{"title":"Students' Perceptions of Volunteering during the First Two Years of Studying a Social Work Degree.","authors":"Sherryl Gaston, Mellissa L. Kruger","doi":"10.20429/IJSOTL.2014.080211","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.20429/IJSOTL.2014.080211","url":null,"abstract":"There are benefits to volunteering for both the community and the student undertaking the volunteering, it can help to enhance the students understanding of the area they are moving into, or it can show them where they do not want to work. It can assist the student to connect with the community and develop an awareness of the society around them. In most social work programs in Australia there is no practical experience until the last half of the program. This study wanted to identify if social work students undertaking volunteer work during the first two years of their course, found it helped to enhance their understanding of their studies, as well as human service work in general. The findings support that volunteering in the first two years of the degree would to enhance student learning.","PeriodicalId":332019,"journal":{"name":"The International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2014-07-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"114706540","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Introductory biology course reform: A tale of two courses","authors":"M. Shuster, R. Preszler","doi":"10.20429/IJSOTL.2014.080205","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.20429/IJSOTL.2014.080205","url":null,"abstract":"Over the past eight years we have undertaken iterative cycles of course reform in two introductory biology courses: Biology 111 and Biology 211. Our revisions of these formerly “traditional” lecture courses have included in-class case studies with and without peer facilitators and peer-facilitated small-group workshops. Based on analyses of overall pass rates, as well as pass rates by gender and by underrepresented minority (URM) status, we have found that there are differences in the effectiveness of alternative course models in the two courses. In Biol 111, required peer-facilitated workshops improved overall student performance, especially for URM and female students (Preszler, 2009). Here we report that similar workshops were not as successful in Biol 211, but that in-class case studies facilitated by peer instructors have improved student performance and reduced the performance gap. Clearly, what is the “best practice” for one course is not the best practice for the other.","PeriodicalId":332019,"journal":{"name":"The International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2014-07-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"129429064","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Context Matters for Teaching and SoTL: Economic Constraints, Contingent Faculty, and Technology","authors":"Maxine Atkinson","doi":"10.20429/IJSOTL.2014.080202","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.20429/IJSOTL.2014.080202","url":null,"abstract":"The social contexts within which we live have a remarkable impact on our daily lives as well as our trajectory. Contexts are also more specific. We teach in a context of a changing higher education institution. The purpose of this essay is to review some of the current conditions in higher education under which teaching and learning occur in the hope that it will help us consider their implications, suggest how we how we might take advantage of the opportunities that allow better teaching, and lessen the impact of the conditions that threaten improvements to teaching and learning. The economic climate, increases in the percent of contingent faculty and changing technology are considered","PeriodicalId":332019,"journal":{"name":"The International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2014-07-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"131166339","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Assessing the Impact of a K-12 Engagement Program on Graduate Learning Outcomes for Communicating with Diverse Audiences, Pedagogy, and Community Engagement","authors":"F. Weeks, J. Harbor","doi":"10.20429/IJSOTL.2014.080216","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.20429/IJSOTL.2014.080216","url":null,"abstract":"A large midwestern university has developed a program that places graduate students in middle school classrooms to enhance the graduate students’ communication skills with diverse audiences, develop pedagogical knowledge, and provide a foundation for effective future K-12 engagement. After observing and co-teaching, participants develop and implement a standardsand inquiry-based lesson that brings their graduate research theme into the classroom. To provide insights into impacts on graduate students, qualitative methods were used to identify emergent themes in narratives written by graduate student participants. Major themes included new awareness of challenges in effective teaching for diverse audiences, insight into effective strategies for communicating research to teachers and students, and experiences that support future professional responsibilities. These results suggest that this type of engagement program is an effective approach to meeting several outcomes for graduate education, in addition to its value for teachers, K-12 students and college-community relationships.","PeriodicalId":332019,"journal":{"name":"The International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2014-07-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"125269469","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"‘Methodologically Sound’ Under the ‘Big Tent’: An Ongoing Conversation","authors":"N. Chick","doi":"10.20429/IJSOTL.2014.080201","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.20429/IJSOTL.2014.080201","url":null,"abstract":"This essay synthesizes ongoing conversations as it explores the third and arguably most complicated of Peter Felten’s “Principles of Good Practice in SoTL,” “methodologically sound.”","PeriodicalId":332019,"journal":{"name":"The International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2014-07-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"115546055","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Improving Mathematics: An Examination of the Effects of Specific Cognitive Abilities on College-age Students’ Mathematics Achievement","authors":"Gordon E. Taub, Nicholas F. Benson, J. Szente","doi":"10.20429/IJSOTL.2014.080208","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.20429/IJSOTL.2014.080208","url":null,"abstract":"This study investigated the effects of general intelligence and seven specific cognitive abilities on college-age students’ mathematics achievement. The present investigation went beyond previous research by employing structural equation modeling. It also represents the first study to examine the direct and indirect effects of general and specific cognitive abilities, simultaneously, on the mathematics achievement of college-age students. A model developed using the Cattell-Horn-Carroll theory of intelligence was the theoretical model used in all analyses. Data from 1,054 college-age students who participated in the standardization of the Woodcock–Johnson III (Woodcock, McGrew, & Mather, 2001) were divided into a calibration sample set and validation sample set. The calibration data set was used for model testing and modification and the independent validation sample data set was used for model validation. The specific areas of intelligence demonstrating direct effects on the mathematics achievement dependent variable were Crystallized Intelligence and Fluid Reasoning. The effects of general intelligence were found to be indirect in the collegeage sample. Implications for instruction and intervention to improve college student’s mathematics achievement are provided.","PeriodicalId":332019,"journal":{"name":"The International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2014-07-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"128701529","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Jie Zhang, Barbara Lesavoy, Lauren Lieberman, Leah A. Barrett
{"title":"Faculty Learning Community (FLC) on Student Leadership: Applying Student Voices to Leadership Development","authors":"Jie Zhang, Barbara Lesavoy, Lauren Lieberman, Leah A. Barrett","doi":"10.1234/MR.V8I2.250","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1234/MR.V8I2.250","url":null,"abstract":"While college student leadership is well studied, the faculty role in developing student leaders is an area that is underexplored. Twenty students joined eleven members of a faculty learning community (FLC) in a mid-sized college to discuss their perspectives on student leadership. The FLC members/researchers used semi-structured focus group interviews and a phenomenological approach to identify traits of student leaders and to explore opportunities colleges can offer to promote students’ growth as leaders. Using thematic analysis, this study discusses the ways colleges can use FLCs as a platform to facilitate student leadership effectively.","PeriodicalId":332019,"journal":{"name":"The International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2014-02-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"127958898","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Graduate Student Perceptions of the Use of Online Course Tools to Support Engagement","authors":"Stephanie B. King","doi":"10.20429/IJSOTL.2014.080105","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.20429/IJSOTL.2014.080105","url":null,"abstract":"Graduate students in six online courses were asked to complete a questionnaire related to dimensions of engagement including participation and interaction, performance, studying, and relevance of material. Students were asked to indicate the importance of various online course features (e.g., online discussions) in enhancing their engagement in each dimension using a Likert scale. Twenty-six (29%) students completed the questionnaire. Students rated most course management system features as extremely important or very important. When the ratings for the four engagement areas were grouped by course site feature, the feature with the highest mean rating was “instructor feedback on assignments/assessments.” The feature with the lowest mean rating was “online chats with other students.” While the practices of the instructor in the courses studied may have influenced the students’ perceptions, it is clear that students especially value contact with the instructor.","PeriodicalId":332019,"journal":{"name":"The International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2014-01-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"121394234","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Opposing Forces: Institutional Theory and Second-Generation SoTL","authors":"Laura Cruz","doi":"10.20429/IJSOTL.2014.080101","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.20429/IJSOTL.2014.080101","url":null,"abstract":"This essay suggests that institutional theory has much to offer the SoTL movement by identifying the specific forces that oppose teaching and learning initiatives and offering solutions for nudging cultural change towards the desired outcomes.","PeriodicalId":332019,"journal":{"name":"The International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2014-01-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"129970653","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Using Clickers to Collect Formative Feedback on Teaching: A Tool for Faculty Development","authors":"Erica Gunn","doi":"10.20429/IJSOTL.2014.080111","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.20429/IJSOTL.2014.080111","url":null,"abstract":"Incorporation of clicker technology in an introductory chemistry class is described as a method for collecting and automatically tabulating student feedback for use in formative faculty development. Students are polled in real-time on issues of classroom management and the success of various teaching methods. Tabulated data is displayed on the classroom screen and used to facilitate classroom discussion. This method was introduced in a first-year general chemistry class for non-majors and resulted in unusually high student evaluation marks in categories related to communication with the instructor. The success of the method was evaluated using midsemester and final student evaluations, informal written student evaluations, peer observation, and instructor reflection.","PeriodicalId":332019,"journal":{"name":"The International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2014-01-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"130217297","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}