Online teaching requires faculty development and support to effectively meet the needs of students. Universities should widely recognize that having self-assured and competent online adjunct instructors greatly influences professional sustainability, learning outcomes, and student achievement. The objective of this descriptive study was to gain insights and perspectives on confidence and instructional effectiveness of online adjunct faculty as compared to those who taught on campus or in a blended format, after they participated in an online faculty orientation course. Survey data was collected, and correlational analysis was used to identify relationships between adjunct faculty’s perceived confidence and their instructional preparedness in their respective teaching modalities. Results indicate faculty may increase their confidence and instructional effectiveness after participating in an online training course.
Tag: higher education
Team Charters in Business Education: The Importance of Perceived Level of Working Well Together
Schools of business aim to help students develop employer-valued skills, which include communication, teamwork, critical thinking, and application of learning. This can be achieved through team assignments and community-based learning. Such approaches help students apply the concepts they are learning, collaborate with others, develop managerial skills, and solve real-life workplace issues. Teamwork is commonly thought to be enhanced when students establish a team charter outlining their goals, norms, and processes. Research on the value of team charters in business education, however, is limited. This study examined the role of team charters on student perceptions of working well together. Data was collected and analyzed from a mid-term team evaluation and a final team charter assessment. Findings indicated that perceived value of team charters differs across the year in school and tends to be higher for less experienced students. The provision of a structured project roadmap clarified team member roles, responsibilities, personal accountability, and team vision.
Critical Thinking in Higher Education
Incivility Beyond the Classroom Walls
Classroom incivility has become a major concern in higher education. Faculty and students frequently interact outside of class, and the lack of civility in those interactions can influence the relationship between students and faculty and impact classroom dynamics. Based on a survey of faculty at a Midwestern public university, this study reports that faculty experience a fair amount of moderately inappropriate student behavior outside the classroom, including missing scheduled appointments, wearing revealing clothing, and requesting a grade change. These results can help faculty and administrators guide students toward more appropriate behavior and create better relationships between faculty and students.
An Investigation into Student Engagement in Higher Education Classrooms
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.
An Engaging, Yet Failed Flip
The flipped classroom is growing significantly as a model of learning in higher education. However, there are ample problems with the research on flipped classrooms, including where success is often defined by student perceptions and a lack of consistent, empirical research supporting improved academic learning. This quasi-experimental study describes a semester-long comparison of two of the same courses taught by the same instructor utilizing a primarily didactic lecture approach and a flipped classroom approach. The experiment found results in which students in the didactic lecture class had significantly higher end-of-course scores than those in the flipped classroom; however, with regards to a document-based analytic essay question there was no statistically significant difference.
“Why did I get a C?”: Communicating Student Performance Using Standards-Based Grading
Standards-based grading, an alternative form of grading in which a student’s achievement is based on their performance on a clearly defined set of standards rather than on their performance on tests and assignments, is commonplace in K-12 education but has been slow to catch on in higher education. This article presents an example of how standards-based grading was implemented in two sections of an undergraduate course on assessment to add clarity to the meaning of students’ grades. The author reflects on lessons learned from implementation including the benefits and challenges posed by adopting the practice.
Exploring the Co-Teaching Experience in a Graduate-Level, Principal Preparation Course
This article presents a case study conducted by three co-instructors (one faculty member and two practicing principals) who examined their experiences co-teaching a newly revised, graduate-level, principal preparation course. Three themes were identified through their experiential stories: strengths of the co-teaching model, supports and needs, and hindrances. These primary themes, along with notable subthemes are detailed. A discussion on coteaching as an innovative teaching method in higher education is provided with a particular focus at the graduate level. Implications for practice and suggestions for future research are discussed in light of these unique findings on co-teaching experiences.
Learning Analytics in Higher Education: A Reflection
The idea of learning analytics has become popularized within higher education, yet many educators are uncertain about what is entailed when implementing these technologies into practice. The following article serves as an overview to the field of learning analytics for faculty, educators for whom the expectations to use these technologies continues to increase. We additionally argue that those who work directly with students need a functional understanding of the learning analytics landscape in order to exercise their own expertise.
Mindfulness and Gratitude: Does It Really Make a Difference for College Students?
Mindfulness is the intentional and nonjudgmental awareness of all thoughts, feelings, and sensations that occur in the present moment. Mindfulness has also been associated with higher levels of quality of life, sleep quality and duration, and life satisfaction and happiness (Chavan et al., 2017). Similarly, gratitude is a tendency toward appreciating the positive in life. It also has been associated with well-being, such as reducing anxiety, stress and depression, and increased life satisfaction (Lindor, 2019). This article takes these findings and explores them to determine whether consistent mindfulness activities and gratitude practices make a difference in the lives of college students, leading to a reduction in anxiety, stress, and uncertainty, as well as an increased ability to be present and to feel appreciation for their current lives.