Development of a formative peer observation protocol for STEM faculty reflection

Abstract

Faculty peer observation has seen increasing uptake in recent years, in some cases as an alternative or supplement to student teaching evaluations. While many universities encourage faculty peer observation, it is not widely used in a formal way for formative assessment. This article outlines the development of a new faculty peer observation protocol designed for formative assessment of evidence-based educational practices. The goal of the protocol is to foster reflective teaching practices. The peer observation protocol has been designed to mitigate common faculty fears of classroom observation, with detailed assessment methods for specific topic areas. Preliminary testing of the protocol at one university indicated positive faculty outcomes with regard to personal reflection: all the faculty who tested the protocol reported that the observation process had been helpful for them to reflect on their teaching.     

Disciplinary Differences and the Integration of Technology into Teaching

ABSTRACT

The preparation of teachers involves academics from across the disciplinary spectrum but research on the differences between academic disciplines has revealed that a faculty member's discipline is a major factor in shaping the several aspects of course planning and teaching. The purpose of this paper is to present a model for investigating disciplinary differences as they may relate to teaching with technology, thereby enabling more effective integration of technology into the curriculum. Components of the model include: the structure and ethos of the discipline; preparation for, and experience as, a teacher; faculty assumptions about students; faculty beliefs and perceptions about technology; and the environmental context.     

This is Not an Article: a reflection on Creative Research Dialogues (This is Not a Seminar)

Abstract

This is Not a Seminar (TINAS) is a multidisciplinary forum established in 2012 at Edith Cowan University (ECU) in Australia to support practice-led and practice-based Higher Degree by Research students. The Faculty of Education and Arts at ECU includes cohorts of postgraduate research students in, for example, performance, design, writing and visual arts. We established the TINAS programme to assist postgraduate research students in connecting their creative practices to methodological, theoretical and conceptual approaches whilst fostering an atmosphere of rapport across creative disciplines. The pilot programme conducted for six months in 2012 comprised dialogues with experienced creative researchers; critical reading sessions on practice-led theory; and workshops in journaling, ethics and copyright. This article is a reflection on the strengths and limitations of TINAS and future projections. More than an additional teaching and learning service, the programme has become a vital forum for creative dialogue.     

Barriers and assets to external funding for African American faculty

Abstract

External funding is required for promotion and tenure in many disciplines, especially at research intensive universities. The purpose of this study was to identify barriers and assets to external funding for African American faculty at a research intensive university. A phenomenological approach was used to capture the voice of 16 African American faculty through focus groups and interviews. Data were interpreted through the lens of Critical Race Theory. The three primary themes were: (1) barriers, (2) influence of race, and (3) assets. Barriers included lack of mentors and collaborators; teaching load and lack of protective time; scarcity of funding; and lack of administrative support and infrastructure for getting grants out. Faculty reported several assets for securing funding. These included both personal (e.g. good training, innovation) and external (e.g. collaborations with community members) assets. Recommendations for addressing barriers are provided.     

Teaching Holistically to Achieve Deep Learning

Abstract

The article examines students' perceptions of student evaluations of teaching and compares them to faculty perceptions on several dimensions. Findings indicate students were much less likely to agree that SET encourage faculty to grade more leniently, that they have an influence on a faculty member's career, or that they lead to changes in courses and/or teaching styles. Faculty members believed that students rate easy, entertaining instructors more highly. Includes suggestions for change and future research directions.     

The development of an exit examination in criminal justice for graduating seniors: A case study

Faculty members in higher education have become increasingly concerned with evaluating faculty members' and students' performance and with improving accountability. One focus of investigation has been the assessment of graduating seniors through the use of an exit examination. In many disciplines, standardized tests are available for such purposes, and graduating seniors at a particular institution can be compared with a nationally normed sample. No such tests presently are available in criminal justice. The purpose of this study was to develop such an instrument, tailored to meet the needs of a specific curriculum. The process and the preliminary results are described, including the limitations on interpretation. The advantages and the potential difficulties of this process are discussed.     

Genome Consortium for Active Teaching: meeting the goals of BIO2010

The Genome Consortium for Active Teaching (GCAT) facilitates the use of modern genomics methods in undergraduate education. Initially focused on microarray technology, but with an eye toward diversification, GCAT is a community working to improve the education of tomorrow's life science professionals. GCAT participants have access to affordable microarrays, microarray scanners, free software for data analysis, and faculty workshops. Microarrays provided by GCAT have been used by 141 faculty on 134 campuses, including 21 faculty that serve large numbers of underrepresented minority students. An estimated 9480 undergraduates a year will have access to microarrays by 2009 as a direct result of GCAT faculty workshops. Gains for students include significantly improved comprehension of topics in functional genomics and increased interest in research. Faculty reported improved access to new technology and gains in understanding thanks to their involvement with GCAT. GCAT's network of supportive colleagues encourages faculty to explore genomics through student research and to learn a new and complex method with their undergraduates. GCAT is meeting important goals of BIO2010 by making research methods accessible to undergraduates, training faculty in genomics and bioinformatics, integrating mathematics into the biology curriculum, and increasing participation by underrepresented minority students.     

A Synchronous Online Social Work PhD Program: Educational Design and Student/Faculty Response

ABSTRACT

Faculty and students evaluate the curriculum design and delivery of a synchronous online PhD program in social work that prepares scholar-practitioners in social work research, education, and organizational practice. The designers envision a collaborative community of scholars and leaders nurtured by a cohort-based, sequenced curriculum, and intentional faculty mentoring. This teaching and learning platform provides an opportunity to engage with a globally diverse population of doctoral students while fostering both relationships and quality learning outcomes. Educational design and pedagogical features of the program are described and analyzed through the collaborative thinking and learning platform of the Community of Inquiry (CoI) model’s interdependent elements–teaching, cognitive, and social presence. Eighteen students and ten faculty evaluated the strengths and limitations of the online program across each dimension of the model through student course evaluations, focus-group reflections, and qualitative faculty survey data. Student and faculty respondents specified the benefits of synchronous presence across all three dimensions. They also identified significant barriers, particularly in the areas of teaching and social presence. Implications and recommendations are based on a review of findings that inform pedagogical decisions and design options for online PhD education in social work.     

Leading the horse to the water: Teacher training for all teachers in a faculty of Health Sciences

Abstract

This paper describes a project, which aimed to develop a programme for the entire teaching staff of a faculty of health sciences, who had received initial teacher training earlier in their career. The programme was developed according to sound educational principles and was supported by the faculty board. Departments also received financial compensation for participation in the workshops. During the first two years of this programme almost 60% of the tenured teachers participated in at least one workshop. Reasons for participation and non‐participation are discussed.     

Developmental Needs of Community College Adjunct Faculty

Abstract

This survey was a result of the efforts of the New Jersey Consortium on the Community College to identify and articulate the faculty/staff development needs of the 17 community colleges of New Jersey.

In depth interviews were conducted with administrators, faculty and students at all the colleges. Follow up questionnaires were completed at each community college. A two day workshop was then conducted to identify and assign priorities to specific needs. The needs were ordered in one of three categories: Fulfilling the Goals of the Community College, Teaching/Learning Needs, and Managerial Needs.

The workshop that dealt with “Ways of Meeting Part-Time Faculty Needs” identified eight essential goal related needs while stressing the need for adjunct faculty to understand the philosophy and function of the community college. Within the teaching/learning category the workshop group amplified the need for adjunct faculty to understand how learning occurs. The primary managerial need identified was for each community college to develop strong teaching/learning support systems. The workshop participants viewed the establishment of a continuous program of adjunct supervision as essential for the support of effective instruction.     

A case study of faculty perceptions of teaching support and teaching efficacy in China: characteristics and relationships

This study investigated the characteristics of faculty perceptions of teaching support and teaching efficacy and the relationships between them in Shandong, a province in East China. The results from a sample of 2758 faculty members from 25 public institutions of higher education showed high levels of reported teaching support and teaching efficacy. Faculty members from key institutions scored higher on teaching resources and efficacy for course design but lower on administrative and peer support. Male faculty members scored higher on efficacy for course design, technology usage and classroom management. Teaching assistants scored higher on administrative and peer support but lower on efficacy for course design, instructional strategy, technology usage and classroom management. In addition to the positive relationship between teaching resources, peer support and all teaching efficacy factors, administrative support was negatively related to course design, technology usage, classroom management and learning assessment among faculty of provincial institutions but positively related to course design and technology usage among faculty of vocational institutions. No significant relationship was found between administrative support and teaching efficacy factors among faculty members from key institutions.     

Interdisciplinary Faculty Development Seminars: A Model for Learning Emerging Technologies While Developing Interdisciplinary Partnerships

A series of faculty development seminars at Haverford College has been designed to address the issue of keeping science faculty teaching and research up-to-date, while building bridges between departments. To ensure coverage of emerging areas of science, we have elected to train existing faculty in new methods using a series of workshops for which faculty receive either teaching release time or stipends. The goals of these seminars include developing faculty expertise in important new topics and methodologies, stimulating the inclusion of these skills into their research and the curriculum, and broadening the scope of teaching and research collaborations. The initial three workshops have been targeted at areas of particular concern: boosting faculty expertise in scientific computing, bioinformatics, and issues surrounding the relationship of science and society. The seminar format has been designed to foster dialogue between different departments, as well as individual faculty, by including time for informal conversations and shared workshops, and by requiring collaborative curricular projects. The initial focus on the natural sciences has broadened into topics of interest to faculty in the social sciences and humanities.     

Not just workshops any more: The role of faculty development in reframing academic priorities

Abstract

At most US colleges and universities, faculty development programmes have assumed a passive role waiting for interested faculty to come to them. For the most part, their activities have been limited to facilitating instructional workshops, managing faculty study leaves and sabbaticals, and providing remedial support for faculty who experience problems in their teaching. As higher education in the US faces political, social and technological challenges, faculty developers must play a more active role in institutional transformation. After providing an historical overview of faculty development in the US and describing the current situation in US higher education, this paper outlines four activities that faculty developers can undertake as change agents to help institutions accomplish the objective of institutional transformation and to foster a stronger academic culture.     

Writing web‐based distance education courses for adult learners

Abstract

This study examines faculty writing style in Web‐based courses aimed at adult learners, a key audience for university‐level courses. Taking into account independent‐study courses and others, the investigator conducted faculty interviews, looking at written and oral strategies implicit in teaching; print vs. Web formats; and adherence to educational philosophies. Faculty who were interviewed revealed minimal experience in both print and Web realms, minimal style differences beyond teaching netiquette or using occupational jargon, and adherence to active learning or social constructivism.     

线上教学设计：求精求质求创新

线上学习蓬勃发展,科研和教学法有效结合,教学品质就能进一步提升。以皇家大学的教学模式为例,深入探讨4项线上教学的原则：学习成果、经验性真实性之学习、学习社区、小组学习。在天津电大开办培训课程,引导教师们深思个人的教学哲理和教学方法,以设计思考的方式,为线上教学挑战寻求解决方案。70名教师参与度高,制作设计蓝图,分享经验,做中求知,创意十足,充分展现中西双方的教学精髓,使之紧密结合,增加教学成效。未来培训的方向是以面授、线上混合之方式,实行小班制,为中国和加拿大线上教学的创新与合作做出更有意义之贡献。     

Gender equity in the academic labor market: an analysis of academic disciplines

This study uses hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) to analyze the effect of human capital, structural characteristics of the discipline, and disciplinary labor market conditions on faculty salaries. Faculty in disciplines characterized by relatively low demand, high teaching loads, and low amounts of research funding earn less than do faculty in other disciplines. Additionally, even after controlling for an array of individual and disciplinary characteristics, women faculty members earn less than their male peers.     

Faculty planning for distance teaching

Abstract

How faculty in higher education plan instruction is an area about which little is known. The purpose of this study was to describe instructional planning by faculty teaching adult learners via interactive telecommunications technology and to identify their principal concerns when designing distance instruction. Qualitative methods were used to collect and analyze data on planning by eleven full‐time faculty members teaching on an audio‐graphic distance network. Their distance instruction planning process was characterized by three features: term rather than day‐to‐day planning, a primary emphasis on content rather than process, and reliance on the syllabus as the focal point of planning.     

The Faculty Self-Reported Assessment Survey (FRAS): Differentiating Faculty Knowledge and Experience in Assessment

Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics education reform efforts have called for widespread adoption of evidence-based teaching in which faculty members attend to student outcomes through assessment practice. Awareness about the importance of assessment has illuminated the need to understand what faculty members know and how they engage with assessment knowledge and practice. The Faculty Self-Reported Assessment Survey (FRAS) is a new instrument for evaluating science faculty assessment knowledge and experience. Instrument validation was composed of two distinct studies: an empirical evaluation of the psychometric properties of the FRAS and a comparative known-groups validation to explore the ability of the FRAS to differentiate levels of faculty assessment experience. The FRAS was found to be highly reliable (α = 0.96). The dimensionality of the instrument enabled distinction of assessment knowledge into categories of program design, instrumentation, and validation. In the known-groups validation, the FRAS distinguished between faculty groups with differing levels of assessment experience. Faculty members with formal assessment experience self-reported higher levels of familiarity with assessment terms, higher frequencies of assessment activity, increased confidence in conducting assessment, and more positive attitudes toward assessment than faculty members who were novices in assessment. These results suggest that the FRAS can reliably and validly differentiate levels of expertise in faculty knowledge of assessment.     

Course Design,Quality Matters Training,and Student Outcomes

ABSTRACT

North Carolina Central University (NCCU) recognized the need to address the increasing rates of Ds, Fs, and Withdrawal by students matriculating in online courses. Led by two science faculty, a faculty learning community in partnership with the NCCU Division of Extended Studies was created to assess online science course offerings and instruction. Faculty within this learning community completed the Quality Matters (QM) “Applying the Quality Matters Rubric” course. This online training course, coupled with services provided by the NCCU Division of Extended Studies, offered the faculty learning community a variety of pedagogical strategies to meet their instructional needs. All faculty participating in this learning community completed the online training course and all faculty indicated that they implemented changes in their subsequent online course offerings. This article describes the impact of that training and the application of quality course design standards in the Quality Matters Rubric on the design and student outcomes for an Introductory Biology course over four terms. As faculty learning communities are broadly utilized, it is anticipated that this article may present an effective strategy to increase the quality and quantity of online science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) courses at similar institutions.     

The Impact of Quality Matters Professional Development on Teaching across Delivery Formats

ABSTRACT

This study explored the impact of professional development workshops for online course design on faculty’s pedagogical practices in online, face-to-face (f2f), and blended instructional modes. It specifically focused on trainings offered by the Quality Matters (QM) organization on a rubric for assessing quality in online course development. A mixed-methods analysis of survey data collected from 2,148 participants in QM workshops over a three-year period (2012–2015) demonstrated that, across all three teaching modes, participants revised learning objectives, improved course alignment, and paid greater attention to communication with students. Additional benefits from participating in QM training related to specific modalities. Common online and blended impacts included changes in assessment practices as well as in modifying course materials to be more compliant with accessibility standards. In f2f settings, frequent changes involved redesigning learning activities to increase learner-learner interaction.