Post-secondary educators' professional development: Investigation of an online approach to enhancing teaching and learning

Faculty in post-secondary institutions must continually reassess, refine, and revise their teaching, yet it is a challenge for them to gain this professional development with heavy teaching responsibilities and high demands on their time. Creating Optimum Learning Environments (CREOLE) is a collaborative project between one community college and one university to develop an online training program for post-secondary education faculty on the basic principles of teaching and learning and the development of online courses. Four independent modules were developed and taught in a one semester format for educators throughout the U.S. The goal of this research was to identify the strenghts and challenges of this course; determine the changes in pedagogical practice of the participating faculty members; and to examine the resulting changes in participants' course materials to reflect learning and motivation theories, and appropriate online learning strategies. Methods included pre- and post-surveys of the participants, interviews, document analysis, and instructors' reflections. Results demonstrated high expectations from all participants, difficulty in forming a sustained learning community, continuing challenge in technological aspects, and requirement for intense instructor involvement to maintain morale.     

The impact of a collaborative family/school reading programme on student reading rate

Student reading skills are below grade level in many schools and professionals are constantly searching for new ideas to enhance reading curricula. To address this problem in one elementary school, a parent/school reading programme was implemented. Parents were encouraged to increase the amount of time spent reading with their children at home and the school provided easily accessible reading materials, suggestions for encouraging reading at home, prizes and special activities. Programme participants demonstrated a higher increase in reading rate and accuracy than the matched peers. Prior to implementation and at the end of the reading programme, parents and students who chose to participate in the programme reported positive attitudes toward reading together. Implications of these results are discussed and an emphasis is placed on expanding research in the area.     

Counseling Students' Decision Making Regarding Teaching Effectiveness: A Conjoint Analysis

The authors examined the relative importance of 4 attributes of decision making for student evaluation of teaching effectiveness: perceived knowledge base of the professor, professor's delivery style, course organization, and course workload. Participants were 234 counseling graduate students from 6 midwestern universities in the United States. Data were analyzed with classic conjoint analysis using an additive model with full‐profile method. Results indicated that decisions about teaching effectiveness are complex and based on multiple attributes. There was sufficient variability in the decision‐making process to warrant caution in overgeneralizing results. Implications for faculty development and faculty hiring are considered.     

Learners' perceptions of the role of peers in a research experience: Implications for the apprenticeship process,scientific inquiry,and collaborative work

This study investigates the interaction between four pairs of high school students in a 7‐week national research apprenticeship program. Each student was interviewed about perceptions of experiences working with a peer in the same setting, and the resulting stories were analyzed. Through discourse analysis of the interviews and interrelated analyses of data from journals and responses on pre‐ and postprogram questionnaires, three types of support were identified that students experienced to varying degrees: social–emotional, social–technical, and social–cognitive. It is concluded that social–cognitive support is best engendered if there is sufficient similarity of problems and processes, and ample room for different results and debate about interpretation. Additionally, the culture and reward system students work within (i.e., classrooms) must encourage discussion of ideas and value an outsider's perspective, in recognition of the roles creativity, uncertainty, and ambiguity play in science. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 45: 251–271, 2008.     

Exploring the Field: Empowering voice and identity

This article reports on the findings of a research project (Exploring the Field) carried out with two Year 6 classes during the period of the FIFA World Cup in 2006. Drawing on Elaine Millard’s concept of ‘fusion literacy’ the pupils’ contributions to individual journals and a class blog are analysed. Key findings relate to ways in which the content of the project, which accorded with many of the pupils’ interests, combined powerfully with the communicative channels offered by the journals and blog. This combination gave some pupils new opportunities to find a writing voice and, given the global status of the tournament, raised particular issues about identity.     

Innovation in PhD completion: the hardy shall succeed (and be happy!)

What is it that makes a PhD such a difficult process, and prevents candidates from completing on time? In this paper, we propose that self‐sabotaging behaviours, including overcommitting, procrastination and perfectionism, have a role to play. At Flinders University, we have developed a program in which we work with PhD students to help to reduce these behaviours and give them the strategies and attitudes they need to successfully (and happily!) complete their thesis. The program utilises cognitive–behavioural coaching, an evidence‐based strategy that we claim leads to significant and long‐term behavioural change. An evaluation of the program indicates that it is very successful, improving students’ ability to manage their time, set specific times for writing, and show work to their supervisor regularly, and that these behaviours were associated with lower levels of stress and improved ability to complete.     

Equitable Classroom Assessment: Promoting Self-Development and Self-Determination

Assessment of students’ learning in school is deeply implicated in teaching for social justice. Yet classroom assessment is neglected relative to other aspects of curriculum and pedagogy in the literature on teaching for social justice. Some books have a relatively clear theory of anti-oppression education at their core but do not provide details about the links between assessment and their anti-oppression theory, while others provide a more detailed view of assessment practices but do not specify precisely how particular assessment strategies either promote or hinder anti-oppression education. This article provides a theoretical framework that spotlights key links between teaching for social justice and classroom assessment. To illustrate these connections, we draw on guided group discussions with ten high school social studies and English teachers, interested in pursuing professional development in this area. We conceptualize assessment as a set of institutional processes with the potential either to inhibit or nurture the development of young people as well as their capacity for self-determination. We analyze: (a) how teachers, through various assessment practices, can attempt to enable equitable relations within and beyond the classroom; and (b) performance standards aimed at helping teachers assess their students’ progress toward becoming more socially responsible and, ultimately, more self-determining. We conclude that even as teachers struggle to enact more socially just assessment practices, they need to communicate clearly with students and parents about what constitutes equitable assessment and what institutional practices, by contrast, sow seeds of self-doubt and lead to destructive labeling, ranking, and gate keeping.     

On-chip microelectrode impedance analysis of mammalian cell viability during biomanufacturing

The characterization of cell viability is a challenging task in applied biotechnology, as no clear definition of cell death exists. Cell death is accompanied with a change in the electrical properties of the membrane as well as the cell interior. Therefore, changes in the physiology of cells can be characterized by monitoring of their dielectric properties. We correlated the dielectric properties of industrially used mammalian cells, sedimented over interdigitated microelectrodes, to the AC signal response across the chip. The voltage waveforms across the electrodes were processed to obtain the circuit impedance, which was used to quantify the changes in cell viability. We observed an initial decrease in impedance, after which it remained nearly constant. The results were compared with data from the dye exclusion viability test, the cell specific oxygen uptake rate, and the online viable cell density data from capacitance probes. The microelectrode technique was found to be sensitive to physiological changes taking place inside the cells before their membrane integrity is compromised. Such accurate determination of the metabolic status during this initial period, which turned out to be less well captured in the dye exclusion tests, may be essential for several biotechnology operations.     

Applying the Tiers of Assessment: A Holistic and Systematic Approach to Assessing Library Collections

Collection assessment is a key component of collection development, budget allocation, and justification of library collections. Unfortunately, comprehensive collection assessment is daunting, subject to the weaknesses of individual tools and the overwhelming number of subject areas to assess. Few studies have attempted systematic assessment projects using multiple tools or methods, nor have many attempted to assess an entire collection subject-by-subject. This study implements an alternative to the single-tool model, combining multi-tool analysis with a systematic, subject-by-subject approach to the collection. The goal was to determine whether such a model of collection assessment was feasible in an academic library setting, providing usable data without overinvestment of manpower and resources. To this end, the method was tested in a pilot program at George Mason University (Mason), assessing three subjects at varying levels of depth. While there was concern that the methodology would prove too ambitious for full-scale implementation, the pilot yielded valuable, tangible results in a timely manner and provides a solid model for future assessment efforts at Mason and elsewhere.     

Librarians,Renounce the Research Paper! Using Rhetoric to Improve Assignment Design

The general research paper, despite its prevalence in higher education, has had limited success in the classroom for decades. Although academic librarians recognize the value of source-based writing and have continually partnered with faculty on this type of assignment, we are equally aware of the inherent limitations and difficulties of this traditional writing requirement. This column argues for an alternative vision to the general research paper, one that embraces a rhetorical context and offers academic librarians a more prominent role in assignment design on their campuses.