshop; and (c) to provide recommendations to encourage others who might want to apply this model to their own interdisciplinary efforts.
Joseph E. Garcia, Karen J. Hoelscher, and Vickie L. Farmer, "Diversity Flashpoints: Understanding Difficult Interpersonal Situations Grounded in Identity Difference"
This study describes an empirically derived framework for understanding issues and contexts in which difficult interpersonal events, grounded in identity differences, occur between and among college faculty and students. Interviews with 34 student affairs professionals on 11 college campuses generated 153 student stories of uncomfortable interpersonal situations involving faculty members. Using a grounded theory approach, we classified these incidents into descriptive categories, providing insight into diversity issues between faculty and students. Implications are drawn for improving faculty members’ ability to recognize and respond to these situations.
Patricia Odell, Kathleen Korgen, and Gabe Wang, "Cross-Racial Friendships and Social Distance Between Racial Groups on a College Campus"
This study examined the effectiveness of curriculum-focused diversity initiatives on a college campus by determining the relationships between GPA, social class, year in school, residential status, racial diversity courses taken, and cross-racial friendships on the level of social distance between White-Blacks, Whites-Hispanics, Hispanics-Whites, Hispanics-Blacks, Blacks-Whites, and Blacks-Hispanics. The data suggest that, while the institution does a good job of bringing diverse groups of students to the campus, it does not effectively reduce the level of social distance among many members of the different racial groups on campus. Using the intergroup Contact Hypothesis, the article concludes by suggesting means by which social distance among racial groups on campus might be decreased.
Douglas Reimondo Robertson, "Generative Paradox in Learner-Centered College Teaching"
The discussion identifies six contradictions that characterize the emergent learner-centered teaching role: (a) control/flow, (b) facilitator/evaluator, (c) teacher learning/student learning, (d) subject expert/teaching expert, (e) caring for students/caring for self, and (f) individual mentor/group leader. Key concepts are presented (conflict, compartmentalized paradox, and generative paradox) which represent points on a continuum of the degree to which college teachers have successfully integrated these fundamental contradictions in the learner-centered teaching role. This article extends an ongoing discussion of integrity in learner-centered teaching by providing a conceptual paradigm and examples for developing consistently productive responses to these six fundamental contradictions in learner-centered teaching.
Patrick L. Bruch, Rashne’ R. Jehangir, Dana Britt Lundell, Jeanne L. Higbee, and Karen L. Miksch, "Communicating Across Differences: Toward a Multicultural Approach to Institutional Transformation"
In the two decades since Audre Lorde (1984) pointed out that we have no patterns for relating across our differences as equals (p. 115), struggles to transform higher education have come to focus on communication about and across differences. Despite these efforts, conversations in higher education about group difference and equity too often exacerbate feelings of cynicism and disenfranchisement. In this article we discuss research into the actual discourses at work in communication about the cultural politics of institutional practices. We report on an analysis of qualitative data, using this data to help clarify the challenges of relating across differences as equals.
Elizabeth J. Allan and Suzanne E. Estler , "Diversity, Privilege, and Us: Collaborative Curriculum Transformation Among Educational Leadership Faculty"
In this article we describe an educational leadership faculty’s collective efforts to improve its curriculum by examining meanings, implications, and challenges of sociocultural identity differences for its graduate programs in educational leadership. We employed a case study method to examine the process and interim effects of faculty engagement in a diversity across the curriculum project. This study was completed after the second academic year of a multiyear process. The analysis and interpretation of data revealed themes of identity privilege, silence relative to privilege, and organizational and curricular change. Implications and resulting recommendations derive from an analysis of the enabling and inhibiting factors involved in this curricular change process.
Jessica J. Summers, Alexander Waigandt, and Tiffany A. Whittaker, "A Comparison of Student Achievement and Satisfaction in an Online Versus a Traditional Face-to-Face Statistics Class"
In this study we examined differences between online distance education and traditional classroom learning for an introductory undergraduate statistics course. Two outcome dimensions were measured: students’ final grades and student satisfaction with the course. Using independent samples t-tests, results indicated that there was no significant difference in grades between the online and traditional classroom contexts. However, students enrolled in the online course were significantly less satisfied with the course than the traditional classroom students on several dimensions. This finding is inconsistent with the "no significant difference phenomenon" described in Russell’s (1999) annotated bibliography, which supports minimal outcome differences between online courses and face-to-face courses.
Jamie S. Switzer, "Teaching Computer-Mediated Visual Communication to a Large Section: A Constructivist Approach"
A constructivist approach to teaching encourages students to seek answers for themselves, while the instructor acts as a guide and facilitator at students pursue information gathering and knowledge construction. In a large class, it is difficult to use a constructivist model of education simply because of the number of students involved. This article discusses how a university instructor was successful in creating a constructivist learning environment in a large class section.
K. Douglas Hoffman and Mark A. Kretovics, "Students as Partial Employees: A Metaphor for the Student-Institution Interaction"
We propose a new metaphor for describing the interaction between students and their institutions of higher education, "students as partial employees." Several current metaphors anchored in the quality movement are reviewed to provide a background for this new way of viewing today's college students. This article provides the readers with examples of the metaphor in use and describes why the partial employee transcends the academic and administrative structures of higher education.
Clare Kilbane, James Theroux, Julian Sulej, Barry Bisson, David Hay, and Dennis Boyer, "The Real-Time Case Method: Description and Analysis of the First Implementation"
This article describes the first implementation of the "Real-time Case Method" (RCTM)—a new instructional practice that makes use of various technologies to create a new type of case study. Data obtained from five instructors at four business schools in the U.S. and Canada were analyzed using analytic induction. Analysis suggests RTCM was successfully implemented at both the graduate and undergraduate levels, in traditional face-to-face as well as online learning environments, with students of varying levels of experience and backgrounds, and by instructors with differing professional backgrounds and teaching styles. The instructors were highly satisfied with the method. They observed that the students were engaged by RTCM, that it motivated them to work harder and longer on assignments, and that it allowed them to have experiences that were qualitatively different from those available from textbooks and traditional cases.
Sarah L. Ash and Patti H. Clayton, "The Articulated Learning: An Approach to Guided Reflection and Assessment"
The value of reflection on experience to enhance learning has been advanced for decades: however, it remains difficult to apply in practice. This paper describes a reflection model that pushes students beyond superficial interpretations of complex issues and facilitates academic mastery, personal growth, civic engagement, critical thinking, and the meaningful demonstration of learning. Although developed in a service-learning program, its general features can support reflection on a range of experiences. It is accessible to both students and instructors, regardless of discipline; and it generates written products that can be used for formative and summative assessment of student learning.
Kathleen P. King, "Both Sides Now: Examining Transformative Learning and Professional Development of Educators"
The purpose of the mixed method research is to understand and support educators' continuing learning and growth better by using a lens of transformative learning to examine their experience and professional development practice and responsibility. Data from 58 participants and the course professor are analyzed to consider the occurrence of transformative learning and the related needs that emerged. This article also presents trends across the learning experience and recommendations for practice and responsibility. Additionally, there are implications of the research for higher education professors, administrators, and developers reflecting on their concepts and planning of formal professional development.
Steven C. Riggert, Daniel Ash, Mike A. Boyle, John Kinney, David A. Howarth, and Carolyn Rudy-Parkins, "Metropolitan College: Building Community Value Through Education-Business Partnerships"
Metropolitan College is a distinctive and innovative business-education partnership that provides educational opportunities to many Kentucky residents who would otherwise be unable to attend college. The program also provides significant, tangible benefits to the business and education partners, as well as to the local and statewide community. This article outlines the structure of the Metropolitan College, chronicles some measures of program impact, and briefly describes the values on which the program was founded and continues to operate.
John L. Romano, Rae Hoesing, Kathleen O'Donovan, and Joyce Weinsheimer, "Faculty at Mid-Career: A Program to Enhance Teaching and Learning"
While the number of mid-career faculty currently in U.S. higher education is significant, professional development programming that addresses the teaching and learning issues of this population has not been a priority. This article describes the Mid-Career Teaching Program (MCTP) and presents data that assesses its impact on participants' professional and personal lives. Survey and interview results indicate positive changes in teaching behaviors and knowledge as well as an increase in teaching satisfaction and confidence. Faculty also reported that MCTP renewed their energy and enthusiasm and positively impacted their life outside the academy.
Christine Asmar, "Innovations in Scholarship at a Student-Centered Research University: An Australian Example"
The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning movement is now truly international although national and contextual differences affect its implementation. Institutional capacities for and openness to innovation vary widely and cannot be readily predicted. The research university referred to in this article has a conservative reputation in Australia, yet its new teaching and learning strategies are not only unique in Australia but have attracted international attention. This article analyses how a large research university has introduced radical changes in teaching and learning in ways which embody scholarly ideals and are also consistent with the University's overall research mission.
Ian Stewart, "Can Professional Studies Be Included in the Liberal Arts Curriculum"
This article discusses a business school professor's approach to teaching a University Seminar, the first course in the freshman year component of the liberal arts requirements at Seattle Pacific University. Drawing on Cardinal Newman's The Idea of a University (1873/1947), three theses shaped the design of the seminar. First, the seminar topic should be put in historical, social and ethical perspective. Second, the Christian Scriptures should provide a set of control beliefs that can be used in moral and practical discernment about the social responsibilities of business. Third the use of common texts can help in fostering broader social goals.
Kathy Ahern and Catherine Manathunga, "Clutch-Starting Stalled Research Students," pp. 237-254
Many research students go through periods where their research seems to stall, their motivation drops, and they seem unable to make any progress. As supervisors (major professors), we attempt to remain alert to signs that our student's progress has stalled. Drawing on cognitive strategies, this article explores a problem-solving model supervisors can use to identify the major causes of the student's lack of progress and facilitate the student's re-ignition. Each of the problem identification and solving phases is acknowledged by and situated within research on postgraduate supervision and supported by analyzing transcripts from a study on postgraduate supervision.
Stephen Sweet and Phyllis Moen, "Coworking As a Career Strategy: Implications for the Work and Family Lives of University Employees," pp. 255-272
This study of 276 couples compares coworking couples, which means both partners work for the same university, with noncoworking couples, those couples in which only one partner is employed at a university. Among the employees at the two universities studied, one in seven dual-earner couples cowork. These couples are more educated and are less likely to prioritize one spouses' career over that of the other, as compared to noncoworking couples. Coworking is positively associated with work commitment and family success for husbands and with family and marital satisfaction for wives, especially for couples with graduate degrees. Findings suggest that employment of spouses can be beneficial to employees and institutions.
John V. Shindler, "'Greater Than the Sum of the Parts?' Examining the Soundness of Collaborative Exams in Teacher Education Courses," pp. 273-284
Promoting collaboration skills and dispositions is widely encouraged currently in the field of teacher preparation. However, veyr few university classrooms incorporate collaboration into their assessment practices. One factor may be the perceived potential lack of soundness of such methodologies. This study is a qualitative examination of the soundness of collaborative essay exams conducted at two large teacher-credentialing institutions. The construct of soundness was defined within a four-dimensional framework consisting of validity, reliability, efficiency, and effect on the learner. The results of the study suggest that the collaborative assessment conditions compared favorably on all dimensions of soundness. Participants felt that the collaborative exams were essentially as "fair" and more valid than individual exams inasmuch as they provided a context that was more closely aligned with actual effective teaching practice. Moreover, participants reported being more motivated to study, thinking more critically, and learning more in the process.
Jerlando F. L. Jackson and Kimberly S. Kile, "Does a Nexus Exist Between the Work of Administrators and Student Outcomes in Higher Education?: An Answer From a Systematic Review of Research," pp. 285-301
Journal articles within the field of higher education that focus on college and university administrators have, for the most part, examined topics such as leadership, governance, and institutional effectiveness. Recently, internal and external critics have questioned the ability of colleges and universities to impact educational outcomes, more specifically student outcomes. In this regard, this study sought to examine how the work of administrators in higher education affects student outcomes. From a systematic review of 10 years of research studies on higher education that focus on administrators as a unit of analysis in higher education, the research found that the nexus between the work of administrators and student outcomes was nascent.
Susan A. Schiller, Marcy M. Taylor, and Pamela S. Gates, "Teacher Evaluation Within a Community of Truth: Testing the Ideas of Parker Palmer," pp. 163-186
Parker Palmer, in The Courage to Teach (1997), proposed an alternative approach to traditional teaching evaluations, one deeply rooted in a holistic view of education which focuses on the potential for creating self-knowledge and relationships between colleagues. This article describes a project in which we studied these claims and tested the feasibility of an open-door evaluation process. Our main purpose was to determine whether Palmer's methods could help us to improve our teaching. In addition, we asked whether this holistic approach may influence summative evaluations that affect personnel decision-making and its potential for influencing the culture of teaching in higher education.
Yvonne A. Unrau and Ann R. Beck, "Increasing Research Self-Efficacy Among Students in Professional Academic Programs," pp. 187-204
Gains in research self-efficacy for 60 Social Work and 75 Speech-Language Pathology students were compared. Our interest was to investigate whether students enrolled in both research and practice courses made greater gains in research self-efficacy over a semester, as compared to students enrolled in practice courses only. Findings indicated that Speech-Language Pathology students taking both research and practice showed the greatest gain. Examination of the Speech-Language Pathology curriculum suggested that when research courses were augmented with opportunities to apply research learning outside of class, greater gain in student confidence was achieved. We discuss implications for curricular development and interdisciplinary discourse on curriculum matters, and these implications reach beyond the two specific disciplines.
Mary B. Marcy, "When Diversity and Dollars Collide: Challenges for Higher Education," pp. 205-218
The challenges of meeting the needs of diverse students have long been recognized in higher education. As many institutions wrestle with austere budgets, however, diversity programs are struggling to maintain their effectiveness amidst financial rescissions. This climate of austerity coincides with demographic predictions for an increasingly diverse student body. This article outlines the challenges and offers ideas for institutions to enhance learning for contemporary students, even in the midst of fiscal challenges. These ideas go beyond the simple prioritization of diversity programs to propose ideas for institutional transformation to meet the needs of a diverse student body.
Joyce Coleman Nichols, "Unique Characteristics, Leadership Styles, and Management of Historically Black Colleges and Universities," pp. 219-229
Historically Black colleges and universities play a significant role in our nation's higher education system. Currently there are 105 historically Black colleges operating in the United States. Over the years there have been many challenges for these institutions. Given the importance of these institutions, the purpose of this article is to explore and understand the leadership styles and management of the institutions and provide insight into how they might adapt their leadership styles to ensure that they not only survive but prosper. This article also highlights strategies suggested by former presidents of historically Black Colleges to ensure educational opportunities for African-American students and others.
Ronald D. Simpson, "A Search for the Complete Education: Balancing the Needs for Survival and Fulfillment," pp. 91-106
This article was first delivered on January 27, 2003, as the Founder's Day lecture in celebration of the 218th birthday of the University of Georgia, America's first chartered state university. This new lecture series was developed by a group of the Emeriti Scholars, a group recently organized by 11 retired faculty members. The series is sponsored by the University of Georgia Alumni Association.
Aileen Schulte, "Discussions in Cyberspace: Promoting Interactivity in an Asynchronous Sociology Course," pp. 107-118
Asynchronous courses (taught exclusively via computer-mediated communication) present particular pedagogical dilemmas. This article builds on the assumption that interactivity (regular patterns of written communication between the instructor and students and among students) is an important strategy to facilitate learning and reduce isolation in asynchronous courses. Based on my experiences as an instructor in this medium, I discuss my attempts to initiate and promote discussion. Data from three semesters of my asynchronous course reflect a general increase in interactivity as well as a decrease in problematic patterns of interaction.
Mary E. Boyce, "Organizational learning is Essential to Achieving and Sustaining Change in Higher Education," pp. 119-136
Organizational change is often temporary or unsuccessful. This literature review of organizational change in higher education explores research in higher education, sociology, and organizational studies focusing on the problem of sustaining successful change. Indicators of successful change are distilled from the recent research. Establishing conditions for continued organizational learning in a college or university is identified as an essential aspect of sustaining successful organizational change.
Adrianna Kezar, "Enhancing Innovative Partnerships: Creating a Change Model for Academic and Student Affairs Collaboration," pp. 137-156
This study presents the results from a national survey examining a recent innovation in higher education partnerships between academic and student affairs. The focus was on what change process can best assist institutions in moving to this model, which helps increase student learning on campus.
George M. Dennison, "Privatization: An Unheralded Trend in Public Higher Education," pp. 7-20
Privatization refers to the changing base for public higher education. Beginning in the late 1970s, state governments slowly but steadily decreased the level of support for higher education. As the state support declined, student tuition rose, both in absolute terms and as a percentage of the support for the Education and General budgets of public colleges and universities. At the same time, the rationale for higher education changed, from viewing it as a public benefit—with the major share of the cost borne by the public—to describing it as a private benefit—with the students paying the major share of the cost. A public policy issue of this magnitude requires the involvement of the public in an informed discussion before change occurs.
Erinn Lake, "Course Development Cycle Time: A Framework for Continuous Process Improvement," pp. 21-34
This article details Edinboro University's efforts to reduce the extended cycle time required to develop new courses and programs. A collaborative process improvement framework is shared, as are illustrated data findings, the team's recommendations for improvement, and the outcomes of those recommendations. It is hoped the case will initiate dialogue among higher education professionals on ways to reduce course development cycle time in order to increase student satisfaction.
Mary Jae Paul, "Double-loop Diversity: Applying Adult learning Theory to the Cultivation of Diverse Educational Climates in Higher Education," pp. 35-48
Most U.S. higher education institutions have implemented initiatives to increase campus diversity. The intended outcome is to reduce educational inequities among underrepresented populations. Such initiatives have come under fire, however, for serving as a superficial solution to educational inequities. Here I propose the application of an action-knowledge conceptual framework to explore why money and policy change are not enough to creat ecampus environments where multi-culturalism enhances student learning. Argyris' *(1985) notion of double-loop learning recognizes the necessity for "actionable" knowledge to be instilled in practitioners in order for diversity initiatives to truly achieve desired outcomes and have lasting effects.
Linda L. Brennan and Walter W. Austin, "Addressing the Need for Management Processes for Higher Education Accreditation," pp. 49-62
The accreditation standards of the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB International) ask business schools to describe consistent processes that provide for operational consistency and continuous improvement in support of the schools' stated missions. Such practices are beneficial to all institutions of higher education seeking accreditation or reaffirmation. This article addresses the identification of requisite processes, describes an approach for defining them, and suggests a format for documenting their essential elements. We discuss the value of quality management practices to higher education and present caveats and considerations for successfully implementing this methodology.
Irene M. Herremans and Ron Murch, "Multidisciplinary Decision Making Through Experiential Learning: Perspectives from Practical Trials," pp. 63-83
Recently many business management programs in institutions of higher learning have undergone significant change in orientation, content, and delivery. In order to ensure that the graduates acquire the education and skills needed in the organizations of the future, these institutions have attempted to bridge theoretical underpinnings with practical content. In so doing, administrators and instructors have given more emphasis to deliberate integration of discipline-specific material. In this article we draw on previous research in both adult and experiential learning to develop an innovative approach for role-playing using case studies in management education. However, unlike the traditional use of cases, our approach builds an experience around the case study company by surrounding learners with additional props to use in the decision-making process. We describe an experiential learning process that provides an opportunity for integration while capitalizing on the characteristics of adult learners. We have used the approach successfully in MBA programs in both Canada and the United Kingdom to challenge students to resolve some of the complex, multi-dimensional issues facing today's organizations. We have also found this approach to be transferable to other learning situations.
Ed Sarath, "Meditation in Higher Education: The Next Wave?" pp. 215-234
this article describes the design and advocacy of the Bachelor of Fine Arts in Jazz and Contemplative Studies curriculum at The University of Michigan School of Music. The curriculum combines meditation practice and related studies with jazz and overall musical training and is part of a small but growing movement in academia that seeks to integrate contemplative disciplines within the educational process. The article considers issues such as the structure of the curriculum, the reconciliation of contemplative studies and conventional notions of academic rigor, the avoidance of possible conflicts between church and state, and other challenges encountered in gaining support for this plan, after weeks of intensive debate, from a 2/3 majority of the faculty.
L. Earle Reybold, "Pathways to the Professorate: The Development of Faculty Identity in Education," pp. 236-252
This study describes the development of initial faculty identities of doctoral students in education as they transition and adjust to the professorate. The findings are based on constant comparative analysis of semi-structured interviews with 30 participants at 14 universities. Interview data are supplemented by participant journals and materials, including curriculum vitae, website materials, and program documents. I identified five archetypal pathways to the professorate: anointed, pilgrim, visionary, philosopher, and drifter. Discussion of these pathways focuses on how these students decide to pursue a career in education and how they characterize their socialization and transition into the professorate.
Eugenia Proctor Gerdes, "Do It Your Way: Advice from Senior Academic Women," pp. 253-277
An open-ended question requesting advice for women students and women beginning careers in higher education was distributed to senior women faculty and administrators who began their careers around 1970. Responses were obtained from 94 women, averaging about three different pieces of advice per respondent. This advice was then categorized as background information, cautions, facts of life, life choices, coping strategies, or personal wisdom. Overall, these successful women exhibited optimism about women's progress, which they themselves are positioned to facilitate.
Frank A. Fear, Diane M. Doberneck, Carole F. Robinson, Kathleen L. Fear, Robert B. Barr with Heather Van Den Berg, Jeffrey Smith, and Robert Petrulis, "Meaning Making and 'The Learning Paradigm': A Provocative Idea in Practice," pp. 151-168
Amidst the considerable literature published on institutional change in undergraduate teaching and learning, an article co-authored by Robert Barr and John Tagg in 1995 stands out. The authors offered a vision and—and perhaps most importantly—gave it a memorable name, the Learning Paradigm. "From Teaching to Learning—A New Paradigm for Undergraduate Education" is the most frequently cited article in the history of Change. In this article, Barr blended his voice with colleagues who helped initiate Learning Paradigm programs at a public university and in a liberal arts college setting. Through multiple forms of inquiry, including discourse and metaphor analysis, they interpreted the shift from teaching to learning and speculate about its future.
Scott A. Cottrell and Elizabeth A. Jones, "Researching the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning: An Analysis of Current Curriculum Practices," pp. 169-182
The purpose of this study was to analyze how instructors designed courses for scholarship of teaching and learning initiatives. The case studies and qualitative analyses of the data revealed that some instructors are approaching teaching as an investigative process. Informed by multiple assessment methods, the participating instructors explored how changes in course designs can improve student learning and development. The results of this study illustrate that these instructors reflected on their course designs and emphasized the quality of student learning and its improvement, which helps to address the public's expectations of higher education institutions as centers of academic excellence.
Pamela D. Sherer, Timothy P. Shea, and Eric Kristensen, "Online Communities of Practice: A Catalyst for Faculty Development," pp. 183-194
This article addresses the concept of "communities of practice" and how it has come of age for the professional development of professors as teachers. Thanks to current technological options, faculty developers can enhance the opportunity for the entire faculty to learn through the use of online communities. Designing a faculty development portal using community of practice concepts can be an effective means to jump-start, facilitate, develop, and sustain faculty involvement in academic communities.
Joyce Coleman Nichols, "Changing What Is Taught: Hearing the Voices of the Underrepresented," pp. 195-208
A major challenge facing institutions today is determining the role of multiculturalism in the curriculum. Institutions that decide to incorporate multicultural perspectives into the general education curriculum will face a long and complex process. In 1991 policy makers at Florida State University made the decision to require all students to take multicultural courses to fulfill general education requirements. This article provides insight into the challenges that institutional policy makers face as they seek to change the curriculum to include the voices of those previously underrepresented.
Lynn C. Koch, Lisa A. Holland, Daniel Price, G. Leticia Gonzalez, Pam Lieske, Alison Butler, Kathryn Wilson, and Mary Louise Holly, "Engaging New Faculty in the Scholarship of Teaching," pp. 83-94
This article describes how scholarly teaching projects were conceived, implemented, and evaluated by junior faculty from a variety of disciplines at a medium-sized midwestern university. The authors explore: considerations in designing scholarly teaching, methods used to evaluate teaching effectiveness, and outcomes of the teaching projects. Finally two of the teaching projects illustrate how junior faculty with diverse courses, class sizes, and teaching concerns approached the task of improving their teaching.
Lana Ivanitskaya, Deborah Clark, George Montgomery, and Ronald Primeau, "Interdisciplinary Learning: Process and Outcomes," pp. 95-112
Interdisciplinary learning is characterized by the integration of multidisciplinary knowledge across a central program theme or focus. With repeated exposure to interdisciplinary thought, learners develop more advanced epistemological beliefs, enhanced critical thinking ability and metacognitive skills, and an understanding of the relations among perspectives derived from different disciplines. Our adaptation of Biggs and Collis' (1982) Structure of the Observed Learning Outcome illustrates the stages of interdisciplinary knowledge integration and explains corresponding patterns of learners' intellectual functioning, from acquisition of single-subject information to transfer of interdisciplinary knowledge to other topics, issues, or problems.
Darla J. Twale, Molly A. Schaller, Sawyer A. Hunley, and Patricia J. Polanski, "Creating Collaborative Community in Multidisciplinary Settings," pp. 113-128
This study examines part-time students' perceptions of collaborative community in a graduate, multidisciplinary, education department where courses are offered on multiple campuses. Perceptions of community are synonymous with friendship, involvement, cohesion, communication, and trust. These feelings are affected more by campus location, program area, and credits earned than by age, race, or sex. The knowledge students gain fuels the trust, communication, and cohesiveness that in turn, facilitate the collaborative process. Students value this as part of their professionalization process, desire opportunities to build relationships with one another outside the classroom, and suggest ways to facilitate community.
Patrick Sullivan, "'It's Easier to Be Yourself When You Are Invisible': Female College Students Discuss Their Online Classroom Experiences," pp. 129-144
There has been considerable scholarly interesting issues related to gender in the classroom, especially in terms of finding ways in which classrooms might be configured to be more welcoming—and less "chilly"—to female students. There is some evidence to suggest that the online learning environment may provide educators with opportunities to achieve a more female-friendly classroom, and this study was designed to gather information about that question. 125 female college students who had completed at least one online, college-level class were invited to discuss their experiences learning online. These data show that female college students respond to the online environment in a variety of ways. A small group of students indicated that they did not enjoy learning online, while others expressed "mixed" feelings. The majority, however, had positive things to say about their online classroom experiences; and, of these, a large number identified "anonymity" as the most important positive aspect of the online learning environment.
Carolin Kreber, "Teaching Excellence, Teaching Expertise, and the Scholarship of Teaching," pp. 5-24
The previous decade witnessed significant advancements in the scholarship of teaching at the levels of both theory building and program development. Notwithstanding these achievements, there remains considerable ambiguity in terms of the meaning of the concept. This ambiguity has implications for faculty evaluation. Excellence in teaching, expertise in teaching, and the scholarship of teaching are analyzed according the nature and sources of knowledge construction underlying each. Practical examples are included to illustrate differences. It is argued that excellence in teaching and the scholarship of teaching are both important but should be recognized and rewarded in their own right.
Robert C. Serow, Pamela B. Van Dyk, Errin M. McComb, and Adrian T. Harrold, "Cultures of Undergraduate Teaching at Research Universities," pp. 25-38
Teaching-oriented faculty have received scant attention as a distinctive cultural force. Even among those who would speak on their behalf, undergraduate teachers have been treated as little more than a dependable workforce whose interests are best served by top-down proposals for enhanced recognition and reward. Findings from a five-campus study suggest a more complex reality. Of particular interest is an explicitly oppositional culture that questions both the Scholarship of Teaching model and the ethos of competitive achievement. These views echo the longstanding populist tradition within American higher education and represent a potential counterforce to the recent narrowing of faculty roles.
Denise S. Mewborn, Sybilla Beckmann, Victoria Davion, Christy Desmet, Sally Hudson-Ross, Jenny Penney Oliver, Judith Preissle, and Hugh Ruppersberg, "Expanding the 'Great Conversation' to Include Arts and Sciences Faculty," pp. 39-52
Teacher education has risen to a place of prominence on many university campuses, and current conditions require that teacher education be approached from an interdisciplinary perspective. At the University of Georgia, the Deans' Forum is a group of approximately 30 faculty members who have engaged in collaborative work on issues of teacher education for over four years. This article describes the design, activities, and impact of the Forum. It also provides a discussion of the elements that were necessary in order to sustain the Forum.
Jessica J. Summers, Marilla D. Svinicki, Joanna S. Gorin, and Teresa A. Sullivan, "Student Feelings of Connection to the Campus and Openness to Diversity and Challenge at a Large Research University: Evidence of Progress?," pp.53-64
Previous research conducted by Pascarella and his colleagues (1996) has shown that undergraduate students tend to change toward greater openness and tolerance to diversity from their freshman to their sophomore year. Although the study by Pascarella includes many different types of universities in the United States, the average size of the entering freshman class in their research was reported to be approximately 4,000 students. While these findings are extremely valued in a general sense, we believed that they might not be found at very large universities. To our surprise, our findings indicated that large universities might be exceptions to Pascarella's previous findings.
Barbara K. McKenzie, James E. Witte, Anthony J. Guarino, and Maria Martinez Witte, "Interactive Television (ITV) Instructor Behaviors: Implications of Frequency and Importance," pp. 65-74
Two hundred students majoring in education responded to the Validation of Effective Behaviors of Distance Instructors Inventory (McKenzie, Kirby, & Mims, 1997). The 41 items measured two dimensions: frequency and importance of effective behaviors in delivering distance instruction. A two-way within-subjects ANOVA was conducted. Of the 41 items, 14 were rated higher in importance than in frequency. The 14 items were then analyzed using Principal Component Analysis with Varimax rotation, which yielded two factors: Effective Learning Methods and Student Guidance. This study suggests that the behaviors of Interactive Television (ITV) instructors may be lacking in these two important factors.
Barbara Goldberg and Martin Finkelstein, "Effects of a First-Semester Learning Community on Nontraditional Technical Students," pp. 235-250
The study consisted of 25 full-time Electronic Technician Certificate students with 16 randomly assigned to an experimental group registered in a team-taught learning community and with 9 randomly assigned to a control group registered for individually taught unlinked classes. We hypothesized that the experimental group would have significantly better academic and social integration and more positive perceptions of their experiences than the control class as well as higher course grades and grade point averages, more contact with classmates and instructors, and greater commitment to college and second semester persistence. Both student self-reported surveys and institutional data were analyzed. Results indicated that the team-taught learning community did make a difference to its students and yielded quantitative and qualitative support for hypotheses dealing with student perceptions of academic and social integration. Findings failed to support hypotheses dealing with behavioral outcomes except for strong support for commitment to college.
Debra L. Penberthy and Susan B. Millar, "The 'Hand-off' as a Flawed Approach to Disseminating Innovation: Lessons from Chemistry," pp. 251-270
Drawing on studies of active learning methods in an undergraduate chemistry course at a research institution, we first present two case studies exploring the change processes and outcomes of the faculty member who designed the course and the one who adapted it. We then explore the nature of the problems experienced during the adaptation process. We conclude with recommendations for successfully diffusing innovations: adapting faculty members should choose innovations that genuinely interest them and are aligned with their goals, should experiment with innovations in a gradual way, and should receive support throughout the process.
Mary Kay Hemenway, William J. Straits, R. Russell Wilke, and Beth Hufnagel, "Educational Research in an Introductory Astronomy Course," pp. 271-280
The lecture is a common method used in college instruction, but many teachers are questioning its effectiveness. For this study, two successive spring semester sections of introductory astronomy for non-science majors were studied. The spring 1999 semester was the instructor's first attempt to incorporate innovative instructional techniques to include "hands-on, minds-on" instruction within the lecture setting. The educational research involved classroom observations, personal interviews, and pre-instruction/post-instruction administration of the Texas Attitude Survey and the Astronomy Diagnostic Test. During the spring 2000 semester, the instructor modified instruction to respond to student concerns from the previous semester. Student scores for the second course showed significant improvement in astronomy content and the institutional course survey, but not in student self-efficacy.
Sarah Gravett and Nadine Petersen, "Structuring Dialogue with Students via Learning Tasks," pp. 281-291
We discuss a teaching approach that we believe promotes deep learning and diminishes the powerful voice of the teacher, thereby allowing students and the teacher to reason actively and inquire together in the classroom. This teaching approach is based on an integration of the concepts of dialogue and of mediation and utilizes learning tasks to structure dialogue with students during classroom meetings and outside the classroom, when students work independently. Students' experiences of this approach within the two courses reported on in the article were generally positive.
Kevin Kinser, "Taking WGU Seriously: Implications of the Western Governors University," pp. 161-174
Abstract:After much attention during its development, the continued importance of the Western Governors University (WGU) has not been significantly addressed since it opened in 1998. While certainly not dominating the higher education environment as predicted by its founders, it has nonetheless demonstrated a new competency-based distance education model for higher education. For that reason, the implications of WGU should be taken seriously. Three potential implications for colleges and universities are outlined: accreditation poolicies, organizational models, and faculty roles. While its survival as an institution is questionable, the concepts behind WGU remain important in changes in American higher education.
Jeffrey M. Buck and John L. Watson, "Retaining Staff Employees: The Relationship between Human Resources Management Strategies and Organizational Commitment," pp. 175-194
Organizational behavior studies suggest that employee retention is dependent upon levels of organizational commitment. This study focused on the potential influence that human resources management (HRM) strategies have on organizational commitment levels among staff employees. The study collected data on human resources practices at thirty-four public institutions of higher education. In addition, staff employees from six of these institutions completed a survey measuring affective, continuance, and normative organizational commitment levels. Statistical analysis procedures found significant relationships between the HRM strategies and two of the commitment constructs, indicating that certain HRM strategies can affect organizational commitment and potentially influence turnover.
Holly Angelique, Ken Kyle, and Ed Taylor, "Mentors and Muses: New Strategies for Academic Success," pp. 195-210
Mentoring programs in higher education institutions have met with mixed success. In response to the limitations inherent in the dominant approaches to mentoring, we present an example of a unusual mentoring program, the New Scholars Network (NSN). The NSN is a variant of traditional mentoring approaches, having evolved from mentoring into musing. Framed within a radical humanist philosophy, musing is a process of creating peer communities that facilitates connections between naturally developing relationships, shared power, and collective action. Through mentoring as musing new faculty have the potential to evolve as change agents in the institution, instead of assimilating into the existing.
Laura L. Bierema and Sharon B. Merriam, "E-Mentoring: Using Computer Mediated Communication To Enhance The Mentoring Process," 211-227
The information age is changing the dynamics of many relationships, including mentoring. This article defines traditional mentoring according to its function and effectiveness and then expands the definition of mentoring to include computer-mediated communication (CMC), or "e-mentoring." We propose that e-mentoring holds promise for redefining mentoring relationships and changing the conditions under which mentoring is sought and offered. E-mentoring could potentially make mentoring relationships more available to groups that have previously had limited access to mentoring. Benefits of and barriers to e-mentoring are considered, as are strategies for establishing an e-mentoring relationship. E-mentoring resources are reviewed.
Editor's Address, Ronald D. Simpson, "From Adequacy to Excellence: Honoring the Scholarship of Learning and Teaching"
Cheryl A. Kerfeld, Marc Levis, and L. Jeanne Perry, "Teaching and Exploring the Social Implications of Twenty-first Century Molecular Biology in a Laboratory-Based General Education Course"
At the University of California, Los Angeles, "The Genome: Blueprint, Controversy, Destiny" is an inquiry-based course with a laboratory component, designed for non-science majors. The course explores the many ways in which molecular biology—including the Human Genome Project, genetically modified foods, gene therapy, and forensics—is increasingly permeating society in the 21st century. The laboratory component of the course includes experience in real research—the sequencing of a microbial genome. Students feel, think, and act like scientists while they consider the societal implications of the technology. The course aims to prepare students to be scientifically literate citizens while simultaneously building a major research accomplishment.
Gary K. Allen, John F. Wedman, and Lillian C. Folk, "Looking Beyond the Valley: A Five-Year Case Study of Course Innovation"
Longitudinal changes in student course evaluations throughout the process of implementing information technology-enhanced delivery of a veterinary immunology course were examined. Student ratings of almost all aspects of the course and instruction declined significantly during the five-year period of technology implementation and then recovered to and exceeded their previous levels after the technology was fully implemented. This finding is discussed within the context of the educational change and innovation literature. Understanding how course innovations affect student evaluations over time is essential to avoid penalizing innovators for predictable, temporary declines in student ratings of course quality during the implementation of innovations.
Alison Cook-Sather, "Unrolling Roles in Techno-Pedagogy: Toward New Forms of Collaboration in Traditional College Settings"
Taking the rapid development of information technologies as a catalyst for re-examining the roles generally assigned to professors, students, librarians, and technology support staff in traditional college settings, this article explores how these players in higher education can collaborate to redefine their roles. The article begins with a theoretical exploration of our concept of role and then describes a workshop designed to explore how roles are defined and played out in academic settings.
Adrianna Kezar, "Theory of Multiple Intelligences: Implications for Higher Education"
This article reviews implications of Gardner's theory of Multiple Intelligences for higher education, responding to increased access, the necessity of meeting the needs of diverse users, and the accountability movement.
Editor's Page, Ronald D. Simpson, "The Marked Transformation in Teaching and Learning"
Hitendra Pillay and Bob Elliott, "Emerging Attributes of Pedagogy and Curriculum for the "New World Order"
This article is a conceptual one designed to start dialogue on educational issues that are unfolding amidst the changes in other sectors of our society such as production, services and recreation. We first present an overview of the fundamental but profound changes evidenced in our society and then discuss the nature of these changes and their impact on human ability to function effectively within such an environment. In light of the complexities such as uncertainties and dualistic/multiple perspectives and incongruities, we propose that a model for pedagogy and curriculum development should adopt critical thinking as the key attribute—because it has the potential to deliver an education system for the "new world order."
Christine A. Stanley, "The Faculty Development Portfolio: A Framework for Documenting the Professional Development of Faculty Developers"
Portfolios are used for a variety of purposes in higher education. Two such purposes are the documentation of one's professional development for others and the improvement of one's own performance over time. This article discusses the concept of the faculty development portfolio and, in doing so, outlines the work of faculty development professionals. It also identifies characteristics of effective faculty development professionals and defines the steps involved in creating a faculty development portfolio. These steps include how to conceptualize, gather, and present evidence of items that can be used as a framework for faculty developers to consider when documenting their professional development for summative and formative purposes.
Russell R. Rogers, "Reflection in Higher Education: A Concept Analysis"
Despite the widespread adoption of reflective practices across many fields of study, a critical analysis of the concept of reflection and its application within higher education has been lacking. This article provides an examination of several major theoretical approaches to reflection including those of Dewey; Loughran; Mezirow; Seibert and Daudelin; Langer; Boud, Keogh and Walker; and Schön. Commonalties in terminology, definitions, antecedents, context, process, outcomes and techniques to foster reflection are addressed. The implications of the findings for higher education are delineated.
Vernon A. Quarstein and Polly A. Peterson, "Assessment of Cooperative Learning: A Goal-criterion Approach"
The problem of assessment of non-traditional teaching techniques has long challenged educational administrators and faculty. The approach to assessment that we followed in this instance employed a model that we developed to assess group learning, variously known as cooperative learning, collaborative learning, or team learning. We applied the model to group-based case study courses that included innovative enhancements such as group exams and group-based role-play. The model required balanced representation among multiple learning criteria arranged in six goal-criterion sets, all drawn from the literature on group learning. We designed a test instrument based on the model and administered the instrument to 85 students near the end of three business strategy courses. Imbalances among criteria in the six goal-criterion sets helped identify and correct weaknesses in course design and in methods of instruction.
Editor's Page, Ronald D. Simpson, "A Special Issue Edited by a Special Person," pp. 233-234
Guest Editor's Commentary: James Downey, "Organizational Change and Academic Leadership," pp. 235-238
Patricia J. Gumport, "Restructuring: Imperatives and Opportunities for Academic Leaders," pp. 239-252
In an era when market imperatives have reached an unprecedented level of legitimacy within academic management, the spotlight is on campus leaders to respond strategically. For research universities, particularly public research universities, there are critical institutional legacies to consider in the process of weighing alternative academic futures. Campus leaders need support to reaffirm their broader institutional mandates so that vital educational and social justice values are not jeopardized in the service of short-term economic functions.
Arthur Levine, "The Remaking of the American University," pp. 253-268
Five powerful forces have the capacity to reshape higher education today. They are the rise of an information economy, changing demographics, new technologies, privatization of higher education, and a convergence of knowledge producing organizations. Among the possible consequences of these forces are a greatly expanded and more diverse set of higher education providers; the development of click and brick-and-click colleges; a reduction in the number of physical campuses and the rise of international institutions; an increasing independence of faculty from campuses; and a growing customization of higher education and a shift in focus from teaching to learning.
George M. Dennison, "Small Men on Campus: Modern University Presidents," pp. 269-284
Modern university presidents lack the stature and standing their predecessors enjoyed, or so it appears. Critics and defenders alike—even presidents and former presidents—seem to agree with this proposition, albeit for different reasons. Critics note that presidents today exhibit a career orientation, moving frequently from institution to institution, with the result that presidential tenure continues to decline at a relatively rapid pace. Given these increasingly brief terms, it should not cause surprise that presidents find it difficult to accomplish or even to define agendas. In addition, the critics claim that modern presidents either lack the authority or will to accomplish much of substance or that they avoid controversial issues both on and off campus. However, few commentators have conducted careful comparisons of earlier and modern presidents to establish the validity of the claim about the "shrinking college president." This article seeks to evaluate the claim in a comparative and analytical context and to suggest a revised interpretation. Modern presidents tend to focus on their institutions rather than on higher education in general, by way of contrast to earlier presidents, and they spend more time on campus rather than on general societal concerns. That difference, however, appears to be dissipating because of new developments and new needs within the society at large.
Richard Van Loon, "Organizational Change: A Case Study," pp. 285-301
Universities are often characterized as highly resistant to change, but this is not always true. In circumstances of major threat to institutional survival they may be as susceptible to change as any other large complex organization. This article presents a case study of major organizational change in a mid-sized (17,000 students) university in Ontario, Canada. It concludes that, while formal internal processes may vary from one institution to another, many of the tenets of change theory applicable to other organizations also apply in universities. Lessons about when and how such change can be effected are suggested.
Editor's Page, Kay Herr Gillespie, "The Concept of Learning Communities"
Susan Mancuso, "Adult-Centered Practices: Benchmarking Study in Higher Education"
Adult student enrollment in higher education is approaching 50%, yet most college and university practices have been designed for younger, traditional age students. This study uses an innovative benchmarking research methodology, including surveys and site visits, to identify best practices at selected adult centered institutions. The findings were distilled into one overarching theme and thirteen related themes. The overarching theme, "Adult learner centered institutions have a culture in which flexibility, individuation, and adult-centered learning drive institutional practice" reflects the pervasive student-centeredness of the colleges. The thirteen findings and examples of practices from the colleges that were studied can serve as guideposts to colleges and universities seeking to meet the needs of adult students.
Gayla Rogers, Donna Finley, and Theresa Kline, "Understanding Individual Differences in University Undergraduates: A Learner Needs Segmentation Approach"
The purpose of this study was to use the marketing concept of segmentation in a post-secondary context in order to gain a better understanding of undergraduate students. Most post-secondary institutions segment their learners in traditional ways based on demographic characteristics such as age, year of program, gender, special needs, and grade point average. The establishment of identifiable learner-based segments is a unique, and arguably a critical, first step which can be of benefit to institutions as they develop recruitment strategies and academic programs that best serve the needs of their unique mix of undergraduate learners.
Judith Osgood Smith, Joy S. Whitman, Peggy A. Grant, Annette Stanutz, J.A. Russett, and Karon Rankin, "Peer Networking as a Dynamic Approach to Supporting New Faculty"
This article presents a dynamic method of supporting new faculty through a peer support group led by a facilitator. Group members participate in ongoing self-assessment, individualized goal setting, and activities that reflect the changing needs of the group. We explain the history and activities of the group and also the benefits for institutions considering developing a support mechanism for new faculty.
Jiali Luo, Marilyn L. Grady, Laurie H. Bellows, "Instructional Issues for Teaching Assistants"
This study examined teaching assistants' perceptions of various instructional issues and explored whether their perceptions were affected by nationality, gender, and academic discipline. The study generated significant, positive results. Logistic regression with dummy coding revealed significant predictors of teaching assistants' instructional roles, teaching style, instructional methods, communication strategies, and potential problems. Discussion of the results, implications, and recommendations for future research are included.
Editor's Page, Ronald D. Simpson, "The Study of Higher Education," pp. 81-84
John B. Bennett, "Essay on Hospitality and Collegial Community," pp. 85-96
After discussion of the concept insistent individualism which is addressed as a major problem in the academy, the importance of the collegium—the covenantal community, is presented as a resource for addressing that problem. A collegial ethic of hospitality is explained as a cardinal academic virtue, and it offers us a way of building the collegium. Hospitality can inform our academic work, and we can seek to develop hospitable teaching, hospitable scholarship, and hospitable service.
Peggy A. Pittas, "A Model Program from the Perspective of Faculty Development," pp. 97-110
This article offers the Lynchburg College Symposium Readings (LCSR) Program as a model for faculty development. The program encourages faculty collaboration, innovative classroom practices, service, as well as new areas of faculty scholarship. Methods for assessing faculty work within the context of the goals of the program and the institution are described. Throughout the history of the program an emphasis has been placed on continuous faculty development with the belief that keeping faculty vital ensures quality teaching and scholarship.
Douglas L. Robertson, "Enriching the Scholarship of Teaching: Determining Appropriate Cross-Professional Applications among Teaching, Counseling, and Psychotherapy," pp. 111-126
When teaching is construed as facilitating learning rather than imparting knowledge, it becomes an educational helping relationship. In this light, teaching can be understood to share important characteristics with other helping professions, such as counseling and psychotherapy. As teaching is further conceptualized within this paradigm, confusion can develop regarding appropriate applications of concepts from related helping professions to teaching contexts. This article introduces and illustrates an appropriateness criterion that attempts to remove this confusion and thereby facilitate important cross-professional collaborations and further conceptual development of the teaching-as-helping paradigm.
Kimberly K. Eby and Paula Ruth Gilbert, "Implementing New Pedagogical Models: Using Undergraduate Teaching Assistants in a Violence and Gender Learning Community," pp. 128-142
This article describes the use of undergraduate teaching assistants in a Violence and Gender learning community. After an introduction to the learning community structure and content, we describe the rationale for exploring this innovative pedagogical model. We present our strategies for recruiting, selecting, and preparing the undergraduate teaching assistants for this experience and illustrate how we collaborated as a teaching team. Finally, we present an evaluation of this model, using the teaching assistants' reflections on this experience, a survey of and interviews with students enrolled in the learning community, and our own assessment of this experience.
Elizabeth A. McDaniel, B. Dell Felder, Linda Gordon, Mary Ellen Hrutka, and Stephanie Quinn, "New Faculty Roles in Learning Outcomes Education: The Experiences of Four Models and Institutions," pp. 143-157
Innovative models that focus on learning outcomes engage faculty in new ways of facilitating and assessing learning, while their institutions seek to support and reward their participation. Innovators from four different institutions provide an overview of their approaches to implementing principles of outcomes-based education, compare their models, and explore the changes that are precipitated in the roles, rewards, resources, structures, and models. While the four institutions and models differ on several significant variables, the innovators identify common key elements and issues that the academy must address in order to transform the educational experience and culture to a more learning-centered enterprise.
Editor's Page, Ronald D. Simpson, "Revisiting John Gardner's Concept of Self-Renewal," pp. 3-6
Erik E. Morales, "A Contextual Understanding of the Process of Educational Resilience: High Achieving Dominican American Students and the "Resilience Cycle," pp. 7-22
This article explores the lives of academically resilient Dominican American college students at a selective private university in the Northeast. The conceptual framework used to guide the inquiry is based on the assumption that there are certain protective factors that play significant roles in the students' defiance of the odds and their ultimate academic achievement. The findings presented here focus on the emergence of a "resilience cycle" present during these students' academic journeys. The cycle is presented and its practical implications explored.
Susan R. Schapiro and Jennifer A. Livingston, "Dynamic Self-Regulation: The Driving Force Behind Academic Achievement," pp. 59-76
Research has shown that the most successful students are those who have a propensity to control their own effort to learn. They take personal responsibility for regulating the way in which they approach their studies. Traditionally, it was believed that such self-regulation occurred only through the practice of active, deliberate learning strategies. This study explores an expanded conception of self-regulated learning, one that includes not only the active, strategic control but an internally driven or dynamic disposition to learn as well. Its findings suggest that the natural dynamic component, reflecting qualities such as curiosity, enthusiasm, willingness to take risks, and persistence actually underlies and drives the strategic behavior. Whether these dynamic qualities can be taught, just as active self-regulation, remains a question. In this study where dynamic qualities were valued highly and the environment was supportive and expressive of a culture of learning, initial findings demonstrated that a sizable portion of students who were low dynamic at pre course changed to high dynamic by post course.
Sharon K. Anderson, David MacPhee, and Debra Roley, "Infusion of Multicultural Issues in Curricula: A Student Perspective," pp. 37-58
To explore perceptions of the impact of a multicultural infusion project, current and former university students described classroom incidents that had strengthened their understanding of multiculturalism. They discussed why these incidents increased their multicultural awareness and how their interactions with others were changed. Participants described 155 incidents. These were sorted into 18 categories of pedagogical techniques and classroom composition or dynamics that promoted multicultural awareness. Former students reported that addressing multicultural issues in courses had a long-term impact on knowledge, attitudes, and professional skills. However, such benefits were not specific to classes that had been targeted for curriculum revision.
J. David Johnson, "Levels of Success in Implementing Information Technologies," pp. 59-76
In this essay the author argues that the key to implementing information technologies successfully in higher education rests on the convergence of three factors. First, an innovation must be properly framed in terms of stakeholders' expectations. Second, an environment favorable to innovation must be present. Finally, the pros of specific attributes of innovations must outweigh their cons. The seven other conditions, in which one or more of these factors are not positively weighted, result in differing degrees of success with different implications for leadership in educational institutions.
Terry M. Wildman, Margaret P. Hable, Marlene M. Preston, and Susan G. Magliaro, "Faculty Study Groups: Solving 'Good Problems' Through Study, Reflection, and Collaboration"
We describe the development, implementation, and assessment of a faculty study group program designed to foster teaching as a reflective, collaborative activity within a research university. Conceived within conceptual frameworks that challenge technical/rationalist approaches to faculty development, the program was successful in creating opportunities for faculty of different disciplines, age groups, ranks, and teaching experience to establish productive discourse communities around their own teaching. Our experience shows that such programs require careful thought and planning, which we detail here, and that faculty even in research oriented institutions can be captured by the "good problem" that teaching represents.
J. Patrick McCarthy and Liam Anderson, "Active Learning Techniques versus Traditional Teaching Styles: Two Experiments from History and Political Science"
Group role-playing and collaborative exercises are exciting ways to diversify college students' classroom experience and to incorporate active learning into your teaching. This article reports the results of two experiments that compared the effectiveness of role-playing and collaborative activities to teacher-centered discussions and lectures. Using both history and political science classes, we show that the students who participated in the role-plays and collaborative exercises did better on subsequent standard evaluations than their traditionally instructed peers. Presented here is a discussion of active learning, descriptions of the two experiments, and an explanation of the outcomes and implications of the study.
Ron W. Wilhelm, Madge T. Craig, Rebecca J. Glover, Diane D. Allen, and Jane B. Huffman, "Becoming Qualitative Researchers: A Collaborative Approach to Faculty Development"
Five junior scholars, representing two departments and four program areas in the College of Education at the University of North Texas, committed themselves to a long-term, systematic, research-based learning program in order to further their knowledge and skills as qualitative researchers. In this essay, this community of learners describes their collaborative efforts to develop more effective skills in one method of qualitative research, in-depth, oral history interviewing. Through their cross-discipline, research-based, faculty development model, the authors offer helpful direction to other higher education faculty who seek to improve their ability to conduct and also to guide students in qualitative investigations.
R. Neal Shambaugh, "Reframing Doctoral Programs: A Program of Human Inquiry for Doctoral Students and Faculty Advisors"
The Program of Human Inquiry is proposed as a structure to support scholarly inquiry by graduate students and faculty advisors. The Program provides a foundation that acknowledges human experiences and connects them to program aims in ways that do not limit student and faculty options. The Program promotes communication among student, committee members, and committee chair, as well as dialogue with oneself. It consists of four components. The first component is an acknowledgment of what one brings to graduate studies. The second component includes a Plan of Study, a summary of coursework, field experiences, formal exam dates, and residency. A third component records rigorous, but negotiated, "avenues of inquiry," including coursework, readings, research, and conferences. Finally, the Program encourages an ongoing discussion of values and recording of appropriate experiences. This proposal will interest students who wish to get the most out of their graduate experience and faculty who desire to continually re-examine their advising, their graduate program, and their own learning.
Editor's Page, Ronald D. Simpson, "Hemispheric Learning: Implications for Higher Education"
Cameron Fincher, "Planning Imperatives for the Next Century: A Guest Essay"
Taking into consideration what has occurred with planning in American higher education over the past three decades and in light of the demands for institutional effectiveness, our planning efforts must be reinvigorated and recast. In the belief that different strategies are needed now, ten imperatives for planning are presented and explained so as to address this need.
Charles M. Spuches and James E. Coufal, "Focusing on Process to Improve Learning: A Case Study of Instructional Research and Development"
This article describes a project undertaken to create a faculty resource guide, Environmental Ethics in Practice. We focus on the instructional research and development (IRD) process we employed and the resulting instructional product. Although IRD is an established process, it is largely underutilized in favor of an artistic / intuitive approach to instructional design and development. Our purpose is to show faculty and administrators the practical application of IRD and its relevance to similar educational projects in all disciplines.
Mimi Wolverton, Walter Gmelch, and Marvin L. Wolverton, "Finding a Better Person-Environment Fit in the Academic Deanship"
Individuals seek a balance between the demands of their institutions and the dimensions that make up their personalities and determine their needs (Getzels & Guba, 1957). Academic deans are no exception. Indeed, the fit (or lack of it) between the work environment and the unique characteristics of individuals asked to function within a given setting helps determine whether they experience levels of stress that move them forward in their work or suffer debilitating stress that leads to excessive physical and mental strain. This article examines the fit between academic deans and their work environments in the U.S. and Australia as it relates to multiple role stress factors affecting deans.
John W. Miller, Leonard P. Martineau, and Robert C. Clark, "Technology Infusion and Higher Education: Changing Teaching and Learning"
This article examines the position that, while technology infusion into the teaching and learning process has occurred, gains have nonetheless come slowly. The question of whether or not such infusion is necessary is considered. Barriers to more rapid expansion of technology assisted learning are enumerated, and changes needed to speed infusion are identified. These include changes at the system level and those to be made by individual faculty.
Editor's Page, Ronald D. Simpson, "Ralph Tyler on Curriculum: A Voice from the Past with a Message for the Future"
W. Alan Wright, Peter T. Knight, and Natalie Pomerleau, "Portfolio People: Teaching and Learning Dossiers and Innovation in Higher Education"
As teaching portfolios have become more commonplace in higher education, interest has grown in student portfolios. Both innovations embody the same core process—reflection—and both have similar potential benefits and similar drawbacks. This article commends portfolios as innovative in themselves and as a response to the new mandates that are confronting higher education. Accounts of the potential of and problems with portfolios are summarized, and attention is then given to key issues in successfully introducing them. The underlying position is that students can best gain from their years of study when the systemic reflection that is characteristic of portfolios engages them (through learning portfolios) and their teachers (through teaching portfolios). Embedding such thinking in practice is, itself, a powerful and innovative approach to re-framing the curriculum.
Alex J. Angulo and Michelle Bruce, "Student Perceptions of Supplemental Web-Based Instruction"
This study examined the perceptions of college students using supplemental web-based instruction (WBI). During the fall quarter of 1997, the researchers surveyed higher education students in five courses at the University of Georgia. The survey included 13 five-point Likert scale questions followed by four open-ended questions. The results show that students found the supplemental WBI site beneficial, overall, to their learning while the bulletin board discussions outside of class were the most "liked" feature. However, most students would not consider taking a course that was conducted entirely through this medium, without any class meetings.
Tania Aspland, Helen Edwards, Jane O'Leary, and Yoni Ryan, "Tracking New Directions in the Evaluation of Postgraduate Supervision"
This article focuses on the evaluation of thesis supervision and highlights the vast range of problem areas presently documented as significant areas of concern for both graduate students and their supervisors. Additionally, the authors report on a study completed in 1995, which surveyed all Australian universities about current evaluative practices in postgraduate supervision. The conclusion of this study was that the conduct of such evaluations appears to be minimal and is primarily designed to obtain an indicator of the general "health" of a university's postgraduate supervision rather than to foster improved supervisory practices. As part of the same study, the authors conducted University faculty-based student and supervisor focus groups. Key issues emerging from these focus groups were: (1) the importance of relational aspects of supervision as the student communicates over the long term with one or more supervisors; (2) the importance of systematic feedback, monitoring, and evaluation to the supervisory process; and (3) the lack of strategies to facilitate this evaluative feedback process. On the basis of these findings, the authors designed evaluative strategies to facilitate regular ongoing feedback between students and supervisors.
Chris D. Erickson and Ester R. Rodriguez, "Indiana Jane and the Temples of Doom: Recommendations for Enhancing Women and Racial/Ethnic Faculty's Success in Academia"
Despite a body of literature which has identified the difficulties of new/junior women and racial/ethnic faculty members' socialization into the academic culture, many continue to experience feelings of alienation, disenfranchisement, and marginalization. This article depicts the experiences of representative new women and racial/ethnic faculty to illustrate the realities faced by these faculty in entering and managing the academic environment. Recommendations for enhancing the success of women and racial/ethnic faculty are provided and divided into four levels of responsibility at the university, departmental, senior faculty/faculty mentors, and new/junior faculty levels.
Special issue: Post-tenure Review
Christine M. Licata and Joseph C. Morreale, "Post-tenure Review: National Trends, Questions, and Concerns"
Evaluation and development of tenured faculty, commonly referred to as post-tenure review, is one of the most controversial policy initiatives of this decade. Reaction to these policies has been mixed. The authors discuss the evolution of such policies, review current practices, describe common approaches and summarize unifying principles that lead to successful implementation. Lingering questions regarding impact, outcomes, cost and benefit are explored.
Margaret A. Miller, "State-level Post-tenure Review Policies"
State-level policies mandating post-tenure review in the public colleges and universities have proliferated since the early nineties. A look at what Virginia's 1994 Commission on the Future of Higher Education said about tenure and post-tenure review reveals the thinking that lies behind many of the initiatives. As the commissioners said, "For the general public and corporate executives, tenure is about an entrenched system that is perceived to place a much higher premium on research than on teaching, that causes the institution to be inflexible rather than flexible, and that appears to ensure employment regardless of performance." Policy makers view post-tenure review, then, as a safeguard against what they see to be the lack of accountability and performance incentives in a tenure system. This article provides an overview of the post-tenure review policies in the states, describes their features, and speculates about their future.
S. Vianne McLean and Thomas E. Callarman, "Navigating the Long and Winding Path of Post-tenure Review: The Arizona Story"
This article by two former faculty leaders describes the development and implementation of the Arizona post tenure review policy, with particular emphasis on the Arizona State University experience. This policy had to balance the somewhat different expectations of the Arizona Board of Regents, the faculty, and university administration. The article outlines the communication strategies used in negotiations with regents and faculty groups and draws lessons for other university systems which may be commencing their own journey down the long and winding path of post tenure review development and implementation.
Ellen Switkes, "University of California Peer Review System and Post-tenure Evaluation"
The peer review system at all campuses of the University of California is a long standing program of pre- and post- tenure evaluation. All faculty are reviewed on a schedule of 2 to 4 years by department colleagues, the dean, and a campus faculty committee which normally results in a merit increase. This system of pre- and post- tenure review throughout a faculty members' career poses a substantial workload for faculty, departments, and the campus; but is regarded by faculty and campus administrators as crucial to maintaining a faculty of very high quality. This article describes the well-established review process, which may provide ideas for those institutions planning on enhancing their approaches to peer review .
Charles Mignon and Deborah Langsam, "Peer Review and Post-tenure Review"
This essay focuses on four themes, which are post-tenure review as a summative moment in a cycle of formative occasions, the post-tenure period as characterized by flux and change , the post-tenure period as one of crisis in intellectual growth, and peer collaboration and review of teaching as appropriate modes of faculty development.
Mary Deane Sorcinelli, "Post-tenure Review through Post-tenure Development: What Linking Senior Faculty and Technology Taught Us"
This article highlights a faculty development program designed to allow mid-career and senior faculty to effectively apply the capacities of technology to teaching and learning. It provides a profile of senior faculty and their work satisfactions and stresses, describes a senior teaching fellows program, TEACHnology, as one mechanism for senior faculty reviatalization, and suggests the kinds of practices that seem to best support senior faculty in terms of career development. It concludes with implications of such faculty development processes for meeting some of the challenges of post-tenure review.
James W. Taylor, "Lessons Learned about Post-tenure Review from the AAHE Peer Review of Teaching Project"
Although most institutions seem to have in place a formal mechanism for evaluating faculty activities annually for the purpose of merit and promotion, a post-tenure review process is relatively new. Faculty facing a post-tenure review, which calls for both a backward review of what has been accomplished over a multi-year period and a forward projection of what is planned, may not have sufficient guides to know what to include and what to omit. As a result of my exposure to the American Association for Higher Education's (AAHE) Peer Review of Teaching Project I tried to adapt one of their strategies to provide the backward and forward view for my post-tenure review. The strategy was the "reflective memo," and it proved to be adaptable as a guide in the review of research, teaching, and service. I hope the process that I will describe and the lessons that I learned will be helpful to others facing a similar process.
Editor's Page, Ronald D. Simpson, "The Importance of Being a Nobody in Higher Education"
Rosemary S. Caffarella and Lynn F. Zinn, "Professional Development for Faculty in Higher Education: A Conceptual Framework of Barriers and Supports"
Professional development for faculty in higher education takes many forms, from self-directed activities to organized programs of learning. Described in this article is a comprehensive definition of continuing professional development followed by a conceptual framework for thinking about those factors that support or impede our professional development. We conclude with a case study of one professor's career development, noting where various factors in the framework have played a part.
K. Patricia Cross, "What do we know about students' learning, and how do we know it?"
This essay, first presented as an address at the 1998 conference of the American Association for Higher Education, raises questions about authoritative knowledge.
Douglas L. Robertson, "Professors' Perspectives on Their Teaching: A New Construct and Developmental Model"
Building carefully on the college teaching and adult development literatures, this paper presents a model that describes the perspective of professors at various developmental positions with regard to their work as teachers. The model comprises five, interrelated positions: (a) three stable periods: Egocentrism (teacher-centeredness), Aliocentrism (learner-centeredness), and Systemocentrism (teacher/learner-centeredness) and (b) two transitional periods: one between each of the two potential movements from one stable period to the next. The model integrates the constructs of previous typologies, adds a significant new construct, and arranges the total array of perspectival constructs in a typical developmental sequence.
Betty Jean Craige, "The Humanities in the Era of Cooperation: Beyond C.P. Snow's 'Two Cultures'"
During the forty years since C.P. Snow decried the existence of "two cultures" and castigated "literacy intellectuals" for their lack of concern for humanity as a whole, an intellectual revolution in the humanities, driven in part by the intellectual obliteration of boundaries between disciplines and in part by globalization, has reoriented scholars toward engagement in the world and communication with scientists. A recognition that interdependence makes cooperation essential, whether among scholars or among nations, is bringing about an "era of cooperation" among disciplines and between academic and non-academic institutions.
Editor's Page, Ronald D. Simpson, "A Tribute to the Life of Sven O. Groennings"
Douglas L. Robertson, "Unconscious Displacements in College Teacher and Student Relationships: Conceptualizing, Identifying, and Managing Transference"
Transference is an unconscious displacement of thoughts, feelings, and behaviors from a previous significant relationship onto a current relationship. It is a phenomenon that teachers and students both enact with each other, sometimes resulting in a dramatic intensification of those relationships. Transference can pertain importantly to understanding and managing the complex, dynamic, intersubjective system that constitutes the educational helping relationship. Based on an analysis of over 350 items in the college teaching and transference literatures, this article provides: (a) a conceptual foundation for understanding transference, (b) 15 indicators of its possible occurrence, and (c) 9 recommendations for its effective management.
Karen L. St. Clair, "A Case Against Compulsory Class Attendance Policies in Higher Education"
Compulsory attendance policies have been instituted in higher education with the expectation that academic achievement will improve. The empirical research findings of the relationship between class attendance or attendance policies and academic achievement are equivocal. Pintrich's theoretical model of motivation in the college classroom posits that students' motivational beliefs, classroom context, and students' behaviors are important variables in academic achievement. A case against compulsory attendance policies which is based on evaluation of the empirical research and the application of Pintrich's model to the question of the value of compulsory attendance policies in higher education is presented.
Robert Lewis, Paul Berghoff, Pierette Pheeney, "Focusing Students: Three Approaches of Learning Through Evaluation"
Three professors share their solutions to the problem of focusing students on the assessments required in their classes. Test specification charts show students the specific concepts, principles, and problems that will be included on multiple choice tests. Rubrics developed for assigned work are demonstrated as ways to increase student expectations and to direct their explorations. Negotiated rubrics are used to involve students in the setting of standards for work in their own classes. Advantages for students and professors in using the methods are offered.
Doris R. Kimbrough and Gabriela C. Weaver, "Improving the Background Knowledge of Non-traditional Students"
Three intervention methods to assist non-traditional college students in evaluating and improving their chemical and mathematical backgrounds were developed and implemented over three successive years. The goal was to improve students' self-confidence and success in the course. The first method was a one-day optional symposium featuring a variety of tutorial sessions. In the second, a pre-test helped students determine potential deficits in requisite knowledge, and topical workshops were made available outside of class time. The third method used the same assessment pre-test combined with instructional videos on selected topics drawn from the pre-test. The three approaches were compared in a formative sense with respect to 1) student identification of areas of potential weakness, 2) accessibility of each method to the non-traditional student population. The success of the third method at improving student course performance was also examined.
Alton L. Taylor, "Planning Approaches Used to Respond to Issues Confronting Research Universities"
To improve the understanding of strategic issues confronting research universities and universities' response to managing these issues, this article contains an interpretation of the findings of interviews with administrators at nine research universities. Realistic comments are offered on the efficacy of planning and the search for achieving excellence in higher education and beyond the restrictive sense of strategic planning. A discerning perspective for innovative management approaches of these university issues is a major focus of this article.
Editor's Page, Thomas Dyer, Special Editor, "Images of the Professoriate"
Randy L. Swing, "Public Opinion and Images of the American Professoriate"
National opinion poll data provide access to the public images of the American professoriate. These data recorded images of college professors as trustworthy, honest, and engaged in important work through college teaching, research, and service but also recorded hesitations toward granting full academic freedom to teachers holding controversial ideas. The impact of events, such as the publication of ProfScam and other critical reports, can be determined through longitudinal measures of the image of college teachers.
David K. Knox, "Socrates: The First Professor"
History provides us with many heroes after whom we can model our actions. The professoriate has its own historical figures who may be called "heroic professors". This article proposes Socrates as an archetype of the heroic professor. An analysis of the career, character, and teaching methods of Socrates is used to identify essential qualities which define the professoriate. Further, the example of Socrates can inform and inspire our teaching today.
Katherine M. Wrightson, "The Professor as Teacher: Allan Bloom, Wayne Booth, and the Tradition of Teaching at the University of Chicago"
The University of Chicago has long emphasized teaching as a valued skill and has developed a specific faculty image which includes a moral component focused on the "intellectual search for truth and the transmission of intellectual values" (Murphy & Bruckner, 1976, p. 68). This concept of morality stands in opposition to relativist theories popular elsewhere in the United States and has been remarkably consistent at Chicago throughout its history. Faculty in various disciplines, as well as those with differing philosophical or political beliefs, share a commitment to teaching as moral inculcation as well as an information transfer. Through the writings of Allan Bloom and Wayne Booth, as well as historical documents from the University, the Chicago model of pedagogical morality is explored and discussed.
Claire Howell Major, "When Power is the Limit: The Image of the Professor in Selected Fiction"
The professor has appeared as a fictional character since the middle ages, and several professorial images may be found in academic fiction. An analysis of fictional images reveals that authors most often depict professors who have no ambitions to gain power, whether economic, person, political, or philosophical, as estimable characters; but authors condemn professor characters who attempt to exert power in order to gain money, relationships, position, or knowledge.
Editor's Page, Ronald D. Simpson, "The Currency System of Higher Education"
Edmund J. Hansen, "Creating Teachable Moments . . . and Making Them Last"
The article investigates what the content (rather than the process) of instruction can do to motivate oftentimes ill-prepared students with predominantly extrinsic interests in their education. Among the four content-related conditions of classroom learning that are described, particular emphasis is placed on the relationship between teaching for cognitive dissonance and reflective self-assessment. The former is seen as a main condition for creating teachable moments, the latter as a vehicle for turning them into lasting learning experiences. The discussion of these issues is based on work done in three specific courses and on additional evidence from the literature.
Granger Macy, Joan Neal, and Karen K. Waner, "Harder than I thought: A Qualitative Study of the Impelementation of a Total Quality Management Approach in Business Education"
After a brief discussion of the role of Total Quality Management (TQM) in higher education, this article analyzes factors impacting its adoption in the Management Department at Central Missouri State University (Central). In examining the program at Central a brief history of the program is presented along with the results of a qualitative analysis of interviews of the faculty engaged in the program. This information provides useful insights to the development of TQM processes in education. Several key factors are identified including outcomes, the educational process, and student assessment.
Ronda Beaman, "THE UNQUIET . . . EVEN LOUD ANDRAGOGY! Alternative Assessments for Adult Learners"
This article argues that prevailing assessment methods confuse the adult learner, fail to place the instructor in a facilitative mode, and hamper attempts at learner empowerment. Descriptions of more appropriate evaluative methods are given, along with student responses to these methods.
Mimi Wolverton, "Treading the Tenure-Track Tightrope: Finding Balance Between Research Excellence and Quality Teaching"
Clearly, a rift exists between what faculty at public colleges and universities do and what the general populace and external funding agencies increasingly expect them to accomplish (Fairweather, 1996). Throughout the 1990s, the continual allegation has been that the emphasis on research has escalated at the expense of undergraduate teaching quality (Cole, 1994; Winston, 1994). This article examines the circumstances that have contributed to this state of affairs and then looks at two attempts to address the increased demands for better undergraduate teaching without weakening the research reputation of their organizations. This first approach ñ the development of ethical principles of teaching ñ encourages compliance. The second, a revamping of faculty development and reward structures, promotes a kind of teaching-research synergy.
Editor's Page, Ronald D. Simpson, "The Overwhelming Nature of Higher Education"
Talmadge C. Guy, Judith C. Reiff, and Jenny Penney Oliver, "Infusing Multicultural Education: A Process of Creating Organizational Change at the College Level"
Organizational change directed at infusing multicultural education into an institutional unit such as a college requires attention to the organizational culture of that unit. The authors use the concept of second-order organizational change (Levy & Merry, 1986) as a way to conceptualize the nature of the change associated with infusing multicultural education within a large College of Education. The authors describe a four-year process of organizational change in which qualitative changes to the organizationís culture occurred in support of multicultural education. Key elements of change include the values and norms that support organizational policies and practices. Lessons learned are included.
Mark D. Baldwin and Joseph F. Keating, "Innovative Team Building Practices for Professionals: Developing Inter-Group Skills to Enhance Effective Performance"
The complexities of bringing teams of professionals together to work in a sustained and effective manner toward a common goal are considerable. The necessary inter-group skills involved are often not a part of most professional preparation programs. This article describes an innovative workshop for secondary preservice teachers which targeted the development of communication, problem solving, and team building. Results are promising. Any team of individuals, whether it be a group of professors, a program that utilizes a cohort model (a group of individuals who go through a program or process together0, or simply a group needing to develop effective inter-group skills, may benefit from similar workshops. The article invites continued discussion and research concerning the training of professional sin team building and inter-group skills.
Mike Davis and Margaret E. Holt, "havingproblems@cm.com: new ways to miss the point"
The desire to establish international links between two departments of adult education and to experiment with new technologies led us to establish a listservóa computer based community in cyberspace. This article describes the experience and attempts to articulate some of the problems that emerged. The main problem was the failure in developing a sense of community among the participants. This failure had its origins in some of the assumptions about groups in cyberspace and their similarity to groups in face to face settings.
Editor's Page, Ronald D. Simpson "Teaching as a Scholarly Activity"
Peg Boyle and Bob Boice, "Systematic Mentoring for New Faculty Teachers and Graduate Teaching Assistants"
This study reports on the development and assessment of two mentoring programs, one for new faculty and one for new graduate teaching assistants. The first program was an externally funded, elaborate program; and it suggested the centrality of factors such as sustained, involving relationship for best outcomes with proteges. The second project, with newcomers to graduate study, demonstrated that a simpler program focusing on involvement within the pair and group meetings produces promising results. Form both these projects, we developed a replicable model of systematic mentoring, and we obtained a clear picture of the styles and skills of exemplary mentors.
Christine B. Eleser and Sheila W. Chauvin, "Professional Development How-To's: Strategies for Surveying Faculty Preferences"
The primary purpose of this article is to report the development, results, and conclusions of a university campus-wide faculty development needs assessment survey. The survey is unique in that it asked faculty to first identify their professional goals and then select activities to help them reach the desired goals. The second purpose is to discuss how faculty at different stages of their careers have different goals.
Mimi Wolverton, Walter H. Gmelch, and Dean Sorenson, "The Department as Double Agent: The Call for Department Change and Renewal"
The well-known and respected Pew Foundation recently suggested four prerequisites for departmental change and renewal—a dedication to teamwork, collective dialogue and inquiry about effective teaching, a commitment to quality control and rewarding collective goals, and the leadership of a purposeful chair. Many realities that surround academic programs work against these critical conditions for renewal: conflicting faculty interests, turbulent environments, unclear institutional goals, to name a few. This article examines teamwork, teaching, quality, and leadership as means to mitigate the contradictions and enhance department renewal.
Jean M. Lynch and Cathy Bishop-Clark, "A Comparison of the Nontraditional Students' Experiences on Traditional versus Nontraditional College Campuses"
The majority of research on nontraditional students has been conducted in environments where they constitute a significant portion of the college population. For the most part, this research found few problems and indicated that nontraditional studentsí college experiences are positive. This article compares the experience of nontraditional students at two types of campuses—a traditional campus where older students constitute a small percentage of the student population and two branch campuses where there is a substantial number of older students. The findings indicate areas in which a lack of age diversity may have an impact on the nontraditional studentsí experience.
Elizabeth Bondy and Dorene Ross, "Teaching Teams: Creating the Context for Faculty Action Research"
Action research and classroom assessment, school-based strategies for professionalizing teaching and reforming schools, have begun to receive attention as a strategy for accomplishing similar goals in higher education. In this article, the authors describe the important role that context plays in supporting teachersí action research efforts. The description of the context that supports action research in one university will be useful to higher education faculty and administrators who are working to create similar contexts to support action research or classroom assessment by faculty.
Mary H. Mundt, "The Urban University: An Opportunity for Renewal in Higher Education"
The American system of higher education is under attack from critics who charge that universities and faculty have disengaged from teaching and abandoned basic relationships with communities. There is continuing need for development of insight and knowledgeable responses to these criticisms and challenges. The urban universities in America have an opportunity to demonstrate the characteristics claimed to be missing from higher education. A discussion of the urban university as an institution in partnership with the community is provided together with recommendations for reform in scholarship, curriculum, teaching, and service.
Editor's Page, Kay Herr Gillespie "Perspectives on Values and Ethics"
Sally S. Scott, "Accommodating College Students with Learning Disabilities: How much is enough?"
Individuals with learning disabilities are attending institutions of higher education in greater numbers than ever before. In attempts to accommodate these students in the classroom, faculty often face the ethical concern of balancing the rights of students with learning disabilities with the academic integrity of the course, program of study, and institution. In order to dispel misinformation, a brief description of learning disabilities and federal law is provided. The ethical concern of "how much is enough?" is examined, and recommendations are provided for the informed and active participation of faculty in accommodating college students with learning disabilities.
J. Dale Thorn, "When a Trial Threatens to Merge Small Universities: The Role of Litigation Public Relations in a Federal Desegregation Case"
Occasionally a confluence of factors threatens the continued existence of an institution. A 1994 federal district court trial in Mississippi provided the setting for an unprecedented desegregation case that threatened the future of two universities. The President of Mississippi University for Women faced the ethical dilemma of going along with the wishes of her board of trustees or fighting for the retention of her institution. Buttressed by loyal alumni, the media savvy President engaged in an unorthodox and innovative litigation public relations campaign that proved highly effective. In saving Mississippi University for Women, a historically White institution, The Wís campaign also played a significant part in saving Mississippi Valley State University, a historically Black institution.
Anita Gandolfo, "Identifying Lurking Alligators; An Essay on the Ethical Dimensions of Faculty Development"
The literature on ethics in higher education tends to focus primarily on the professor/student relationship. While that relationship is central to academia, there are important ethical dimensions to consider in the work of faculty development. Principles used to gloss the ethics of the professor/student relationship are applicable to the ethics of faculty development as well.
Linc. Fisch, "Triggering Discussions on Ethics and Values"
When designing instructional activities focused on issues of ethics and values, teachers commonly search for cases that generate effective discussions. Such cases often are short, open-ended, realistic, incomplete, and impactful. The last quality may result from visual images and emotional content. Some alternatives to simple, individual reading of a case, which is a traditional opening approach, help increase the caseís impact severalfold—for example, video and slide-tape versions. Other alternatives offer ease of preparation and presentation—for example, staged readings. Seventeen innovative variations are offered in this article a options that can match particular circumstances of the instructional venue.
Editor's Page, Kay Herr Gillespie and Ronald D. Simpson, "Partnerships"
Katharine C. Lyall, "Once and Future Partners: The State and Its University"
Public universities, their states and the citizenry have a long established social contract of partnership in American higher education, and this relationship has been enormously productive. However, it is now in the process of being "reinvented" within a climate of changing attitudes and priorities; and the partners need to work at improving the partnership. Four steps for so doing are proposed—lifting the public dialogue about higher education, addressing the meaning of accountability, providing universities with greater management flexibility, and preparing students for citizenship.
Elizabeth A. McDaniel and Guy C. Colarulli, "Collaborative Teaching in the Face of Productivity Concerns: The Dispersed Team Model"
The development of collaborative teaching efforts is briefly reviewed within the context of higher education today, which is a time of declining resources available for such efforts. Therefore costs must be considered in the promotion of collaboration, which most would likely agree is a positive element in the delivery of courses. Models of team coordinated teaching and team teaching are explained, and the authors identify four dimensions of collaboration—integration, interaction, active learning, and faculty autonomy. A successful model, which addresses both quality and costs concerns, is then offered.
James W. Morehead and Peter J. Shedd, "Utilizing Summative Evaluation Through External Peer Review of Teaching"
This article examines the dichotomy between summative and formative evaluation of teaching and suggests a new model for reviewing teaching that utilizes colleagues from other campuses (external review) as a means of summative evaluation. Traditionally student evaluations and on-campus peer-based review of teaching (internal review) discourage innovations in teaching assessments because they are used for summative purposes. Based on research conducted as a part of the AAHE Peer Review of Teaching National Project, this article argues that summative evaluation of teaching should be based on external review leaving internal review primarily for formative purposes.
Brenda S. Gardner and Sharon J. Korth, "Classroom Strategies that Facilitate Transfer of Learning to the Workplace"
Organizations have frequently expressed the need for employees who can learn and work effectively in a team environment. This article discusses a process by which an educational program has responded to this challenge. The program used experiential learning, transfer of learning, and team learning theories as the framework for designing a holistic, integrative, and experiential process by which students could transfer their classroom learning to workplace activities. Implications for higher education are discussed.
Darla J. Twale, David M. Shannon, and Matthew S. Moore, "NGTA and IGTA Training and Experience: Comparisons Between Self-Ratings and Undergraduate Student Evaluations"
Undergraduate student ratings and corresponding graduate teaching assistant (GTA) self-ratings of nine teaching effectiveness factors were evaluated to determine the extent to which math and science GTAs who speak English as their native language (NGTA) differ from their international counterparts (IGTA). Overall, GTA self-ratings were consistently higher than corresponding student ratings. Differences in ratings between the two groups of GTAs were dependent upon specific teaching effectiveness factors and the source of the rating. GTA self-ratings were generally higher for IGTAs while student ratings were consistently higher for NGTAs.
Judith E. Miller and James E. Groccia, "Are Four Heads Better Than One? A Comparison of Cooperative and Traditional Teaching Formats in an Introductory Biology Course"
The objective of this experiment was to compare the impact of a cooperative learning format with a traditional lecture-oriented format in the teaching of introductory biology. Differences were found in favor of the cooperative learning format in measures of student satisfaction, the ability to find information on one's own, the acquisition of factual knowledge, and the ability to work with others. The results of this study affirm the viability of using a cooperative learning approach over a traditional lecture format.
Susan G. Forman and Louise C. Wilkinson, "Educational Policy Through Service Learning: Preparation for Citizenship and Civic Participation"
This article describes a course designed to prepare undergraduate students to participate effectively in civic life and in public decisions about education and schooling. The course includes an examination of the theoretical and conceptual basis of civic responsibility and service learning, a review of the process of educational policymaking, and an in-depth exploration of a number of current educational policy issues. The course is taught with service learning pedagogy. Experiences in a service placement yield personal knowledge that has the potential to inform students' critical analysis of theoretical, research, and policy literature and to make students more effective active classroom learners.
Thomas S. Barker and Howard W. Smith, Jr., "Strategic Planning: Evolution of a Model"
In the 1990s many institutions are faced with pressures to serve the needs of society while facing declining financial resources. This increases the need for institutions to properly plan for the future. The literature shows that many institutions have not embraced the need for strategic planning. This article reviews the systems approach to strategic planning as a method to enhance the planning processes. Planning models in the literature were examined, and a new model specifically oriented to institutions of higher education is presented. The model uses the concepts of the systems approach, combines elements of models in the literature, and shows the relationships and responsibilities of elements of the institution.
Gershon Vincow, "The Student-Centered Research University"
After definition and explanation of the concept of the student-centered research university, the idea of the student-centered course is explained. Finally, faculty concerns about this model are discussed.
Ronald K. Teeples and Harvey A. Wichman, "Teaching Theory and Applications Together: An Exploratory Teaching Program in the Liberal Arts"
An exploratory approach to teaching and learning is described. The program incorporates real-world projects as class activities, which dramatically alters the traditional motivational structure of both students and professors. The approach is based on the principle that learning is most effective when the goals of instructors and students are congruent. The literature indicates that the traditional liberal arts classroom format makes such congruence unlikely. In this program, the key element to harmonizing student-teacher goals and objectives involves the inclusion of outside clients. They provide projects to be completed by student teams assisted by their professors and adjunct experts. In the process students gain opportunities to learn by doing and assume greater responsibility for course organization. Professors engage their undergraduate students in a manner more like graduate students and become more focused on educational outcomes than on lecture content. We conclude by discussing the major successes and problems incurred in attempting to integrate such a program into a standard liberal arts curriculum.
Thomas R. Lord, "A Comparison Between Traditional and Constructivist Teaching in College Biology"
Two large sections of introductory biology for nonmajors were given the same course information with two different teaching styles. On group (N=86) was presented material in the traditional teacher-centered manner of lecture and laboratory while course information was given to the second group (N=98) in the student-centered, constructivist format. Learning was assessed in both groups with the same evaluative instruments and the results compared. This analysis revealed that the experimental (constructivist taught) population did significantly better than the control (traditionally taught) population. Furthermore, the students in the experimental group maintained a better attitude throughout the semester and enjoyed the introductory course more than the students in the control population.
Kathleen Montgomery, Susan Brown, and Cathleen Deery, "Simulations: Using Experiential Learning to Add Relevancy and Meaning to Introductory Courses"
Over the past two years the authors have provided experiential learning in the form of a simulation exercise to help 240 college students relate personally to the foundations of education. Introductory courses, with a preponderance of facts and breadth of content, can easily overwhelm students. The simulation not only energized the students but also personalized an in-depth understanding of educational issues. This theoretical knowledge was applied practically, a link which may often be missing in many introductory courses.
Kristina M. DeNeve and Mary J. Heppner, "Role Play Simulations: The Assessment of an Active Learning Technique and Comparisons with Traditional Lectures"
Although effective teaching is focusing more on the need to use active learning techniques, the research literature regarding the efficacy of various teaching methods is inconclusive. An innovative active learning technique combining the features of role plays and simulations for an industrial psychology course is presented. Subjective reports and objective assessments of knowledge retention measured at two distinct times indicated the role play simulation is an effective teaching technique. The differential importance of active learning and passive learning (i.e., lectures) techniques for the college classroom was also examined. Finally, the application of this technique for several college courses is presented.
James Downey, "The University as Trinity: Balancing Corporation, Collegium, and Community"
An essay examining the idea and nature of the university with the hope of reawakening us to our sense of the wonder and grandeur "of it all."
James E. Groccia and Judith E. Miller, "Collegiality in the Classroom: The Use or Peer Learning Assistants in Cooperative Learning in Introductory Biology"
Experienced undergraduate students served as Peer Learning Assistants (PLAs) to facilitate group process and dynamics in cooperative learning groups. The use of this model in large classes (15) students) resulted in statistically significant improvements in group performance and satisfaction with the group experiences. PLAs defused conflict in groups which were, by their cognitively diverse nature, conflict-prone. Student attitudes about their PLAs and PLA attitudes about the experience were positive. Faculty productivity was substantially enhanced because group dynamics problems rarely landed in the faculty office.
Denise C. Scott and Patricia A. Weeks, "Collaborative Staff Development"
This article discusses a facilitative and collaborative model of teaching development in higher education. It explores the effectiveness of such a model in the light of the staff (faculty) development literature and the authors' five years of experience in its application through the TRAC (Teaching, Reflection, and Collaboration) network facilitated by the Academic Staff Development Unit at the Queensland University of Technology, Australia.
Avila D. Hendricks, Kandia Smith, Julie Hughes Caplow, and Joe F. Donaldson, "A Grounded Theory approach to Determining the Factors Related to the Persistence of Minority Students in Professional Programs"
This study was conducted at a midwestern Research I university using a purposive sample of 18 minority students in professional programs. Three major themes emerged as strongly influencing the students' choice of professional field and their assessment of their likelihood in achieving their educational goals. Student descriptions of an ideal professional program were supportive of their value orientation as evidenced in the three major themes. The themes were family support, service to community, and determination. The identification of these themes has implications for all aspects of minority student recruitment and persistence in professional programs.
Morris Fiddler, Susan McGury, Catherine Marienau, Russell Rogers, and Warren Scheideman, "Broadening the Scope of Scholarship: A Suggested Framework"
Recent work by Ernest Boyer and others has prompted some colleges and universities to reexamine the nature of scholarship among faculty members. Using Boyer's categories of scholarly activity, the authors have developed a framework for scholarly contribution that is currently being implemented by faculty at DePaul University's School for New Learning. The proposed framework includes assumptions regarding scholarship, expectations for faculty relative to scholarly activity, and definitions and criteria for the four forms of scholarship. The authors offer the framework in the hope that it will stimulate a reexamination of the nature of scholarship at other institutions as well.
James C. Hearn, "Transforming U.S. Higher Education: An Organizational Perspective"
Scholarly work on organizational change within colleges and universities is relatively unknown among campus administrators and policy makers. To counter that low visibility, this essay reviews existing theories and research evidence on the topic. The goal is to provide some general guidelines for those who seek to refine purposes, develop programs, and improve effectiveness and efficiency on their campuses.
Preface, Diane Gillespie, Guest Editor for this special issue on narrative, "Narrative, Case Study, and Assessment as Reflective Teaching and a Classroom Incident"
Diane Gillespie, "Narrative and Reflective Teaching Practice"
Departing from a case study written as story, this article establishes the groundwork for considering "The Teaching Self" and introduces narrative and case study as reflective practices.
Rita Silverman and William M. Welty, "Stephanie Clark: From Teaching Incident to Case"
Based upon a classroom story (case study), the value of using cases to promote reflection is considered with focus upon writing and teaching the case.
Susan G. Nummedal, "Assessment and Reflective Teaching"
This article introduces the importance of the instructor's changing perceptions as factors to consider in reflection and assessment.
Michael L. Gillespie, "Stories, Cases, and Practical Wisdom"
Several lines of philosophical thought are explained as a basis for the rethinking of professional practice called forth by cases and stories.
Patricia Hutchings, "The Peer Review of Teaching: Progress, Issues, and Prospects"
As campuses search for ways to raise the level of attention to teaching, the peer review of teaching offers distinct advantages, especially for faculty eager to overcome the isolation of the classroom and to collaborate on improvement. But it presents a number of challenges as well, both political and methodological, and presumes significantly different roles for faculty in ensuring and improving the quality of student learning. Experience on twelve campuses in a national project on the peer review of teaching provides a context for analysis in this introduction to the essays that follow.
Ronald R. Cavanagh, "Formative and Summative Evaluation in the Faculty Peer Review of Teaching"
If the process of the faculty peer review of teaching is to overcome institutional marginalization, then its formative and summative components must employ rules, criteria, and standards for the identification of effective teaching that have been agreed to within a peer conversation among the faculty members of a scholarly unit. This conversation serves to collectively clarify the unit's expectations for its curriculum, teaching, and student learning. Only such a process can produce the credibility necessary to regularly effect the faculty development and personnel decisions of a unit.
Daniel J. Bernstein, "A Departmental System for Balancing the Development and Evaluation of College Teaching: A Commentary on Cavanagh"
The frank identification of specific areas for improvement is a central feature of a program to develop teaching skills in college teachers, but the preparation of such statements is not encouraged in a strongly evaluative climate. A useful mix of developmental and evaluative activities can be generated by considering a longitudinal view of the process. When periodic evaluations are required, the several years of developing teaching should have provided substantive progress that can be formally evaluated. An effective version of such a program requires clear administrative boundaries and a willingness to reward effort without evidence of improvement during the interim period. The result can be a departmental system that combines the best influences of formative and summative approaches to quality college teaching.
Deborah M. Langsam and Philip L. Dubois, "Can Nightmares Become Sweet Dreams? Peer Review in the Wake of a Systemwide Administrative Mandate"
In 1993, the Board of Governors of the University of North Carolina at Charlotte enacted a mandate requiring peer evaluation of teaching, including classroom observation, for non-tenured faculty. Participants involved in the AAHE Peer review Project feared the mandate would taint efforts to introduce faculty to collegial approaches to the peer review of teaching. As reported here, negative fallout from the mandate has been balanced to some degree by the positive effects of having a required evaluation system. Departmental culture shaped peer review activities undertaken in the first year and may have ultimately overshadowed effects of the mandate on the project.
Jere W. Morehead and Peter J. Shedd, "Student Interviews: A Vital Role in the Scholarship of Teaching"
Participation in a national study, sponsored by the American Association of Higher Education, on the use of "Peer Review of Teaching Effectiveness," allowed us to engage in several nontraditional methods of peer collaboration. The method having the greatest value for us involved a faculty peer interviewing the students in another faculty member's classes. Through these student interviews, we obtained insights into how to enhance the learning environment created inside and outside the classroom. In this article, we present a summary of how we conducted student interviews, why such interactions with students are worthwhile, and what the implications of these interviews are.
Sheri D. Sheppard, Larry Leifer, and J. Edward Carryer, "Commentary on Student Interviews"
Student interviews provide valuable input into peer evaluation of teaching. Both the University of Georgia and Stanford University have explored ways of using student interviews to tap into student perspectives. The approaches taken by the two schools are compared in this paper. Similarities and differences are identified and discussed. In addition, the aspects of teaching that are best reflected upon by peers versus students are enumerated.
David J. Malik, "Peer Review of Teaching: External Review of Course Content"
External peer review of course content is described. Content is an important component of courses that most peer review models exclude. General suggestions on the development of models are provided to assist in creating a local model. A detailed content review model developed at the author's institution is included.
Barbara L. Cambridge, "The Paradigm Shifts: Examining Quality of Teaching Through Assessment of Student Learning"
Student learning is the strongest criterion for evaluating effective teaching. This article looks at three practices which partner students, teachers, and faculty peers in understanding the quality of teaching and learning through student course portfolios and teacher course portfolios, majors portfolios and teaching portfolios, and collaborative classroom assessment. Two outcomes of using a learning paradigm are building community and representing successes in higher education through documentation of effective teaching and learning.
Kathleen M. Quinlan, "Involving Peers in the Evaluation and Improvement of Teaching: A Menu of Strategies"
Various approaches to conducting peer coaching and peer review are described in this article. Examples of team mentoring, reciprocal class visitation, teaching circles, departmental teaching libraries, teaching portfolios, course portfolios, pedagogical colloquia and departmental reviews are discussed as methods for involving peers in the evaluation and improvement of teaching. Many departments will adapt a combination of approaches which fit their particular goals and context. All of these approaches rest on the assumption of faculty responsibility for the process; grassroots leadership, and a view of teaching as a substantive, scholarly activity.
Laura L. Bierema, "Total Quality and Adult Education: A Natural Partnership in the Classroom"
This article highlights the philosophies of adult education and total quality and shows how they are combined to create a powerful educational tool. The article scans the literature, shares a case study at a community college, and offers examples and strategies for making learning a more collaborative, adult, high quality process.
Andy C. Reese and Mary F. Mobley, "Academic Success Through Quality-Managed Course Design"
Principles of quality management (which focus on defect preventions rather than defeat correction) are applied to course design. These principles mandate that 1) the mission of the course be clearly stated and reviewed in context of the total program of study, 2) the objectives for the course or program of study be clearly defined and known to the students, 3) there be numerous intermediate steps leading to the objectives, 4) students be given immediate feedback about their performance on each step, and 5) corrective action be initiated immediately when a student fails to achieve an intermediate step. These principles apply to both individual courses and to an entire course of study. The authors found that a course incorporating these principles led to an increase in student performance and long-term retention of information.
Joseph M. Moxley, "Finding Our Inner Voices: Rediscovering Scholarship"
This essay explores the need to reconsider how we define, reward, and support scholarship, and the philosophical foundation of what a scholar really is. Noting that only 10-15% of the professoriate regularly publish, the author questions if some faculty become stymied and distanced from their work because of the gap that exists between what they want to do and what their institutions expect them to do. Could more faculty find their voices as scholars and public intellectuals if universities and colleges ascribed more value to the scholarships of teaching, practice, and service? The surprising results of a survey of members of the Professional and Organizational Development Network in Higher Education are included.
Nancy A. McKellar, "Comprehensive Professional Development Plan for a College of Education"
The professional development plan for a college of education and the process used to develop the plan are described to encourage and assist others to undertake similar projects. The committee that developed the plan first had to reach consensus on the purpose and nature of professional development. The plan was cited by the national Council for Accreditation of Teaching Education (NCATE) review team as one of the strengths of the college. Reflections on why the plan was successful and the next tasks to be implemented in the ongoing professional development program are discussed.
Arthur L. Crawley, "Senior Faculty Renewal at Research Universities: Implications for Academic Policy Development"
This descriptive study outlines the current state of academic policy development at research universities in four critical areas: (a) the academic labor market, (b) the academic reward structure, (c) faculty seniority and retirement, and (d) institutional research and planning. The survey respondents were coordinators and directors of faculty development programs and selected academic affairs administrators representing major research universities to develop more flexible academic personnel policies in support of senior faculty development and renewal. Additional findings show that a majority of research universities have initiated policies to increase the supply of a new and more diverse faculty by increasing retention and recruitment efforts. Also, the survey results point to unprecedented changes in institutional policies that significantly affect the academic reward structures at an increasing number of research universities particularly with regard to the appropriate mix of the two central roles of faculty: teaching and research.
Patricia Kalivoda, "Exemplary Senior Faculty at Research Universities: Their Guiding Principles for Balancing Teaching and Research"
A qualitative, exploratory study consisting primarily of in-depth reflective interviews with ten exemplary, senior faculty at a large, southern, research university was conducted in 1993. One of the major goals of the study was to identify how exemplary senior faculty have balanced the roles of teaching and research within an institutional context that emphasizes research. The findings from this study indicate that how exemplary faculty members balance the demands of teaching and research lies, in part, in ten guiding principles.
Glenda T. Hubbard and Sally S. Atkins, "The Professor as a Person: The Role of Faculty Well-Being in Faculty Development"
This article examines the rationale for an expanded definition of faculty development and reviews institutional structures and practices which support the personal and professional development of faculty through faculty and academic development, employee assistance, and health promotion programs.
Kay F. Norman and James E. Norman, "The Synergy of Minority Student Persistence and Faculty Renewal"
In response to increased student assessment and accountability concerns, colleges and universities have been called on to increase their efforts to improve the retention rates of an increasingly diverse student body. This article outlines a synergistic strategy for promoting minority student persistence through faculty renewal efforts that encourage faculty to question their cultural beliefs and academic values concerning the teaching and learning enterprise.
Julie E. Horine and William A. Hailey, "Challenges to Successful Quality Management Implementation in Higher Education Institutions"
This article discusses the key challenges to successful quality management implementation in higher education institutions identified by 160 colleges and universities at various stages of quality management practices. Survey findings suggest that there are five key challenges that affect the successful implementation of quality management practices in colleges and universities; Organizational culture, senior leadership management practices in colleges and universities: organizational culture, senior leadership commitment, faculty support, implementation time, and training.
Rebecca M. LaFountain, "The Effect of Scheduling Format on Long Term Retention"
This study examines the relationship between course intensity and long-term retention on graduate level counseling students enrolled in a research and statistics course. It confirms earlier findings of time and learning studies, which have primarily deal with end-of-course outcomes, that there is no effect due to a scheduling format. In this study, older students performed significantly higher on a six-month follow-up test than younger students. Students who had previous, related course work scored significantly higher in final course grades than students with no prior course work; however, differences were moderated an no longer significant at the time of follow-up. Implications from these findings are discussed.
Robert L. Hampel and Paula A. Kleine-Kracht, "Repositioning the Position Papers"
Linking theory and practice in graduate school is easier said than done. We trace the history of an Ed.D. program which featured a culminating project, the Executive Position Papers, designed to yoke theory and practice. That marriage proved elusive as "treaties" tilted the balance to practice and downplayed theory. We sketch the recent efforts to right the balance and reflect on what this case study suggests about reform in general.
Dorene D. Ross, Elizabeth Bondy, Lynn Hartle, Linda L. Lamme, and Rodman B. Webb, "Guidelines for Portfolio Preparation: Implications from an Analysis of Teaching Portfolios at the University of Florida"
An analysis of 73 portfolios, prepared by University of Florida faculty as part of the Teaching Improvement Program competition, revealed tremendous variability in the quantity, quality, and coherence of the evidence presented to support claims of excellence in teaching. By analyzing portfolios prepared by faculty members representing different colleges and different types of teaching assignments, the researchers developed seven common guidelines for portfolio construction.
Editor's Page, "Ronald D. Simpson, "Personal and Professional Renewal as a Part of Life-Span Development," pp. 81-82
Claire F. Sullivan, "Creating a Supportive Environment for College Freshmen: Underlying Dimensions of the Freshman Interest Group Program," pp. 83-97
The Freshman Interest Group (FIG) program aims to create a supportive environment by providing increased opportunities for interaction with both faculty and peers, helping to ease the transition from high school to college life. This study sought to verify the expected supportive functions underlying the FIG program and to determine the effects of the program on college adjustment. The results indicated that the structure of the FIG program created a more supportive environment for participants compared with freshmen in the traditional academic structure. This was especially true in looking at classmates as the source of support. No differences were found between the two groups on college adjustment.
Mary E. Vahala and Roger B. Winston, Jr., "College Classroom Environments: Disciplinary and Institutional-Type Differences and Effects on Academic Achievement in Introductory Courses," pp. 99-122
Using the College Classroom Environment Scales (CCES) and controlling for differences in class size, it was found that there were significant differences in students' perceptions of their classroom social climates depending on the type of collegiate institution they attended. Students at research universities perceived their classes as having more structure than did those at two year colleges and liberal arts colleges and they perceived less concern by instructors for their personal development and learning than did students at liberal arts colleges. Two-year college students perceived that their classes had higher academic standards than did their counterparts at liberal arts colleges. When comparing classes (and controlling for class size) in English composition, laboratory sciences, and behavioral sciences, it was found that students in English classes perceived them as being the most intellectually exciting and interesting, as being the most academically rigorous, as having the least amount of formal structure, and as promoting more friendships and cooperation among students (than in behavioral sciences classes). Laboratory sciences classes were perceived as having the most hostile and intimidating environments. Significant interactions of institutional type and academic discipline occurred on all scales of the CCES. It was found that perceptions of the classroom environment differentially affected students' course grades in each of the academic discipline areas.
Elizabeth A. McDaniel and Tamara Moreland, "Teachable Moments: Taking Advantage of Multicultural Encounters," pp. 123-138
This paper presents the rationale of the Hartford Half Tuition Program at the University of Hartford which enrolls qualified graduates of city high schools. Since its inception four years ago, it has changed the demographics of the institution and been the catalyst for many events, discussions, and interactions that have served as "teachable moments" for the development of students, staff and faculty. A critique of key elements of the program leads to the identification of lessons learned.
Judy M. Wedman, Nancy L. Smith, and Elizabeth J. Jared, "Demonstrating Strategy Application and Goals from a Learner's Perspective: Examining Preservice Teachers' Talk During Literature Discussions," pp. 139-156
This project placed elementary preservice teachers in learners' roles while learning to use a literature discussion strategy. The goal of the literature discussion strategy is to go beyond simple recollection of what happened in a story to include discussion that constructs, examines, and analyzes the story for deeper meaning. The purpose of this descriptive study was to explore the extent to which preservice teachers applied the strategy and attained the strategy goal by examining the dialogue that occurred. Twenty-four preservice teachers read and discussed Dear Mr. Henshaw (Cleary, 1983) for two 30 minute time periods. The discussions were audio-taped and transcribed, producing 784 utterances. Analysis was accomplished by sorting the utterances into categories adapted from the analysis categories described by Eeds and Wells (1989). Results indicated that the preservice teachers did apply the strategy from a learner's perspective as it was taught to them and thereby attained the strategy goal.
Editor's Page, Maryellen Weimer, Penn State University, Guest Editor, "An Introduction to the National Center on Postsecondary Teaching, Learning,," pp. 3-6
Patrick T. Terenzini, "Educating for Citizenship: Freeing the Mind and Elevating the Spirit," pp. 7-21
No abstract.
Estela Mara Bensimon, "Bilingual Cash Machines, Multicultural Campuses, and Communities of Difference," pp. 23-32
No abstract.
Laurie I. Rendon, "Validating Culturally Diverse Students: Toward a New Model of Learning and Student Development," pp. 33-51
No abstract.
Jennifer Woods Quinn, "If It Catches My Eye: A Report of Faculty Pedagogical Reading Habits," pp. 53-66
No abstract.
Elizabeth A. Jones, "Defining Essential Writing Skills For College Graduates," pp. 67-78
No abstract.
Editor's Page, Ronald D. Simpson, "Do We Really Know What Constitutes Good Teaching?," pp. 239-241
John S. Gooden, Paul A. Leary, and Ronald B. Childress, "Initiating Minorities into the Professoriate: One School's Model," pp. 243-253
The shortage of minority faculty presence on college and university campuses has been a matter of some concern in recent years. The purpose of this article is to describe one college's initiative to address this issue. The West Virginia Graduate College's Minority Faculty Fellowship Program was designed to recruit minority doctoral students who are at the dissertation stage of their program. Appointed as non-tenure track faculty members, fellows are provided with experiences that will help them acclimate to the professoriate. This article describes the program, highlights the institutional benefits, outlines the program's strengths and weaknesses, and makes recommendations for those interested in developing similar programs.
Patricia Kalivoda, Geraldine Rogers Sorrell, and Ronald D. Simpson, "Nurturing Faculty Vitality by Matching Institutional Interventions with Career-Stage Needs," pp. 255-272
A questionnaire study, modeled after Baldwin's 1979 research on faculty at a liberal arts college, was conducted with 42 Lilly Teaching Fellows and Lilly Mentors at a large, public, research-oriented university in the Southeast U.S.A. Results from the study support the notion that one of the keys to a successful instructional and faculty development program is to target activities to the academic career stage of the faculty member.
Daisy E. Arredondo and Terrance T. Rucinski, "Using the Workshop Approach in University Classes to Develop Student Metacognition.," pp. 273-288
No abstract.
David MacPhee, Kevin Ann Oltjenbruns, Janet J. Fritz, and Jill C. Kreutzer, "Strategies for Infusing Curricula with a Multicultural Perspective," pp. 289-309
We describe pedagogical strategies for infusing a multicultural perspective into courses across a variety of disciplines; these methods have proven effective with students who are predominately Anglo and oriented toward careers in the human services. The strategies include personalizing information through vicarious learning and case studies; inculcating critical thinking skills; simulations; literary analysis; and cooperative learning in large classes. Changes were documented in student attitudes, emotions, knowledge, professional skills, and classroom environment. We review lessons learned about the process of curriculum revision, especially the importance of faculty support systems and impediments to implementation.
Editor's Page, Peter Ling, Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, Guest Editor, "A Focus on Faculty Development," pp. 165-166
Jerry G. Gaff and Ronald D. Simpson, "Faculty Development in the United States," pp. 167-176
This report gives an overview of faculty development in the United States during the past 30 years and suggests what remains to be done before this movement becomes fully institutionalized in American higher education.
Paul Ramsden, "Current Challenges to Quality in Higher Education," pp. 177-188
This paper considers some implications for teaching in higher education of quality assurance demands made in circumstances of financial restraint. The paper suggests that responses must be anchored in improvement in student learning. This has implications for university teaching, for the evaluation of its effectiveness and for leadership in universities. The paper commences with a discussion of an understanding of the nature of the relationship between teaching and learning in higher education resulting from an Australian investigation of student perceptions of university teaching. The understanding arising from this study suggests that, given that the environment is an educational one, both evaluation of teaching and educational leadership should be in harmony with effective approaches to learning and teaching.
Philip Candy and Jill Borthwick., "The Ally Within: An Innovatory Approach to Networking and Staff Development," pp. 189-204
This paper reports on an innovative approach to faculty development where the centralized unit has established a network of locally-based faculty developers. In contrast to the more conventional model of faculty development where centralized units are vested with the responsibility for devising programs for faculty development for the University at large, this model draws on the expertise of faculty already at work in a particular area. Once appointed, the locally-based faculty developer provides support to colleagues in their shared work place and also contributes to the program offered by the centralized unit. This alliance between the centralized unit and the locally-based faculty developer has led to positive outcomes for both parties, and for the University community.
Lewis Elton and Pat Cryer, "Quality and Change in Higher Education," pp. 205-220
There is increasing evidence that the pressures on British universities for greater quality and accountability, linked closely to funding, are leading to loss of quality. These governmental pressures, exerted through the Funding Councils, are wholly different from those applied in a quite separate way from another government source, the Employment Department. This article analyses the nature and effects of the two kinds of pressures in terms of change theory. This also demonstrates that the observed effects were not only largely predictable but to a substantial extent were predicted, and warns of the danger that the resulting deleterious effects may become irreversible.
Lorraine Ling and Peter Ling, "Administration for Innovation in Higher Education," pp. 221-236
The paper commences from the premise that the major paradigms of administration are not appropriate to higher education. Structural approaches place too great an emphasis on the organization and its mission, subjectivist approaches fail to acknowledge the constraints and enablements of structure and the role of continuity and radical change approaches fail to provide a positive basis for administration. The paper outlines an approach to educational administration which addresses these difficulties. It is based on structuration theory together with cooperative learning theory and group work. The paper reports an investigation of an attempt to apply this approach to the administration of a program of teaching awards in an Australian university. It reports some success and some limitations.
Editor's Page, Ronald D. Simpson, "Outstanding Editorial Board Set for Coming Year," pp. 97-98
Sven Groennings, "Education as an Investment in Our Future," pp. 99-107
No abstract.
Jean M. Lynch and Catherine Bishop-Clark, "Traditional and Nontraditional Student Attitudes Toward the Mixed Age College Classroom," pp. 109-121
As the numbers of nontraditional students on college campuses continue to climb, college educators should become increasingly aware of issues regarding the mixed age college classroom. The research reported in this paper is focused on understanding mixed age classrooms from the student's perspective. Through telephone interviews with over 300 students we explored three major areas: attitudes traditional and nontraditional students hold regarding their mixed age classroom experience; attitudes each group has toward their own age group and the other age group; and perceptions of the differences between older and younger students' relationships with their professors. Data on both younger and older students were collected, analyzed and compared.
Kathryn K. Rileigh, "Toward a Palatable Research Paper Experience," pp. 123-131
The recently expanding educational movement, writing across the curriculum, has encouraged instructors in all disciplines to require more undergraduate writing assignments, including research papers. A five-stage process for managing the research paper assignment is described. Students are instructed in gathering sources, organizing findings, and using a standard format. Progress is closely monitored at each stage with specific feedback. Student reaction to this technique was measured in upper-division courses using a 14-item questionnaire with Likert-type scaling and free-response narrative. Responses were overwhelmingly favorable, indicating that students would have less hesitancy and anxiety in completing future writing assignments.
Ronald D. Simpson and Kathleen S. Smith, "Validating Teaching Competencies for Graduate Teaching Assistants: A National Study Using the Delphi Method," pp. 133-146
In this study the Delphi Method was used to validate teaching competencies of graduate teaching assistants (TAs). Through the use of expert opinion, a panel of national leaders in teaching assistant support and training validated twenty six competencies as important in the preparation of teaching assistants. Feedback from panelists suggested that some instructional competencies depend on the specific responsibilities that are assigned to an individual TA.
Janet Lee Jones, "TA Training: From the TA's Point of View," pp. 147-161
Teaching assistants (TAs) at a major university were surveyed about the annual campus-wide and departmental TA training programs in which they had participated. Responses from these TAs differ markedly from reports based on surveys conducted with the administrators of such training programs. Current training practices can be improved by considering more seriously the TA's point of view.
Editor's Page, Ronald D. Simpson, "The Conserving and Liberating Role of Curriculum," pp. 5-6
James C. Hearn, Richard M. Clugston, and Richard B. Heydinger, "Five Years of Strategic Environmental Assessment Efforts at a Research University: A Case Study of an Organizational Innovation," pp. 7-36
This study examined the emergence and subsequent five-year history of "environmental scanning" at a large research university. Proponents of strategic approaches to management in organizations usually recommend environmental scanning as a necessary support for effective decision making. The technique seeks to build systematic understanding of the external environment of the organization, via ongoing reconnaissance of relevant developments in technology, the economy, the political and legal arenas, and the larger society. Scanning's fit with educational organizations may be problematic, however. Over time, scanning efforts on the campus studied here became less theory-based and less centralized, and scanning failed to become an institutionalized innovation. The difficulties in institutionalizing scanning are traced to six factors: limitations posed by organizational structure, an absence of powerful champions, constraints from the organizational culture, the existence of a "policy vacuum" surrounding scanning efforts, the daunting demands of such efforts themselves, and questionable articulation with the fundamental goals and mission of the institution. The analysis suggests that the generic scanning model seems unlikely to win acceptance in research universities without substantial modification.
Donald Elliott, Maurice L. Hirsch, Jr., and Marsha Puro, "Overcoming Institutional Barriers to Broad-based Curricular Change," pp. 37-46
Most large organizations, including universities, are fraught with institutional barriers to change. Their very structures can be impediments to the horizontal communication and cooperation necessary to effect broad-based innovation. U.S. automobile makers, however, are learning to overcome such structural obstacles to facilitate innovation. Can universities employ similar techniques? The recent experience of one regional university suggests important attributes of a successful model to facilitate curricular change.
Russell T. Osguthorpe and Mei Jiuan Wong, "The Ph.D. Versus the Ed.D.: Time for a Decision," pp. 47-63
In this study, U.S. institutions that offer doctoral programs in education were surveyed and institutional catalogues of the past decade were reviewed to determine trends regarding the Ph.D. versus the Ed.D. Results of the study showed that (a) there is no clear institutional movement toward one degree title or the other, (b) research universities are increasingly reluctant and comprehensive colleges and universities are increasingly likely to offer the Ed.D. as their only doctoral degree title, and (c) requirements for the two doctoral titles are remarkably similar, including competencies in research and statistics. Findings are discussed in relation to three common positions of those who favor the Ed.D. over the Ph.D.: (a) the professional school argument, (b) the unification argument, and (c) the autonomy argument. The article concludes with a call for increased national dialogue to strengthen the education profession by reducing confusion between its two doctoral degree titles.
James P. Gilbert, Kay L. Keck, and Ronald D. Simpson, "Improving the Process of Education: Total Quality Management for the College Classroom," pp. 65-85
This article's purpose is to improve the effectiveness of classroom teaching by proposing a specific program for continuous improvement toward instructional excellence. Total quality management (TQM) is a systematic approach which utilizes four main elements: quality defined by the customer, top leadership responsibility for quality improvement, increased quality through systematic analysis of work processes, and quality improvement by continuous effort conducted throughout the organization. A strategy for continuous classroom improvement is developed through an examination of various definitions of quality and a comparative analysis of dimensions of quality, service quality, and effective teaching which aims to inspire and give direction.
Kip Tellez and Peter S. Hlebowitsh,"Being There: Social Service and Teacher Education at the University of Houston," pp. 87-94
As the school-age population grows in its ethnic and economic diversity, those who become teachers remain overwhelmingly white, female, and middle class. To assist teacher education students understand a world that is largely unfamiliar to them, the University of Houston teacher preparation program offers a volunteer experience in an urban social service agency for its students as part of a cultural awareness requirement. The results of this program suggest that it may help preservice teachers to understand better the lives of the children they will face and hence better prepare them to teach, perhaps diminishing the "revolving door" of teachers in urban classrooms.
Editor's Page, Ronald D. Simpson, "Balancing Teaching and Research," pp. 227-229
Judy M. Wedman, Julie A. Hughes, and Richard R. Robinson, "The Effect of Using a Systematic Cooperative Learning Approach to Help Preservice Teachers Learn Informal Reading Inventory Procedures," pp. 231-241
This study examined the effect of using a systematic cooperative learning approach to help preservice teachers learn Informal Reading Inventory (IRI) concepts and procedures. Participants (N = 77) were enrolled in two different sections of a required reading methods course. Group 1 (n = 47) received instruction using a systematic cooperative learning approach and Group 2 (n = 30) received instruction using a direct instruction approach. Two instruments were designed for this study and administered as posttests. One instrument measured learning outcomes related to IRI concepts and procedures. The second instrument examined Group 1's perceptions toward the systematic cooperative learning approach. Treatment occurred during a three week unit and consisted of lecture, examples, guided practice, independent practice accomplished in cooperative groups, and specific feedback. Analysis included computing a one-way ANOVA, frequencies, and percentages. Results indicated that significant differences existed between Group 1 and Group 2 learning outcome scores. In addition, Group 1 perceived lectures, working in groups, and feedback as helping them learn IRI concepts and procedures.
Jessica A. Somers and Margaret E. Holt, "What's in a Game? A Study of Games as an Instructional Method in an Adult Education Class," pp. 243-257
An experiential approach employing "game design and play" was tried in a graduate adult education class. This article describes a follow-up study which attempted to capture class members' perceptions on value of game design/play; group interactions in game development; effectiveness of game design/play as a learning stimulant; appropriateness of the grading criteria; likelihood to use a similar strategy in their own teaching; and, identification of helpful resources in gaming. Game design/play appears to offer an effective adult teaching strategy which produces a variety of learning outcomes.
Walter H. Gmelch and John S. Burns, "The Cost of Academic Leadership: Department Chair Stress," pp. 259-270
Department chairs find themselves trapped between the stresses of performing not only as an administrator but faculty member as well. Over eight hundred chairs from 101 doctorate-granting and research universities were surveyed using the Department Chair Stress Index to assess (1) their most stressful situations, (2) emergent themes from these stressors, and (3) the differences between chair and faculty stressors. Chairs experienced most stress from their "heavy workload" and the general stresses of time pressures, confrontation with colleagues, organizational constraints and their faculty duties. Chairs were found to be in a paradoxical situation; feeling double pressure to be an effective leader and productive faculty member. Suggested actions for the institution and individual are provided.
Susan S. Frost, "Effective Methods for Institutional Research: How Important is Institutional Type?" pp. 271-283
Despite the view that institutional research is most successful when it is an extension of the administrators who need its products, most institutional research offices are centralized. In this paper a newly-organized, small college model that is both decentralized and integrated is described. Evaluation of the model is reported. Goals and activities are related to recently identified external and organizational factors that seem to contribute to the proliferation of institutional research.
Editor's Page, Kathleen S. Smith, Guest Editor, "Graduate Teaching Assistants," p. 147
Kathleen S. Smith, "A Case Study on the Successful Development of an International Teaching Assistant," pp. 149-163
This investigation focuses on an international teaching assistant's experience to better understand the process a successful international teaching assistant might use in becoming an effective instructor in the undergraduate classroom. This developmental model offers new insights which stand to impact the strategies used in teaching support programs for international teaching assistants.
Mark W. Tanner, Sara Selfe, and Deborah Wiegand, "The Balanced Equation to Training Chemistry ITAs," pp. 165-181
In an effort to meet the challenge of preparing new international graduate students in chemistry for assignments as teaching assistants (TAs), an innovative training program was designed which incorporated the collaborative efforts of language, pedagogy, and subject matter specialists. This paper describes the approach taken in providing discipline-specific training for new international TAs (ITAs) by providing the rationale and curriculum for such a program and describing the implementation of this program through the academic year. The paper concludes by describing the results of the project on those ITAs who participated and the benefits and limitations of using this approach.
Donald L. Rubin, "The Other Half of International Teaching Assistant Training: Classroom Communication Workshops for International Students," pp. 183-193
ITAs often experience particular difficulty balancing their roles as teachers with their roles as students. Student communication skills training is warranted for ITAs because it may be more motivating than instructional skills training, because it captures an otherwise elusive segment of the clientele, and because learning can transfer to ITAs' own teaching repertoires. Such a program can begin with a focus on naming and social identity. The bulk of the program focuses on communication practices for participative learning such as small group problem solving and whole-group responding. A typical workshop concludes with a forum for student concerns, often focusing upon how to interact with one's academic advisor.
Clayton F. Thomas and Patricia K. Monoson, "Oral English Language Proficiency of ITAs: Policy, Implementation, and Contributing Factors," pp.195-209
Student complaints to legislators led to 20 states mandating higher educational institutions develop policy on oral English language proficiency of instructors. These mandates directed public institutions to certify oral English language proficiency of international teaching assistants. Universities responded to these mandates by developing policy requiring formal evaluation of international teaching assistants and provision for remediation of those whose skills were deficient. Demographic factors which led to these mandates are number of non-resident aliens and number of students in higher education institutions in the state. Institutional factors leading to policy were graduate enrollment and degree granting status of institutions.
William E. Davis and Douglas L. Minnis, "Designing a Program to Prepare Graduate Students for Careers as College Teachers," pp. 211-224
Graduate students have few opportunities to gain experience in the full range of teaching and to become aware of the issues related to a career of teaching in higher education. A program designed to provide these opportunities must accommodate both the variation within the institution's graduate programs and the complexities of graduate student life to be successful. The University of California, Davis, developed the Program in College Teaching in which participants develop and then fulfill contractual agreements for a faculty guided investigation into teaching in the discipline and supporting individualized activities focused on the practice and issues of teaching in higher education. This article notes five factors and assumptions of program development, discusses how they impact a program for training graduate students to be college teachers, describes the current Program and evaluates its pilot year.
Editor's Page, Ronald D. Simpson, "The M. Louise McBee Lecture Series and Alexander Astin," p. 93
Alexander W. Astin, "The Unrealized Potential of American Higher Education," pp. 95-114
No abstract.
Jacqueline J. Saindon and Carol M. Downs, "Archaeology in the Classroom: An Intra-University Continuing Education Workshop for K-12 Teachers," pp. 115-124
In this article the authors describe an innovative program in continuing education for teachers at the University of Georgia. The program, developed by the Museum of Natural History, the Georgia Center for Continuing Education, and the Department of Anthropology within the university and an independent research institute, offered teachers an opportunity to do archaeological field work as they learned about new discoveries in archaeology and Native American history and culture. The workshop design incorporated principles of adult and experiential learning. With the help of the workshop leaders, teachers developed their own materials for presenting integrated thematic units in their classrooms. Teachers responded enthusiastically to the workshops in a two-stage evaluation process. The authors conclude that intra-university cooperation is necessary if teachers are to benefit from all the resources of the university.
Asghar Iran-Nejad and Brad S. Chissom, "Contributions of Active and Dynamic Self-Regulation to Learning," pp. 125-136
Most modern cognitive theories postulate that active executive control is the only internal source of self-regulation of learning processes. To account for incidental and other categories of unintentional learning, this study explored the hypothesis that two independent sources of internal control regulate academic learning: (a) active (or executive) and (b) dynamic (or nonexecutive). College undergraduates completed an inventory of active and dynamic learning processes. The findings supported the two-source hypothesis. Moreover, when the contribution of dynamic self-regulation was removed, the correlation between active self-regulation and learning was no longer significant. When active self-regulation was removed, the correlation between dynamic self-regulation and learning remained basically the same.
Judith Entes and Rafat Ispahany, "Faculty Seminar on Publishing in the Academy," pp. 137-144
A seminar, "Publishing in the Academy," offered to all full-time faculty of the City University of New York (CUNY), through a program jointly sponsored by the Professional Staff Congress and CUNY, is described by two participants of the course. The authors share their experience, describe the process involved in publishing an article in a scholarly journal, and provide recommendations for setting up a writing group.
Editor's Page, E. Grady Bogue, Guest Editor, "Collegiate Leadership Effectiveness: Philosophic, Personal, and Poetic Explorations," pp. 3-7
Charles J. McClain, "Leadership with Integrity: A Personal Perspective," , pp. 9-17
No abstract.
Larry T. McGehee, "On Leadership: Letters from Paradise Prison by a Fifty-Year Inmate of Eden," pp. 19-34
No abstract.
Ruth G. Shaw, "Evaluating Leadership Effectiveness: Enduring Lessons from the Classroom," pp. 35-43
No abstract.
E. Grady Bogue, "The Definition of Leadership Effectiveness: A Conceptual and Personal Journey.," pp. 45-56
No abstract.
Madeleine F. Green, "Developing Effective Leaders: Can It Be Done?," pp. 57-69
No abstract.
Suzanne W. Morse, "Making Leadership Personal and Universal," pp. 71-77
No abstract.
Walter A. Denero, "Community Leadership Development: Observations About the Past and Future," pp. 79-90
No abstract.
Editor's Page, Ronald D. Simpson, "Innovative Higher Education is Finding Its Niche in Higher Education," pp. 249-250
Sheila P. Wright, "Fostering Intellectual Development of Students in Professional Schools Through Interdisciplinary Coursework," pp. 251-261
General Education requirements, active learning, and interdisciplinary coursework are key concepts related to the renewed interest in giving students a more coherent, more meaningful undergraduate education. Although rhetoric grows apace on innovations in the undergraduate curriculum, little research has been completed on the relationship between intellectual growth of students and innovations in general education. This study is an examination of the relationship between intellectual growth and interdisciplinary general education courses designed to promote lifelong learning. In particular, the study looks at the impact of this curriculum on students in the professional schools at the University. Most students in the sample demonstrated significant growth and had taken on new perspectives, had adopted new ways of dealing with information, and had become more open to new ways of learning.
Charlotte Vaughan and Christopher Carlson. "Teaching and Learning One-Course-At-A-Time," pp. 263-276
In 1978 Cornell College in Mount Vernon, Iowa, adopted the One-Course-At-A-Time calendar, under which professors teach and students take one course only for three-and-a-half week terms. This paper examines the impact of the calendar on overall faculty workload and student performance and development. It also considers faculty attitudes concerning the effects of the intensive format on teaching effectiveness and student learning, along with the types of courses and teaching methods best suited to the calendar. Faculty and student satisfaction with the calendar is high.
Karen Lynn O'Neill, and William R. Todd-Mancillas, "An Investigation into the Types of Turning Point Events Affecting Relational Change in Student-Faculty Interactions," pp. 277-290
This study sought to determine whether students were able to identify significant "turning point" events contributing to relational changes with university instructors. Fifty-two senior university students were interviewed using the Retrospective Interview Technique. A total of 117 turning points were identified. Content analysis of the data revealed two mutually exclusive and exhaustive categories: Perception of Instructional Communication Competence and Character and Perception of Instructor's Management Style. These major categories were further divided into six subcategories. The paper concludes with discussion of the implications of these findings and recommendations for future research.
John Dinan, Joseph E. Finck, William Miles, and Mary Scheuer Senter., "Implementing an Advanced Composition Program with Faculty from Across the Curriculum," pp. 291-308
For the past several years, Central Michigan University has staffed the advanced composition course required of all undergraduates with faculty from both the English department and also from other departments throughout the university. Central Michigan's experiences in developing a political constituency supportive of improving students' writing skills and in establishing faculty development workshops to assist faculty in preparing to teach this new advanced writing course are discussed. Further, the experiences of non-English faculty teaching this distinctive course are described. The impact of the writing program on other university units is reviewed. This successful program might provide a model for other universities.
Editor's Page, Patricia L. Kalivoda and Ronald D. Simpson, "The Mission of Innovative Higher Education: An Update Using the Delphi Method," pp. 199-210
Michael B. Paulsen and Bruce A. Peseau, "A Practical Guide to Zero-Based Curriculum Review," pp. 211-221
This paper presents a systematic framework and practical guidelines for the implementation of a "zero-based" curriculum review (ZBCR). ZBCR begins with a tabula rasa and the commitment that program faculty and an external advisory board will create a framework of competencies, knowledge bases, professional practices and skills which graduates should have. ZBCR is intended to help us move from an "accidental" curriculum to an "intentional" curriculum. Specific examples illustrate the structuring, conducting, and application of the results of the review. ZBCR maximizes the benefits of a fresh perspective and minimizes time and effort, with a situationally-flexible and reusable structure and process. ZBCR is based on procedures recently developed and used with success in reviewing the curricula of a department's programs at a major state university.
Donald B. Yarbrough, "Some Lessons to be Learned from a Decade of General Education Outcomes Assessment with the ACT COMP Measures," pp. 223-234
In the last decade, the ACT COMP Composite Exam and Objective Test have been the most frequently used standardized measures of cognitive general education outcomes. This article reviews the literature addressing uses of the COMP measures in order to evaluate valid and reliable uses of the COMP measures. It concludes that worthwhile evaluations of uses of the COMP measures can only take place in well-crafted general education program evaluations, and that many reported general education program evaluations incorporate both untenable assumptions and flawed practices. The article concludes with suggestions for improving general education program evaluations.
Bruce A. Thyer, Geraldine Jackson-White, Richard Sutphen, and Dorothy F. Carrillo, "Structured Study Questions as a Social Work Teaching Method: A Controlled Experimental Study," pp. 235-245
Two prior studies have described and provided initial empirical support for the effectiveness of structured study questions as a method of instruction within didactic social work education. The present report describes the design, conduct and results of a more methodologically rigorous experimental study, comparing the effectiveness of study questions versus a method of teaching called 'learning through discussion' in promoting M.S.W. students' learning of sophisticated research skills. Using a pretest-posttest alternative treatment group design, with blind evaluations of student performance, the study question method was found to be superior to 'learning through discussion.' These results support the more extensive use of the study question method of instruction within social work education.
Editor's Page, William K. Jackson, Guest Editor, "The Third National Conference on Professional and Personal Renewal for Faculty," p. 93
Wiliam K. Jackson, "The National Renewal Conference: A Forum for the Discussion of Issues of Faculty Vitality and Renewal," pp. 95-105
A series of national conferences focusing on faculty renewal is described in this paper. These conferences were attended by over 450 faculty members, faculty development professionals, and academic administrators representing 188 institutions and higher education organizations in 39 states, the District of Columbia, Canada, and the Virgin Islands. The programs of these conferences demonstrate that a wide range of activities promoting faculty renewal are ongoing in a variety of institutional settings throughout the country and examination of the conference programs and participants provides additional insight into the topic of faculty renewal in higher education.
Walter H. Gmelch and James B. Carroll, "The Three Rs of Conflict Management for Department Chairs and Faculty," pp. 107-123
This article presents an introduction to understanding and addressing conflict in academic departments. Current philosophies toward conflict in organizations include a principled approach encouraging the positive benefits that conflict may bring to institutions. To utilize this approach it is important to understand the nature of conflict, identify effective response options, and develop skills in principled conflict resolution. This paper identifies the structures within organizations which inherently cause conflict. In addition, various strategies for dealing with conflict are outlined based on the Thomas/Killman response modes. Finally, Fisher and Ury's foundation for principled conflict resolution is applied to departments in higher education.
Joyce Povlacs Lunde, Daniel W. Wheeler, Ted E. Hartung, and B.J. Wheeler, "Second Order Change: Impact of a College Renewal Program over Time," pp. 125-138
A structured faculty professional development program which deliberately seeks to bring about change can yield lasting benefits for both the individual and the institution. Ten individuals who entered a program for the professional renewal of faculty between 1983 and 1987 were interviewed to discover what impact the program had on their professional development and on their contributions to the institution. Their experiences exhibit external and internal changes, with individuals being able to reflect upon their gains, contributions, and future directions. A basic model for support needed to bring about lasting change includes the elements of power, vision, structure, and resources.
Peter Balbert, "From Rejection to 'Renuwel' to Renewal: Chairperson, Faculty, and the Research Imperative," pp. 139-156
Faculty renewal can be better understood and implemented when the resonant meanings of the term "renewal" are more fully appreciated. The essay integrates an etymological history of that word with several concrete programs that a Chair and Department can undertake to increase the production of quality faculty research. The shifting and multiple definitions of this term since the time of Chaucer suggest its dynamic, varied applicability today in any practical attempt to increase our colleagues' productivity. The essay also describes four archetypal examples of faculty in need of research renewal, and each example is related to the development of literary history, to various psychologies of success and failure, and to the unusual workings of a research committee.
Merl Baker, "Applying Productivity Indices as an Innovation for Motivating Individual and Institutional Initiatives for Faculty Renewal," pp. 157-171
The enthusiasm of faculty for their respective academic pursuits is recognized as a most important issue in most American institutions of higher education. Numerous approaches have been described and advocated to enhance faculty satisfaction with their work with a growing appreciation for the value of renewal programs. Self renewal through challenging work assignments is deemed a most practical approach and can be achieved practically within tightening financial restraints. A major handicap to the exploitation of self renewal programs has been a lack of tangible measurements of achievements in the academic functions being pursued. This paper proposes the use of functional productivity indices as tools for motivating renewal opportunities and assessing experiences.
David F. Machell, "A Professor Realizes the Potential Poison of Ivy," pp. 173-185
This clinical treatise discusses this author's concept of "professorial melancholia," a progressive emotional process characterized by the negating of a university professor's professional motivation, positive attitudinal focus, and adequate personal self-esteem.
Mary Kathryn Harrington, "AN ESSAY. Faculty Writing: Redirection and Renewal," pp. 187-196
Faculty devote their lives to higher education because of an early commitment to intellectual pursuits. Often, their interests narrow over time, as a result of publishing pressure, which may result in faculty writing burnout. Few university programs support more senior faculty to continue their writing. These faculty should be encouraged to provide their informed perspective through the popular media of the cultural, political and scientific dilemmas facing the twenty-first century. Because of the dialogue, not only will faculty feel renewed, but energy will be provided for their other scholarly pursuits. Strategies for regeneration are easily incorporated into faculty development programs.
Editor's Page, Ronald D. Simpson, "A Woman of Substance," pp. 5-6
K. Patricia Cross, "College Teaching: What Do We Know About It?," pp. 7-25
No abstract.
Lenora Cook, "Cooperative Learning: A Successful College Teaching Strategy," pp. 27-38
Based on a review of the literature, cooperative learning strategies seem to be effective in raising the level of university student achievement and attitude. The few studies on commitment and retention show positive anecdotal evidence of the importance of small group structures with those undergraduates surveyed. Six features were found to be present in effective cooperative learning methodology: positive interdependence, individual accountability, a rationale for grouping, structured student interaction, instructor facilitation, and attention to social skills. Further study and review of the attitudinal and achievement potential of cooperative learning structures compared to traditional teaching methodologies seems indicated.
Douglas L. Robertson, "An Evolutionary Response to Adult Learners: The Urban Small College," pp. 39-48
This paper explores the emergence of a new species of institution—the urban small college—which is distinguished in part by degree programs for adults. The discussion is intended to be a useful resource for academic and student service personnel at these small colleges who, usually without any training in adult education, must develop programs for local, working adults and integrate them with their existing curricula and services for traditional-aged, residential students. Five specific recommendations are made based on a transcript study of graduates at an urban small college in Portland, Oregon.
Rae Wahl Rohfeld, "Adult Students, Adult Education, and the Ed.D.: An Alternative Residency Experience," pp. 49-58
The increase of part-time adult students in Ed.D. programs calls into question the effectiveness and feasibility of the traditional, full-time residency. Adult education concepts provide a basis for designing an alternative residency which offers a quality academic and socialization experience. The Syracuse University alternative residency for the Ed.D. in Adult Education provides a model which can be adapted to other institutions and programs.
Joe F. Donaldson, "An Examination of Similarities and Differences Among Adults' Perceptions of Instructional Excellence in Off-Campus Credit Course Programming," pp. 59-78
Similarities and differences among adults' perceptions of exemplary instruction in off-campus credit courses were explored using gender, age, student status, subject matter, profession, and career stage as bases for comparison. Descriptive and nonparametric statistics were employed to generate propositions for further study. Results suggest that commonalities and differences among adults' perceptions of instructional excellence can be understood within the context of the normative expectations that they have for instructor role performance. It is further suggested that these normative expectations are associated with the outcomes of students' socialization to the student role, as well as to profession-specific work roles.
Julie A. Hughes, "General Education in Research Universities: Training Programs for Teaching Assistants," pp. 79-89
Suggestions for general education reforms have advocated smaller classes and greater participation by senior faculty. This is not feasible given the reward structure and extensive use of teaching assistants at research universities. Realistic reform efforts must account for the reward structure and focus on training programs for teaching assistants.
Editor's Page, Ronald D. Simpson, "Substance versus Style: A Teaching Controversy," pp. 103-107
William F. Prokasy, "The New Pedagogy: An Essay on Policy and Procedural Implications," pp. 109-115
No abstract.
Sven Groennings, Carolyn P. Griswold, Phyllis Wyatt-Woodruff, and Patricia Gregg, "Foreign Policies of U.S. Higher Education Institutions: Accident or Design?," pp. 117-125
Based on a content analysis of The Chronicle of Higher Education from 1984 to 1989, the authors find that current foreign policy decisions of higher education institutions are being made reactively within four policy arenas: research, students, investments, and academic programs. The authors conclude that a comprehensive foreign policy should be included in an institution's strategic planning process.
Don L. Mansfield and Patricia Murrell, "The Use of Student Learning Styles in Teaching World Politics," pp. 127-136
This article describes how "experiential learning theory" can be utilized to teach introductory world politics. Student learning styles and their modes of learning are considered in course design. The objective is to create a learning environment that facilitates active participation and reflection.
James L. Morrison and David M. Brock, "Organizational Planning and Policy Analysis: Combining Theory with Experiential Learning," pp. 137-151
Planning is vital to the continued effectiveness of educational institutions. The course described in this paper succeeds in combining two crucial elements of a student's comprehension of the planning process: first, an overview of the strategic planning literature provides a theoretical underpinning; then, an experiential planning exercise reinforces and extends the student's appreciation for this complex process. This course focuses on the alternative futures approach to planning. This approach has the added benefits of linking a study of relevant developments in the real world, through the planning process, with strategy formulation for the simulated institution.
James W. Ney, "Collaborative Learning in University Grammar Courses," pp. 153-165
An innovative collaborative learning model, used for the teaching of modern English grammar classes, combined elements from peer teaching and cooperative learning. This model is innovative for higher education since it involved students and instructor co-laboring to master knowledge as a socially held phenomenon without any authoritarian leveling. It involved: 1) Student lectures explaining assigned readings from the text(s); 2) Daily quizzes of the material from the assigned reading; and 3) Student grading of the daily quizzes and exams with the instructor checking for accuracy. Student attitudinal surveys revealed positive perceptions of students on the whole toward the conduct of the class. An even greater positive aspect of the collaborative learning model used here is the attainment of a high level of mastery of the subject matter and almost perfect classroom attendance.
Bruce W. Tuckman, "Motivating College Students: A Model Based on Empirical Evidence," pp. 167-176
Motivation, as reflected by the amount of self-regulated performance engaged in, was studied by offering students the opportunity to earn a grade bonus by writing test items as part of a Voluntary Homework System (VHS). While internal or dispositional factors such as self-confidence, payoff expectation and importance, and procrastination tendency were found to be important, external (and, therefore, potentially manipulable ) factors such as task magnitude, informational feedback, encouragement, goal setting, group outcomes, and preset versus normative standards also had considerable influence on effort and persistence. Based on these findings, a procedure that can be used in the college classroom to enhance student motivation is offered.
John W. Keller, Nina Mattie, Stephen J. Vodanovich, and Chris Piotrowski, "Teaching Effectiveness: Comparisons Between Traditional and Nontraditional College Students," pp. 177-184
This article compares traditional college students' perceptions of effective teaching behaviors with nontraditional students' perceptions. A 15-item questionnaire was completed by undergraduates at a small Southeastern university. Nontraditional students viewed personality and interaction behaviors as more indicative of effective teaching, whereas traditional students focused on behaviors that potentially would enhance grades. The implications of the findings are discussed in light of techniques and approaches that facilitate the needs of both types of students.
Paul A. Kirschner, Henk van den Brink, and Marthie Meester, "Audiotape Feedback for Essays in Distance Education," pp. 185-195
Students who were required to write three short essays for a university level course on photochemistry at the Open University of the Netherlands received either audio-cassette or written feedback on their essays. The students receiving the audio feedback described their experience as personal, enjoyable, complete and clear. Those receiving written feedback described their experience as adequate. The amount of time spent by instructors supplying the feedback differed minimally (Xaudio = 53 minutes per student; Xwritten = 49 minutes) with the major difference lying in the amount of time spent in preparation. This difference, possibly attributable to novelty with audio as a mode for feedback, was not significant. The amount communicated to the students with audio feedback (per instructor) was significantly greater than the amount communicated with written feedback. There was no difference in the final grades for the two groups of students.
Editor's Page, Ronald D. Simpson, "Innovative Higher Education," pp. 3-4
Thomas R. Lord, "Enhancing Learning in the Life Sciences through Spatial Perception," pp. 5-16
Recent educational research finds if students are encouraged to form mental images of events, objects and written or spoken words, learning of the material is enhanced. The inability to image an item may, in fact, hinder one's learning efforts in some disciplines. To find if low spatial aptitude does have a deleterious effect on learning in the life sciences, two hundred and fifty undergraduates taking a nonmajor's biology course were given tests to measure their visual-spatial awareness. Students falling more than one standard deviation from the mean were classified as low in spatial cognition and were randomly sorted into an experimental and a control group. Exercises known to enhance spatial understanding were conducted weekly with the experimental group. When the final grades for the course were examined at the end of the semester, it was found that students in the experimental group scored significantly better than the control group in the biology course. These students, however, did not reach the same level of proficiency as the students who were measuring high in spatial ability initially.
Kerry S. Walters, "Critical Thinking and the Spock Fallacy," pp. 17-28
Conventional instruction in critical thinking technique tends to conflate logical thinking with rational or "good" thinking. But in doing so, it ignores the creative and intuitive functions of rationality, thereby encouraging a mechanically rote approach to textual analysis, problem solving and problem construction. This overemphasis upon straightforwardly logical "calculus of justification" functions, and its concomitant deemphasis of intuitive "pattern of discovery" ones, constitute the "Spock Fallacy." Its epistemological weakness and pedagogical hazards are explored.
Gloria B. Wood, "One-Year Experimental Study of the ACT Objective Test with Non-Traditional Students," pp. 29-41
The Curriculum Committee of the General College (GC) at the University of Minnesota selected the ACT Objective Test to assess general educational outcomes, educational gains, and to provide an individual assessment of academic achievement for graduating Associate of Arts degree candidates.
Data analyses to assess general educational outcomes revealed that GC Associate of Arts degree candidates scored significantly lower than an ACT national sample on total score and four out of six subscores. Data analyses to assess educational gains revealed no significant differences between three comparison groups of GC students: Associate of Arts candidates, GC sophomores, and GC freshman; although there was a significant difference on grade-point average (GPA).
Finally, data analyses to assess ethnic group performance revealed significant differences between four ethnic groups, although there were no significant differences on GPA. In addition, it was discovered that the relationship between total score and GPA was strongly positive for the Black and Caucasian groups but was negative for the Asian and Other groups.
Thus, since the ACT Objective Test did not provide an adequate measure of educational gains, and it appears that the ACT Objective Test might possibly be a culturally biased instrument, it was decided to discontinue use of the ACT Objective Test in the General College after the one-year experimental period.
Teresa L. Scheid-Cook, "Classic Texts in Undergraduate Classes: So Far So Good," pp. 43-54
This paper describes and evaluates a classic text project in terms of its stated objectives. First, to have a large number of students read a few classic works in more than one class. Second, to promote discussion of texts among students and faculty and third, to integrate core classes. Survey data collected from students and faculty evaluations point to the success of this project. The factors which contributed to its success are considered. The project was innovative because faculty selected important texts that could be used in a variety of courses and which would promote a broad based liberal education by exposing students to a diversity of perspectives.
Cleon F. Thompson, Jr., Alex B. Johnson, Claudia Warren, and Charles Williams, "Facilitating Growth and Leadership Development at Small Colleges Through the Interactive Approach to Strategic Planning," pp. 55-64
This article provides an overview of how the interactive approach to strategic planning can facilitate long-range development of colleges with enrollments of 2500 students or less. Presented is a detailed description of how to conduct environmental and competitor analyses, how to develop an organizational mission statement and institutional goals, and the evolution of leadership through the strategic planning process.
Judith G. Adrian and Jerold W. Apps, "Kellogg Faculty Seminar: Enriching Academic Leadership in Adult/Continuing Education," pp. 65-71
The Kellogg funded Faculty Seminar on Future Directions in Continuing Education was a continuing professional development project for young assistant and associate professors of adult continuing education. The Faculty Seminar was developed and conducted by Jerold Apps, Alan Knox, and Jack Ferver, professors at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, from January, 1987, through March, 1989. Thirty-three early career faculty members focused on enriching their leadership roles within their academic departments and across the field of adult/continuing education, as well as on personal career development. Within each of these areas, participants normatively considered future directions for the field.
Bruce Gunn, "Political Systems vs. Management Systems in Collegiate Organizations," pp. 73-82
The emergence of the information age is necessitating that political systems, which govern collegiate organizations with bureaucracy, be replaced with management systems that employ "third wave" principles to produce a zenith of pedagogical productivity.
Charles M. Spuches and Philip L. Doughty, "A Study of the Use of Instructional Development in Selected College/University Continuing Professional Education Programs," pp. 83-99
This article reports on a recent study on the use of instructional development to enhance the quality of university continuing education programs for professionals. As an instructional mode of continuing professional education, instructional development principles and procedures are potentially appropriate means for achieving and maintaining the quality and effectiveness of such programs. Although the application of instructional development in higher education has been studied by several researchers, there has been little research to address its application with regard specifically to the area of continuing professional education in higher education. Based on a national survey of continuing educators, the extent of use and the major factors associated with the use or lack of use of instructional development are presented and discussed. Three models of the use of instructional development developed through selected cases are provided.
Editor's Page, Margaret E. Holt, "Farewell and Welcome," pp. 79-81
Ken Kempner and Dian Connett, "Social Responsibility in Community Colleges: Rethinking the Commitment to Alternative Education," pp. 83-92
Because high school dropouts are among the least advantaged members of American society, the educational system that has failed them has the social responsibility for remediating their educational and developmental needs. The community college is proposed as the institution most able to develop policies and programs that will enable these least advantaged members of American society to overcome the educational system that has failed them. This paper discusses the responsibility of providing a quality education to all individuals, examines the role the community college can play in meeting the educational and social needs of dropouts, and presents an innovative program at a community college that has been particularly effective in meeting the needs of dropouts.
Richard L. Weaver II, Darrell G. Mullins, Howard W. Cotrell and Thomas A. Michel, "Faculty Dynamation: Guided Empowerment," pp. 93-105
Dynamation is the integrative process whereby the sum total of all learning, knowledge, experiences, and feelings are brought to bear on productive, creative action and problem solving. In this paper, we describe some of the benefits of dynamation, outline a general approach to it—including the importance of friendship (the core of the empowerment process)—and explain several key incentives that will encourage faculty, through dynamation, to engage in growth activities. Throughout the article we discuss ten techniques developers can use. Our focus is on informal facilitator-enhanced (guided) empowerment. That is, we look at growth that is likely to result when developers work with faculty with the goal of growth, change, and development.
Douglas B. Johnstone, "The Challenge of Self-Renewal in the Innovative College," pp. 107-122
Any successful innovation creates a body of practice, policy, lore and belief that becomes harder to change the longer it survives. Indeed, it could not endure without a record of what worked and why. Thus the history of an innovation tends to define its future; what once was new tends over time to be defined by its tradition, hence to become rigid. The consequences of this paradox can be calamitous. Using case studies to illustrate, the essay outlines a conceptual model for institutional self-assessment of its innovative health and recommends strategies for keeping the innovate spirit alive.
Ellen Piel Cook, Peggy Kinnetz, Neva Owens-Misner, "Faculty Perceptions of Job Rewards and Instructional Development Activities," pp. 123-130
The purpose of this study was to explore the perceptions of faculty at a large urban university concerning: (a) personal and college rewards for various areas of job responsibilities, and (b) which programs and incentives to enhance teaching effectiveness would be most attractive to them. Faculty generally reported both teaching and scholarly activity to be personally rewarding, but perceived discrepancies between personal and college rewards for teaching, and between college rewards for teaching and scholarly activity. Although a wide range of instructional development programs and incentives was endorsed, the top rated options referred to institutional recognition of teaching excellence.
William K. Wilkinson and Neil H. Schwartz, "Predicting Students' Epistemological Orientation from Demographic, Ability, and Learning Style Variables," pp. 131-139
Although college students' epistemological orientation largely determines how they approach, interpret, and learn in higher educational contexts, little is known about the student characteristics which reliably predict the orientation. Thus, the aim of this study was to determine the relative potency of different student characteristics potentially salient to differentiating epistemological view. The student variables evaluated were demographic (major and sex), verbal ability, and learning style (four scales from the Inventory of Learning Processes). Results of correlational and multiple regression analyses reveal that only students verbal skill accounted for a significant percent of the variance in epistemological orientation. The results are discussed in terms of the meaning of the orientation, its relevance to practitioners, and implications for further investigation.
Randy Stoecker, "Strategies for Enhancing Learning in the "Blow-Off" Course," pp. 141-153
Lower division courses are typically perceived by students as "blow-off" courses. We can overcome this image. This paper contrasts active and passive learning environments, and describes efforts to create an active, critical learning environment in both "Introduction to Sociology" and "The Family System"—typical lower division courses in Sociology. A review of grade distributions, quantitative course evaluations, qualitative course evaluations, and a survey asking students to subjectively compare the active learning course structure to the "typical" multiple choice format provide evaluation data. Finally, the paper discusses problems in using these innovations.
Bruce A. Thyer, Richard Sutphen, and Karen M. Sowers-Hoag, "Using Structured Study Questions as a Teaching Method in Social Work Education: Initial Validation Studies," pp. 155-164
The use of study questions to guide student learning and in-class discussion is presented as an alternative to the traditional methods of instruction in social work which rely upon formal lectures, and mid-term and final examinations and term papers to motivate studying. The positive results of two separate investigations on the value of study questions is described, and the instructional technique is suggested as worthy of consideration by social work educators.
Editor's Page, Margaret E. Holt, "Ex Diversitate Vires," pp. 3-4
James T. Kenny, "The Campus Responsibility in Corporate Restructuring," pp. 5-14
With changing domestic needs and intensifying foreign competition, American businesses are developing a leaner and more efficient look as they seek to streamline and improve their organizations and operations. Modern higher education can play a constructive and dynamic role in this process by offering corporations an expanded array of both traditional and nontraditional educational services. The development of new courses and instructional modes are helping to meet many of the informational needs of a restructuring private sector. At the same time forward-looking campuses are sharing and assisting in the adaptation of new technologies. A university committed to facilitating technology transfer, exploring innovative ways of disseminating research findings, and promoting information exchange at all levels, can give new meaning to the mission triad of instruction, research, and public service. At the same time such an institution can gain a new relevance in community and economic development. The following article looks at some new initiatives that are proving both effective and welcome as new modern corporate America seeks solutions to some of its most pressing problems.
Margo A. Figgins and Harold J. Burbach, "Preparing our Students to Publish: Lessons Learned," pp. 15-23
Doctoral students' inexperience in publication writing poses a challenge to higher education faculties. The approach detailed here to collegial writing—professors and students working as colleagues—offers one response. The assumptions guiding the course are followed by an elaboration of its key structuring components. The article concludes with a discussion of five lessons essential to the replication of a similar publication writing workshop in other settings. Among them are adopting a process model, electing a nontraditional course mode, employing cooperative learning as the dominant strategy, and drawing on schoolwide faculty to broaden perspectives on publication.
Laurelyn Irving Farmer, "Mandating Pre-Graduation Competence Among College and University Undergraduates," pp. 25-33
Assessment, remediation and basic skills testing are key words to many university administrators and state legislators these days. In response to questions from the public about the costs and quality of higher education, some states are mandating basic skills testing and encouraging comprehensive universities to provide remedial programs for students who do not pass the tests. Texas House Bill 2182 is an example of this trend and is discussed in light of ten key issues posed by assessment experts. On most issues, the house bill avoids anticipated pitfalls and provides enough leeway for colleges to design their own reforms according to their individual needs. This may not represent the total solution, but it is a starting point for colleges to develop comprehensive assessment programs over time.
Warren Shibles, "Radical Feminism, Humanism and Women's Studies," pp. 35-47
As it is not generally understood, radical feminism is first defined in terms of the concept of patriarchy. Feminists themselves now characterize radical feminism as involving sexism, views of the superiority of women over men, and the goal to establish a separate world without men, a gynecocracy. Radical feminism is then contrasted with humanism and seen to be antihumanistic. Feminists themselves further claim that Women's Studies in universities and colleges is basically radical feminism. Thus, ironically, such studies which are supported for the purpose of ending sexism are, in fact, creating it. One solution is to establish Women's Studies on the philosophies of the feminists, who are moving toward what I term humanistic feminism.
Mark D. Weber and Thomas A. Karman, "Graphite into Diamonds: Using Teams to Strengthen Intracollegial Interaction," pp. 49-56
In an information-processing organization, it is essential that lines of communications stay open and fluid, and that can best be accomplished through cooperative teamwork. In science, when graphite is subjected to extreme heat and pressure, it is converted into a diamond. When pressure is applied to a collegiate bureaucracy through retraining key personnel, it can be transformed into a team promoting unity and interaction. Strategies for developing teams are discussed.
Michael G. Krukones, "Politics in Fiction and Film: An Interdisciplinary Approach to an Abstract Topic," pp. 57-65
Politics is a difficult idea to relate to students. In a team-taught course that uses political novels and films, the concept of politics becomes more understandable to the students. Three different instructors representing Political Science, English and Film bring expertise to the course that is usually not possible when a single instructor tries to incorporate separate disciplines into one course. Although some administrative and departmental problems may prevent this type of course from achieving wide popularity on college campuses, it has proven to be successful with students as well as with the instructors who teach it.
Joseph L. Snider and Bruce Pollack-Johnson, "Newton and the Age of Reason," pp. 67-75
During the Spring semester of 1987 a mathematician and a physicist from Oberlin College went with twenty-one undergraduates to London to use the resources of England as the basis for a course with the above title. This unusual interdisciplinary course is described, with emphasis on its experimental, experiential nature and the challenges and satisfactions which it provided.
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