Perceptions of Success and Impact of Interactions on Faculty Development Centers in Higher Education PDF Download

Author: Mark White
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 202

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Author: Jana Russell
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :

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As the world becomes increasingly connected through technology, preparing students to become appropriately global competent members of society are becoming a key focus of United States higher education institutions. The purpose of this study was to examine how High Impact Practices, various practices in higher education that have been shown to promote student success, can be better utilized by faculty within a college of agriculture. This study examines how behavior change theories, such as Ajzen's (1999) Theory of Planned Behavior and Bandura's (2001) Social Cognitive Theory, can assist in predicting faculty's use of these practices. A mixed-methods approach utilizing an online survey and focus groups provided insight on faculty's awareness, perceptions, and utilization of High Impact Practices, as well as areas where an increase of professional development resources may be warranted. The survey findings indicate faculty had some awareness of the various High Impact Practices and had positive perceptions of these practices enhancing undergraduate student learning. While expressing that the college did encourage the use of these practices, room for increased targeted professional learning support was identified from the focus group discussions. Although focused on identifying professional development needs of faculty, holistic themes emerged from the focus groups, such as an increase of recognition and appreciation for the use of these practices, along with greater opportunities for faculty interaction and collaboration. Specific barriers toward the implementation of Study Abroad experiences were also identified, as the study had an additional focus on global learning. It is recommended that further research be conducted to determine the fidelity of the integrated High Impact Practices as well as the best ways to provide faculty support and increase the study population to include other colleges of agriculture.

Author: Kay J. Gillespie
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 0470600063
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 523

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Since the first edition of A Guide to Faculty Development was published in 2002, the dynamic field of educational and faculty development has undergone many changes. Prepared under the auspices of the Professional and Organizational Development Network in Higher Education (POD), this thoroughly revised, updated, and expanded edition offers a fundamental resource for faculty developers, as well as for faculty and administrators interested in promoting and sustaining faculty development within their institutions. This essential book offers an introduction to the topic, includes twenty-three chapters by leading experts in the field, and provides the most relevant information on a range of faculty development topics including establishing and sustaining a faculty development program; the key issues of assessment, diversity, and technology; and faculty development across institutional types, career stages, and organizations. "This volume contains the gallant story of the emergence of a movement to sustain the vitality of college and university faculty in difficult times. This practical guide draws on the best minds shaping the field, the most productive experience, and elicits the imagination required to reenvision a dynamic future for learning societies in a global context." —R. Eugene Rice, senior scholar, Association of American Colleges and Universities "Across the country, people in higher education are thinking about how to prepare our graduates for a rapidly changing world while supporting our faculty colleagues who grew up in a very different world. Faculty members, academic administrators, and policymakers alike will learn a great deal from this volume about how to put together a successful faculty development program and create a supportive environment for learning in challenging times." —Judith A. Ramaley, president, Winona State University "This is the book on faculty development in higher education. Everyone involved in faculty development—including provosts, deans, department chairs, faculty, and teaching center staff—will learn from the extensive research and the practical wisdom in the Guide." —Peter Felten, president, The POD Network (2010–2011), and director, Center for the Advancement of Teaching and Learning, Elon University

Author: Gail S. Pincus
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Community colleges
Languages : en
Pages : 370

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My study explores the impact of participation in a faculty teaching and learning community (TLC) on the professional development of community college faculty. I address the problem that, in spite of the growth of faculty development activity in the community college during the past decade, how faculty development occurs is not well understood. Previous research generally measures the success of individual faculty development strategies without providing much insight into how development occurs. Critical change forces that are currently impacting community college teaching require effective professional development. These critical forces are: changes in the nation's population demographics, economy, and the nature of work; the technological revolution; systems thinking; and developments in our understanding of how people learn in diverse ways. My research methodology was a descriptive, interpretive case study, focused on understanding how faculty viewed their experiences while participating in a TLC planning team during the 18-month study. I conducted multiple interviews with the 11 planning team members, supported with site visits and field notes; collected documents; conducted five triangulation interviews at different sites; and participated in peer briefings with a researcher who was concurrently studying a different faculty teaching and learning community model. The TLC faculty planning team members tell the story of the evolution of their teaching and learning community in four conversations that I created from the interviews. The essence of how faculty professional development occurs through the TLC can be described as a web of inclusion. This web incorporates the personal and professional development connections which the faculty make through the learner-centered environment of their TLC. Their TLC includes, supports, and promotes all kinds of personal and professional development, including kinds described as traditional by the TLC planning team. Key factors in the planning team's perceptions of how professional development occurs are (a) that they experience any specific professional development approach within the context of personal and social interactions, and (b) that they put their leadership efforts into creating a campus climate and conditions which have the capacity to increase the possibilities for professional development to occur.

Author: Erin Bentrim
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
ISBN: 1000980375
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 311

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Sense of belonging refers to the extent a student feels included, accepted, valued, and supported on their campus. The developmental process of belonging is interwoven with the social identity development of diverse college students. Moreover, belonging is influenced by the campus environment, relationships, and involvement opportunities as well as a need to master the student role and achieve academic success. Although the construct of sense of belonging is complex and multilayered, a consistent theme across the chapters in this book is that the relationship between sense of belonging and intersectionality of identity cannot be ignored, and must be integrated into any approach to fostering belonging.Over the last 10 years, colleges and universities have started grappling with the notion that their approaches to maintaining and increasing student retention, persistence, and graduation rates were no longer working. As focus shifted to uncovering barriers to student success while concurrently recognizing student success as more than solely academic factors, the term “student sense of belonging” gained traction in both academic and co-curricular settings. The editors noticed the lack of a consistent definition, or an overarching theoretical approach, as well as a struggle to connect disparate research. A compendium of research, applications, and approaches to sense of belonging did not exist, so they brought this book into being to serve as a single point of reference in an emerging and promising field of study.

Author: George D. Kuh
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 1118046854
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 422

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Student Success in College describes policies, programs, and practices that a diverse set of institutions have used to enhance student achievement. This book clearly shows the benefits of student learning and educational effectiveness that can be realized when these conditions are present. Based on the Documenting Effective Educational Practice (DEEP) project from the Center for Postsecondary Research at Indiana University, this book provides concrete examples from twenty institutions that other colleges and universities can learn from and adapt to help create a success-oriented campus culture and learning environment.

Author: Andrea L. Beach
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781003444787
Category : College teachers
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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"The first decade of the 21st century brought major challenges to higher education, all of which have implications for and impact the future of faculty professional development. This volume provides the field with an important snapshot of faculty development structures, priorities and practices in a period of change, and uses the collective wisdom of those engaged with teaching, learning, and faculty development centers and programs to identify important new directions for practice ... What emerges from [this study's] findings are what the authors term a new Age of Evidence, influenced by heightened stakeholder interest in the outcomes of undergraduate education and characterized by a focus on assessing the impact of instruction on student learning, of academic programs on student success, and of faculty development in institutional mission priorities. Faculty developers are responding to institutional needs for assessment, at the same time as they are being asked to address a wider range of institutional priorities in areas such as blended and online teaching, diversity, and the scale-up of evidence-based practices. They face the need to broaden their audiences, and address the needs of part-time, non-tenure-track, and graduate student instructors as well as of pre-tenure and post-tenure faculty. They are also feeling increased pressure to demonstrate the "return on investment" of their programs. This book describes how these faculty development and institutional needs and priorities are being addressed through linkages, collaborations, and networks across institutional units; and highlights the increasing role of faculty development professionals as organizational "change agents" at the department and institutional levels, serving as experts on the needs of faculty in larger organizational discussions."--Publisher's description.

Author: William Condon
Publisher: Indiana University Press
ISBN: 0253018862
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 172

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Colleges and universities across the US have created special initiatives to promote faculty development, but to date there has been little research to determine whether such programs have an impact on students' learning. Faculty Development and Student Learning reports the results of a multi-year study undertaken by faculty at Carleton College and Washington State University to assess how students' learning is affected by faculty members' efforts to become better teachers. Extending recent research in the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) to assessment of faculty development and its effectiveness, the authors show that faculty participation in professional development activities positively affects classroom pedagogy, student learning, and the overall culture of teaching and learning in a college or university.

Author: Mary Helen Pavia Martinez
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : College teachers
Languages : en
Pages : 280

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Book Description
Faculty professional development is an essential component in the fabric of community colleges. Nationwide research studies indicate that students who begin their post-secondary studies underprepared and enrolled in developmental education are less likely to complete a college degree. Developmental education has been under reform for the past few years with the goal of accelerating students' success and transitioning them into college-level courses. Given the present state of reform, more research is needed on faculty preparation in teaching developmental education, specifically on the role of professional development in preparing faculty in developmental education. Faculty in developmental education are central to the success of students completing a degree or certificate. During this current state of reform in developmental education, professional development represents a probable solution to preparing faculty to provide condensed versions of developmental education course models. This research study examined perceptions of community college faculty in developmental education on professional development. This study utilized a qualitative case study design with the use of focus groups, semi-structured interviews, and surveys. The findings were (a) the majority of participants reported that sharing with other faculty members was beneficial and perceived the sharing of practice with like-minded individuals as a professional development activity, (b) participants' primary challenges to participating in professional development were limited funding and time away from classroom, and (c) participants expressed apprehension regarding the state of reform in developmental education. Insights from faculty on needs, challenges, and perceptions may enhance the effectiveness, timeliness, and quality of faculty development programs.

Author: Tia Brown McNair
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 1119119510
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 215

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Book Description
Boost student success by reversing your perspective on college readiness The national conversation asking "Are students college-ready?" concentrates on numerous factors that are beyond higher education's control. Becoming a Student-Ready College flips the college readiness conversation to provide a new perspective on creating institutional value and facilitating student success. Instead of focusing on student preparedness for college (or lack thereof), this book asks the more pragmatic question of what are colleges and universities doing to prepare for the students who are entering their institutions? What must change in an institution's policies, practices, and culture in order to be student-ready? Clear and concise, this book is packed with insightful discussion and practical strategies for achieving your ambitious student success goals. These ideas for redesigning practices and policies provide more than food for thought—they offer a real-world framework for real institutional change. You'll learn: How educators can acknowledge their own biases and assumptions about underserved students in order to allow for change New ways to advance student learning and success How to develop and value student assets and social capital Strategies and approaches for creating a new student-focused culture of leadership at every level To truly become student-ready, educators must make difficult decisions, face the pressures of accountability, and address their preconceived notions about student success head-on. Becoming a Student-Ready College provides a reality check based on today's higher education environment.