Faculty behavior in low-paradigm versus high-paradigm disciplines: A case study

The notion of academic disciplines being characterized as high- or low-paradigm technologies was developed by Lodahl and Gordon from Kuhn's concept of a paradigm. Using this concept, the voting pattern of high-paradigm faculty (chemistry, physics, mathematics, and engineering) was compared to low-paradigm faculty (sociology, political science, history, and education) concerning a controversial campus issue to liberalize curriculum choices for students. It was found that high-paradigm faculty were not willing to grant students more latitude to select courses for degree requirements, while low-paradigm faculty members were in favor of giving students more latitude to select academic courses for degree requirements. The unique aspect of this study is that faculty behavior, as described in an actual case study, corresponds to theoretical positions supported by questionnaire data.     

地方师范院校教师队伍自适应控制系统建设与实践——基于专业发展视角

当前地方师范院校教师队伍建设最薄弱的环节主要是:教师学科知识结构与学校专业发展不相协调的矛盾。为有效化解矛盾,本文提出运用自适应控制系统理论解决地方师范院校教师队伍建设问题,根据实际专业发展,通过设计适当的控制作用和衡量方式,解决师资队伍的专业适应性问题,促进学科专业又好又快发展。     

Learning Organization Disciplines in Higher Education Institutions: An Approach to Human Resource Development in Jordan

The purpose of this study was to determine the perceptions of higher education faculty members concerning the application of the learning organization disciplines, as proposed by Senge (1990), in the university environment. The study surveyed 202 faculty members at the Hashemite University, one of the leading state universities in Jordan. Results of the study indicated overall moderate-to-high application of all the learning organization disciplines as indicated by their mean values, which ranged between 3.40 and 3.62 on a five-point Likert-type scale. Faculty members in this study recognize that they adequately master learning through professional development, challenge their mental models and assumptions to improve educational practices, have an individual vision that is harmonious with the organizational vision, work as teams, and value systems thinking. The article ends with several practical and theoretical recommendations.     

The Biglan classification revisited

Conclusion The Biglan classification scheme provides a valid framework for studying academic diversity within the higher education system. It continues to be a strong construct for classifying faculty as evidenced by its power to discriminate current faculty on a recent faculty data set. Previously unclassified professional disciplines of Dentistry and Nursing were classified as hard-applied-nonlife and soft-applied-life respectively. Difficulty classifying other fields may be the result of diverse, interdisciplinary subject matter, and the stage of academic development of the discipline. An expanded classification system such as the one by Becher may be more inclusive and deserves further study.     

普通高校新办专业师资队伍建设问题探究

为满足社会对专业人才的需求,高校将不同学科、不同专业进行整合,新办专业随社会需要而逐渐增多。新办专业师资队伍建设关系到学校学科建设的持续发展和专业结构的合理布局。通过对某综合大学新办专业师资队伍的年龄结构、学历结构、职称结构、学缘结构等的分析发现,普通高校新办专业还存在着师资队伍结构发展不均衡、缺少高水平的学科带头人、对青年教师培养培训力度不够等问题。为此,学校要在优化教师队伍结构、营造良好环境、引进高层次人才、培养在职师资、重视青年教师、整合梯队结构、完善用人机制、保证充足经费等方面作出努力。     

The Privilege of Teaching

Cultivating a disposition of critical thinking among students and faculty can provide a means of addressing troubling cultural trends like breakdowns in public discourse, academic siloing, and disengagement from religion. This article expands the concept of critical thinking by engaging the work of John Henry Newman and Bernard Lonergan. The latter part of the article narrates how one university has integrated Lonergan's “generalized empirical method” into the curriculum and faculty development with promising outcomes for collaboration across disciplines, faculty spirituality, and facilitating difficult conversations on campus.     

Reward structures of academic disciplines

This article examined the specific differences in the salary reward structures of eight clusters of academic disciplines included in Biglan's three-dimensional model of the academic profession. The sample consisted of 1.320 faculty at a large research university who responded to the Faculty Activity Analysis questionnaire requesting information on the amount of time they devoted each week to eleven categories of professional responsibility. These measures were used to predict faculty salaries in the eight discipline clusters. The results demonstrated wide variation in the reward structures of these discipline clusters.     

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.     

“大思政”视野下专业教师任班导师工作研究——以福建工程学院为例

在知识更新空前迅速,信息传播瞬息万变的新形势下,面对一群充满活力,具有强烈的创新精神、时代精神和自我意识的大学生,专职思政干部由于自身专业“短板”原因,在从事学生思想政治教育过程中遇到的困难和挑战日益突出。专业教师担任低年级本科生班导师,发挥专业教师优势,通过参与大学生职业生涯规划、学科竞赛指导、学风建设、专业素养拓展以及日常管理等工作,融入学生中间,在教育、活动过程中成为大学生思想的引领者、学业和就业的指导者,有利于密切师生关系,提高思政教育工作成效。     

Creating and Implementing a Faculty Interest Group for Historically Underrepresented Faculty

This article describes the creation and implementation of a faculty interest group for historically underrepresented faculty at a large, urban community college in the Northeast. Faculty interest groups provide opportunities for faculty across disciplines to meet to explore common interests and share concerns and best practices. The faculty interest group described in this article was designed to explore and address the challenges faced by historically underrepresented faculty and facilitate the process of attaining reappointment, promotion, and tenure. Nationwide, nearly half of community college students come from populations that are also historically underrepresented, and community colleges are challenged to recruit and retain faculty that mirror the student body. Research demonstrates that historically underrepresented faculty members enrich the overall education of all students, and yet a significant number of those faculty members describe their college campuses as unwelcoming. Factors that make campuses unwelcoming for these faculty include, but are not limited to, the following: isolation and marginalization; salary disparities; microaggressions based on race, gender, and sexual identity; heightened visibility; and additional role demands. Community college administrators ought to be concerned with historically underrepresented faculty members’ satisfaction and persistence on campus because these faculty members are vital members of the academy. Faculty interest groups for historically underrepresented faculty may provide the support and professional development opportunities that will ensure their retention and success in academia.     

高校教师聘任制满意度的影响因素

从教师的视角出发,采用随机抽样的方式,选取H大学450名教师进行了问卷调查,调查内容包括教师聘任制的实施效果、考核程序、考核指标、聘用条件等。研究结果表明:考核程序是影响教师聘任制满意度的最重要因素;教师的职称、学位越高,对聘任制的满意程度越低;理工类学科教师对聘任制的满意度明显高于文管类学科教师。     

Retired professors and professional activity: A comparative study of three types of institutions

This study compares the professional activities of retired professors from liberal arts colleges, a comprehensive university, and a major research university. Results show that a large majority of faculty continue to perform professional roles and that strength of ties to colleagues and professional organizations outside the institution are correlated with professional activity at all types of institutions. Major differences among institutions are: (1) liberal arts college and research university faculty show consistency between pre- and postretirement professional activity levels, whereas comprehensive university faculty do not; (2) university faculty show higher levels of participation in a number of professional activities than do liberal arts college faculty; (3) rated importance of research or other creative work is related to professional activity for comprehensive university faculty and rated importance of consulting and university service are related to professional activity for research university faculty.     

Mentored Discussions of Teaching: An Introductory Teaching Development Program for Future STEM Faculty

Today’s science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) graduate students and postdoctoral fellows are tomorrow’s new faculty members; but these junior academicians often receive limited pedagogical training. We describe four iterations of an entry-level program with a low time commitment, Mentored Discussions of Teaching (MDT). The program is designed to introduce participants to pedagogical issues and literature in STEM disciplines and foster related discussions. It consists of group meetings, classroom observations, and discussions with faculty members. Program components were generally highly rated and valuable, even for those with prior teaching experience. We have found that this program is also an effective way to engage faculty members in the teaching aspects of students’ professional development.     

Teaching Diversity across Disciplines: Reflections from African-American Faculty in Four Different Academic Settings

The authors, male and female African-American faculty from different academic disciplines at predominantly white institutions, share personal reflections on their experiences teaching postsecondary graduate and professional courses that focus on diversity and multicultural themes. This article provides tools and strategies for improving the overall effectiveness for those who teach diversity courses from a framework the authors have codified as a “3-C” perspective: context, characters, and curriculum.     

Factors which comprise salary

A linear causal model is postulated and path analysis procedures are used to examine the direct, indirect, and total influence of 39 variables (grouped into eight general measures) on the salaries of 24.461 faculty members associated with virtually every discipline and type of postsecondary institution in the academic community. The results show wide variation in the relative influence of characteristics of postsecondary institutions and the personal and professional characteristics of faculty members on faculty salaries. The implications of these findings are discussed and specific guidelines are provided to assist those interested in examining the external and internal consistency of the faculty salary structures of their respective institutions.     

教师发展：学校内涵发展的生命线——基于“江西师范大学教师发展中心”建设的思考

大学教师发展是大学内涵建设的核心任务。为了引领教师发展,需要转换理念,以＂发展＂代替＂培训＂,促进教师关心＂教学学术＂,引领教师专业成长。在这一理念的引领下,需要以活动为载体,关注教师专业素养的整体提升,同时,需要从组织与政策方面予以支持,以保证教师教育活动的实施和教师专业发展共同体的持续发展。     

A View of Oral Communication Activities in Food Science From the Perspective of a Communication Researcher

Food science researchers have pronounced the Institute of Food Technologists Success Skills to be the most important competency mastered by graduates entering the work force. Much of the content and outcomes of the Success Skills pertains to oral communication skills of public speaking and interpersonal and group communication. This qualitative study reports the results of an examination of oral communication activities in the classes of 9 faculty in the food science program at Iowa State Univ. The findings revealed communication activities in the classes that support the Success Skills oral communication mandates; however, the food science faculty did not explicitly teach these skills. Faculty assumed the students would acquire proficiency in oral communication through participation in disciplinary activities that required them to practice the skills. A situated communication framework cautions communication researchers to honor the oral communication traditions in other disciplines. Still, the practice of preparing students to communicate in professional contexts without formal instruction raises 2 questions from the perspective of a communication researcher: first, are students aware of the communication skills they applied in classroom activities? Second, are students able to transfer communication skills to other classes and, more importantly to professional practice, when they graduate, as a result of this approach? The discussion suggests exercises that direct students’ attention to the specific skill sets inherent in the oral communication activities in the Success Skills while enabling faculty to maintain the communication traditions of food science as they prepare students for professional practice.     

Student evaluation of instruction in higher education: exploring issues of validity and reliability

Many personnel committees at colleges and universities in the USA use student evaluation of faculty instruction to make decisions regarding tenure, promotion, merit pay or faculty professional development. This study examines the construct validity and internal consistency reliability of the student evaluation of instruction (SEI) used at a large mid‐western university in the USA for both administrative and instructional purposes. The sample consisted of 73,500 completed SEIs for undergraduate students who self‐reported as freshman, sophomore, junior or senior. Confirmatory factor analysis via structural equation modelling was used to explore the construct validity of the SEI instrument. The internal consistency of students' ratings was reported to provide reliability evidence. The results of this study showed that the model fits the data for the sample. The significance of this study as well as areas for further research are discussed.     

Why We Say it Like That: Making Rhetorical Practices Explicit for Students in Disciplinary and Interdisciplinary Courses

Students in colleges and universities need to be able to learn how to communicate effectively both within the specialized arenas of their chosen disciplines and, increasingly, with a wide variety of public and professional audiences. One way to accomplish this goal is to integrate the development of effective writing and speaking skills into both our disciplinary and interdisciplinary classrooms. In this essay, we suggest that faculty to adopt a “rhetorical perspective” in their teaching, regardless of discipline, in order to capitalize on already existing faculty expertise and empower students. Specifically, a rhetorical perspective integrating speaking and writing can help students to become more active agents in their intellectual development, can help faculty design assignments and activities that relate directly to course goals and learning outcomes, and can provide a framework for feedback that can facilitate student learning.     

澳大利亚法学教育的特点及启示

澳大利亚法学教育作为职业教育与素质教育并举的模式,在世界上首屈一指.其灵活多样的学位设置,高效务实的实践教学,科学合理的师资建设,优势特色学科并重的办学模式以及服务便捷的学院管理等特点,对推进我国卓越法律人才的培养,深化高等法学教育改革具有重要的借鉴意义.