Why College Faculty Need to Know the Research about Learning
Gary A. Smith, PhD, University of New Mexico
Suggested Citation
Smith, G. A. (2015). Why college faculty need to know the research about learning. InSight: A Journal of Scholarly Teaching, 10, 9-18. https://doi.org/10.46504/10201500sm
The Five Cs of Digital Curation: Supporting Twenty-First-Century Teaching and Learning
Mark E. Deschaine, PhD, Central Michigan University, and Sue Ann Sharma, PhD, Oakland University
Suggested Citation
Deschaine, M. E., & Sharma, S. A. (2015). The five cs of digital curation: Supporting twenty-first-century teaching and learning. InSight: A Journal of Scholarly Teaching, 10, 19-24. https://doi.org/10.46504/10201501de
Digital curation is a process that allows university professors to adapt and adopt resources from multidisciplinary fields to meet the educational needs of twenty-first-century learners. Looking through the lens of new media literacy studies (Vasquez, Hartse, & Albers, 2010) and new literacies studies (Gee, 2010), we propose that university professors be savvy consumers of multimedia through purposeful content curation. In this paper, we will discuss practices that university professors may use to transform teaching and learning through effective collection, categorization, critiquing, conceptualization, and circulation of resources deemed to have curricular and content standards value.
Using the Learning Activities Survey to Examine Transformative Learning Experiences in Two Graduate Teacher Preparation Courses
Vicki Caruana, PhD, Mount Saint Mary College, Kelli Woodrow, PhD, and Luis Pérez, PhD, Regis University
Suggested Citation
Caruana, V., Woodrow, K., & Pérez, L. (2015). Using the learning activities survey to examine transformative learning experiences in two graduate teacher preparation courses. InSight: A Journal of Scholarly Teaching, 10, 25-34. https://doi.org/10.46504/10201502ca
The Learning Activities Survey (LAS) detected whether, and to what extent, a perspective transformation occurred during two graduate courses in teacher preparation. The LAS examined the types of learning identified as contributing to their transformation experiences. This study examined pre-service teachers’ critical reflection of the course materials and learning experiences in a Capstone course in Reflective Teaching and a course in Universal Design for Learning (UDL). Results suggest that similar learning experiences were identified as triggering a perspective transformation. When learners have the opportunity to engage in critical reflection, they may more easily question their personal perspectives as a result.
Faculty Perception on Support to Do Their Job Well
Charissa K. Eaton, PhD, Aurea K. Osgood, PhD, Dawnette L. Cigrand, PhD, and Ann-Marie L. Dunbar, PhD, Winona State University
Suggested Citation
Eaton, C. K., Osgood, A. K., Cigrand, D. L., & Dunbar, A. L. (2015). Faculty perceptions on support to do their job well. InSight: A Journal of Scholarly Teaching, 10, 35-42. https://doi.org/10.46504/10201503ea
Research has commonly suggested that adequate and appropriate mentoring and faculty perception of support for a work-life balance are important factors in the recruitment, development, and retention of university faculty. To better understand the role of these factors in faculty job performance at teaching universities, faculty from such a university were surveyed about their experiences with these forms of support and the factors that influenced their perception of the ability to do their job well. Results indicate that faculty mentoring was an important predictor for support at the department level. Additionally, perceived work-life balance was a significant factor at the college and university levels.
Coming Home to School: Challenges and Strategies for Effective Teaching with Military Veterans
Michel A. Sportsman, PhD, and Lisa Thomas, PhD, Park University
Suggested Citation
Sportsman, M. A., & Thomas, L. (2015). Coming home to school: Challenges and strategies for effective teaching with military veterans. InSight: A Journal of Scholarly Teaching, 10, 43-55. https://doi.org/10.46504/10201504sp
This article is an analysis of the unique needs of returning service members at the college or university level that impact the teaching decisions made by instructors. The article also discusses the challenges that service members are individually addressing while acclimating themselves to their new environment of learning. With the reduction in forces occurring after the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, many higher level learning institutions are struggling to adequately meet the needs of returning veterans. In turn, veterans often find that the style of instruction and the general college-level universe are difficult to negotiate. The combination of these factors can often result in veteran students performing below expectation or leaving school without finishing. The article proposes a variety of ways to understand and address these challenges including the use of Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) strategies and characteristics.
An Investigation into Student Engagement in Higher Education Classrooms
Paula Witkowski, PhD, and Thomas Cornell, EdD, Webster University
Suggested Citation
Witkowski, P., & Cornell, T. (2015). An investigation into student engagement in higher education classrooms. InSight: A Journal of Scholarly Teaching, 10, 56-67. https://doi.org/10.46504/10201505wi
This article reports on a one-year research project that used peer coaching and collaboration between two reading professors to study the effects of collaborative classroom activities on student engagement. In order to address professors’ concerns about student participation, two undergraduate reading-methods classes were revised through the inclusion of more collaborative learning activities. Classroom observations were conducted to take notes on both pedagogical methods and student response to these methods. Students were also asked to self-assess their engagement in behavioral, cognitive, and affective domains. The results of this research were then used to revise pedagogical techniques in these and other classes.
Creative Writing Assignments in a Second Language Course: A Way to Engage Less Motivated Students
Ekaterina Arshavskaya, PhD, Utah State University
Suggested Citation
Arshavskaya, E. (2015). Creative writing assignments in a second language course: A way to engage less motivated students. InSight: A Journal of Scholarly Teaching, 10, 68-78. https://doi.org/10.46504/10201506ar
This article makes a case for using creative writing in a second language course. Creative writing increases students’ enthusiasm for writing skills development and supports students’ creativity, which is a fundamental aspect of education. In order to engage less motivated students, a series of creative writing assignments was implemented in a second language writing course. This study presents the rationale for the use of creative writing grounded in critical pedagogy and the context of instruction. Data collection focused on the content of students’ writing and their attitudes towards creative writing and critical pedagogy. The results show that all the participating students found the assignment both enjoyable and beneficial for the development of their writing ability. However, the students’ perceptions of critical pedagogy varied. The author argues for greater employment of creative writing in second language courses in the future.
A Dual Approach to Fostering Under-Prepared Student Success: Focusing on Doing and Becoming
Suzanne C. Shaffer, MSEd, MEd, Barbara E. Eshbach, MLS, Penn State York, and Jorge A. Santiago-Blay, PhD, Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of Natural History
Suggested Citation
Shaffer, S. C., Eshbach, B. E., & Santiago-Blay, J. A. (2015). A dual approach to fostering under-prepared student success: Focusing on doing and becoming. InSight: A Journal of Scholarly Teaching, 10, 79-91. https://doi.org/10.46504/10201507sh
A paired course model for under-prepared college students incorporates a dual instructional approach, academic skill building and lifelong learning development, to help students do more academically and become stronger lifelong learners. In a reading support course, students improved their reading skills and applied them directly to the paired content course. They also developed lifelong learning attributes through increased self-knowledge (using the Effective Lifelong Learning Inventory), reflection, and coaching. Students showed significant gains in lifelong learning, an 85% success rate in the paired content course, and a higher retention rate than students outside the project with similar SAT critical reading scores.
Negativity in Massive Online Open Courses: Impacts on Learning and Teaching and How Instructional Teams May Be Able to Address It
Denise Comer, PhD, Duke University, Ryan Baker, PhD, and Yuan Wang, MA, Columbia University
Suggested Citation
Comer, D., Baker, R., & Wang, Y. (2015). Negativity in massive online open courses: Impacts on learning and teaching and how instructional teams may be able to address it. InSight: A Journal of Scholarly Teaching, 10, 92-113. https://doi.org/10.46504/10201508co
There are many positive aspects of teaching and learning in Massive Online Open Courses (MOOCs), for both instructors and students. However, there is also a considerable amount of negativity in MOOCs, emerging from learners on discussion forums and through peer assessment, from disciplinary colleagues and from public discourse around MOOCs. Through mixed-methods case-study research of two diverse MOOCs (one focused on general, introductory-level content and one designed for specialized graduate students and professionals), we consider the following questions: What are the various forms that negativity takes in MOOCs? How might MOOC negativity vary among disciplines? How does negativity impact MOOC instructors and learners? We present evidence suggesting that MOOC negativity poses a serious problem that may be responsible for instructor/ learner disengagement and instructor burnout, and that anticipating and addressing such negativity can improve MOOC learning communities. Lessons learned from these two MOOCs can be beneficial not only to those involved with MOOCs, but also to those involved in other online educational contexts where faculty and learners seek to manage existing and anticipated negativity.
Using Technology-Nested Instructional Strategies to Enhance Student Learning
Angela Lumpkin, PhD, Texas Tech University, Rebecca M. Achen, PhD, Illinois State University, and Regan K. Dodd, PhD, Missouri Western State University
Suggested Citation
Lumpkin, A., Achen, R. M., & Dodd, R. K. (2015). Using technology-nested instructional strategies to enhance student learning. InSight: A Journal of Scholarly Teaching, 10, 114-125. https://doi.org/10.46504/10201509lu
Students today expect the use of technology in their classes, rather than have to listen to less-than-engaging lectures. College students are connected electronically and incessant technology consumers. As a result, they may prefer the infusion of technologies to help them learn and enjoy the process of learning, rather than having to listen exclusively to lectures. To investigate this, the authors solicited student perceptions to assess the importance of learning through technology-nested instructional strategies. Student perceptions give direction to and affirm the benefits of instructional strategies that increase student motivation to engage more actively in their learning. Based on quantitative and qualitative responses through action research in multiple courses, students perceive their learning as more engaging and enjoyable when technology-nested instructional strategies are infused into their classes.
Online Course Quality Assurance: Development of a Quality Checklist
Steven J. McGahan, MSEd, Christina M. Jackson, APR, EdD, and Karen Premer, MSEd, University of Nebraska at Kearney
Suggested Citation
McGahan, S. J., Jackson, C. M., & Premer, K. (2015). Online course quality assurance: Development of a quality checklist. InSight: A Journal of Scholarly Teaching, 10, 126-140. https://doi.org/10.46504/10201510mc
The University of Nebraska at Kearney’s Online Course Checklist is the main instrument for assessing the quality of online courses at UNK. A number of issues were faced when developing and deploying this quality assurance checklist at a small four-year university. The process including development, implementation, and revision is discussed along with the need for faculty buy-in. Special considerations included how to assess the quality of an online course while ensuring academic freedom in accordance with a union contract. The purpose of this case study is to provide a roadmap for institutions that are developing an instrument of their own.
