A decade of TeachMeet: an Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis of participants’ tales of impact

TeachMeet is an emerging informal professional development event organised by teachers for teachers, commonly described as an unconference. It is a volunteer-led global phenomenon without any established hierarchy.   To celebrate the first ten years of TeachMeet, the  founders announced an open call for particpants to submit, online, their stories of impact. The resulting submissions were subjected to an Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) capitalizing on the ‘double hermeneutic’ lens of the experience of researchers whose positionality is that of informed insiders. Findings reveal the categories in which the lived experience reported by participants shows the impact of TeachMeet: ranging from appreciative description of the event they attended to reflective confessions of life-enhancing transformation in their personal and professional lives, their classrooms and the wider teaching community. These finding are examined in the light of how they align with several models of evaluation of teacher learning (Guskey 1998, Kennedy 2005, Kirkpatrick 2006, Desimone 2011, Wenger, Trayner and deLatt 2011), and what they indicate about where evolving TeachMeet communities and networks may be situated in an informal learning landscape.Amond, M.; Johnston, K.; Millwood, R.; Mcintosh, E. (2020). A decade of TeachMeet: an Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis of participants’ tales of impact. En 6th International Conference on Higher Education Advances (HEAd'20). Editorial Universitat Politècnica de València. (30-05-2020):483-491. https://doi.org/10.4995/HEAd20.2020.11089OCS48349130-05-202

Current, November 16, 2015

https://irl.umsl.edu/current2010s/1214/thumbnail.jp

Representation Wars: Enacting an Armistice Through Active Inference

Over the last 30 years, representationalist and dynamicist positions in the philosophy of cognitive science have argued over whether neurocognitive processes should be viewed as representational or not. Major scientific and technological developments over the years have furnished both parties with ever more sophisticated conceptual weaponry. In recent years, an enactive generalization of predictive processing – known as active inference – has been proposed as a unifying theory of brain functions. Since then, active inference has fueled both representationalist and dynamicist campaigns. However, we believe that when diving into the formal details of active inference, one should be able to find a solution to the war; if not a peace treaty, surely an armistice of a sort. Based on an analysis of these formal details, this paper shows how both representationalist and dynamicist sensibilities can peacefully coexist within the new territory of active inference

Examining Success and Sustainability of Academic Writing: A Case Study of Two Writing-Group Models

In contemporary higher education there is a growing demand for academics to increase their publication output. This requirement raises the question of how institutions can best support a sustainable academic writing culture, which is needed to challenge the assumption that all academics know how to write for publication. This case study examines two models used in a Faculty of Education to support writing groups for academic staff. From the analysis of reflective journals, interviews, and field notes, we identified four factors that influence the success of writing groups, as well as six conditions that support the development of sustainable academic writing. We have learned from the study that the success of a writing group is predicated on a collaborative practice that blends relational, communal, and institutional forms of sustainability in a purposeful, engaged, and reflexive way.  Dans la sphère contemporaine des études supérieures, on demande de plus en plus aux académiciens d’être publiés. Cela soulève la question sur la façon dont s’y prennent les institutions pour soutenir efficacement une culture d’écrits académiques durables. Un tel soutien est nécessaire pour contester la présomption selon laquelle tous les académiciens savent suffisamment bien écrire pour être publiés. Cette étude de cas se penche sur deux modèles utilisés dans une Faculté de l’éducation afin de soutenir des groupes de rédaction pour le personnel universitaire. Au moyen d’analyses de revues scientifiques, d’entrevues et de notes de terrain, nous avons relevé quatre facteurs qui influencent le succès de ces groupes de rédaction. Nous avons également relevé six conditions qui soutiennent la rédaction d’écrits académiques durables. Cette étude nous a appris que le succès d’un groupe de rédaction est directement lié à une approche collaborative combinant des aspects relationnels, communautaires et institutionnels dans un cadre engagé, efficace et réfléchi

Mentoring Faculty and Bolstering Students’ Emotional and Cognitive Interest: The Impact of Perceived Homophily in the College Classroom

For this study, expectancy violations theory was used to explore the associations among instructors’ inappropriate conversations, perceived homophily (similarity), and college students’ emotional and cognitive interest. Results found that students’ perceptions of instructor perceived homophily moderated the relationships between students’ reports of instructors’ enactment of inappropriate conversations and students’ emotional and cognitive interest. These results offer further understanding of the ways in which inappropriate conversations and perceived homophily affect perceptual outcomes in the college classroom, which can inform college faculty, administrators, and mentors. Limitations and future research directions are discussed

The Parthenon, October 25, 2012

The Parthenon, Marshall University’s student newspaper, is published by students Monday through Friday during the regular semester and weekly Thursday during the summer. The editorial staff is responsible for the news and the editorial content

Evaluation of Familyfocus Lincolnshire Grub Club Project

A review of an innovative project undertaken by a family charity in Lincolnshire to engage and support families in changing patterns of eating and diet. It focuses on the holistic nature of the role and meaning of food within family dynamics. The research reviews the tailor made individual service with the provision of a nutritionist to work with families within their own homes to support change within the practicalities of everyday family life. Flexibility and an individual approach are found to be central to understanding and promoting change within diverse issues related to family diet, behaviour and relationships

Current, April 16, 2001

https://irl.umsl.edu/current2000s/1053/thumbnail.jp

Complete Issue, Volume 39, Issue 1

This is the complete issue for Volume 39, Issue 1 of the Journal of the Association for Communication Administration