Advances in Teaching & Learning Day Abstracts 2004

Proceedings of the Advances in Teaching & Learning Day Regional Conference held at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston in 2004

Professors Evans, Whitman Honored for 78 Years of Service at June 5 Commencement

James Evans left graduate school as a chemist, but has worn numerous hats during his 45-year Lawrence University teaching career, among the longest tenures in the college’s history. Evans, professor of chemistry and computer science, along with Professor of Music Ernestine Whitman, will be recognized Sunday, June 5 as retiring faculty with professor emeritus status at Lawrence’s 162nd commencement. Both will receive honorary Master of Arts degrees, ad eundem, as part of the graduation ceremonies that begin at 10:30 a.m. on the Main Hall green. A native of Bridgton, Maine, Evans joined the Lawrence faculty in 1966 as a 25-year-old with a Ph.D. from Princeton University. Unbeknownst to him, his first-year roommate from graduate school had turned down a two-year appointment at Lawrence, but Evans wound up with a three-year tenure track offer from then-President Curtis Tarr. Blaming an inability “to convincingly say no,” Evans began multitasking in 1979 when he traded some of his chemistry teaching duties for responsibilities as part-time director of Lawrence’s small computer services group, a dual role he juggled for more than 15 years. He was a natural choice as computer services director having already helped usher in the first computer-related teaching to the Lawrence curriculum by collaborating with members of the physics department on a laboratory-computing course. An interest in using computers beyond numerical work or signal processing also led Evans to write a text-formatting program. With a physics colleague he co-directed a multi-year (1978-82) National Science Foundation-funded project that helped established today’s interdisciplinary mathematics-computer science major. “Things happen to us as we go along,” Evans said of his evolving role. Associate Professor of Computer Science Kurt Krebsbach has known Evans from the perspective of former student and current faculty colleague. He fondly remembers Evans’ gentle guidance when he spent two summers as a student working in Lawrence’s new computer lab. “He instilled in me a sense that the moments of most rewarding insight came as a result of careful, thorough and unhurried thought,” said Krebsbach, a 1985 Lawrence graduate and member of the faculty since 2002. “Jim always exemplified the patient, deep thinker, confident that time and focused attention would produce the spark needed to solve the present problem.” Beyond teaching chemistry and computer science, Evan served as an institutional “sidewalk superintendent,” assisting with the planning and execution of a variety of campus building projects, including the construction of Thomas Steitz Hall of Science and Hiett Hall and major remodeling projects in Main Hall and Youngchild Hall. “You find yourself asking how do you get your head wrapped around all of these different things,” said Evans, reflecting upon his various responsibilities and the breadth of his scholarship, from nuclear science at Princeton to the biosciences during sabbaticals at England’s Oxford and Birmingham universities to two books he’s written on computer architecture. Like all dedicated teachers, Evans points to what he calls “the assortment of students who pass by” as the thing he will miss the most as he leaves the classroom. “They don’t know what’s impossible yet,” he says of the students, “so if you ask them to try hard, they may accomplish more than they or you intended. It’s always nice to see ‘the light’ turn on. Sometimes it’s subtle and not a blaze of glory, but it does happen.” Near-term plans have Evans splitting time between Appleton and Maine, where he wants a generations-old family homestead near idyllic Moose Pond to be rescued from deterioration. “Moveover, I just may join a Maine historical society because I’m historic,” said Evans. Whitman might be the only person on the planet with custom-made nunchucks crafted from two piccolos. And there is nothing more appropriate to represent two of the things that have meant the most to her — music and the martial arts. Among her professional and personal accomplishments are 33 years leading the Lawrence Conservatory of Music flute studio and earning a black belt in Tae Kwon Do at age 62. The nunchucks, a gift from a student, serve as tangible proof that the bonds Whitman formed with her students included life lessons as well as musical ones. “She offered to her students that great Lawrence faculty model of artist/scholar/teacher; a dedicated musician, a brilliant mind, and a compassionate and caring person and teacher,” said Terri Sundberg, a 1983 Lawrence graduate. “She was my first real mentor in terms of how to approach the instrument and even more importantly how to approach being a true musician.” Former students also praise Whitman’s willingness to go the extra mile, pushing them to be their best. She championed “practice buddies,” pairing a freshman with an upper-class student to play together and encourage camaraderie among the different classes. “Because of her encouragement of a supportive studio atmosphere, the Lawrence flute studio became my best friends and second family,” said 2009 Lawrence graduate Sheri Muneno. “In fact, current studio members call themselves a ‘flamily’ — flute+family.” Whitman, who joined the Lawrence faculty in 1978, began her flute career at age 20 when she won an audition for the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, with which she performed at Carnegie Hall, the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts and the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Her performing career was put on hold in 1986 when she developed the neurological condition focal dystonia, which affected the muscles in her left hand. After years of rehabilitation, she returned to performing in 1992, but developed focal dystonia in her lip in 2006, ending her career as a performer. Despite that setback, her passion never wavered. “She taught me to listen to myself and learn from my mistakes,” said Ruth Washington Mayhew, a 1984 graduate. “Basically, she taught me how to teach myself. And that lesson has proved more valuable than I can say. It made me more introspective and aware — and has certainly helped me to become a much better teacher in the process.” Regarding her 33-year teaching career at Lawrence, Whitman said she relished a job that was always interesting, challenging and rewarding. “One of the things I will miss most is the thrilling moment when, after months of working on tonal exercises, a student produces a sound of great depth and beauty,” said Whitman, who was recognized with Lawrence’s Young Teacher Award in 1984. “That ‘aha’ moment never failed to make my skin tingle. The relationship between studio teacher and student is a very close one, and I shall dearly miss getting to know these wonderful students.” Whitman’s plans for next year include volunteer work for various organizations, further martial arts trading, teaching Freshman Studies at Lawrence and several writing projects

Rethinking the Professoriate

[Excerpt] The American higher education system faces tremendous pressure to enhance access and graduation rates. In a period of increasing financial difficulties, how will our nation’s higher education institutions achieve these goals and how will they recruit faculty and staff their classes in the future? The answers to these questions, which are the focus of my paper, will likely vary across different types of higher education institutions and will reflect the nature of the classes that they offer and the types of students that they educate

Editorial

This issue of Higher Learning Research Communications (HLRC) features research and teaching proposals from both sides of the Atlantic. In a globalized and interconnected world, cooperation among researchers and higher education professionals is paramount. Equally important, as Steven Maranville argues in this issue’s featured essay, is recognizing being a scholar and researcher means being first and foremost a thinker. Higher education institutions are sanctuaries of knowledge, and faculty members are key in promoting understanding and the free flow of ideas among teachers and students.In the information Age, online tools have proven vital precisely in promoting knowledge and cooperation across oceans and frontiers. As more and more higher education institutions use the Internet in order to reach a wider student audience, the new challenges of online learning require new tools for faculty communication. As such, Eric Nordin and Peter John Anthony conducted research related to the development of a support website for online faculty. Such measures seem to be necessary, as they may lead to improvements in the quality of online teaching and learning.There is another research piece included in this issue that deals as well with improving the quality of teaching and learning. Luis Alberto D’Elia and Diane Wishart have investigated on both sides of the Atlantic, in Canada and Spain, how proper teacher training at the college level may lead to better youth engagement in science classes. Faculty in Education departments must become aware of the needs and challenges youth face in science learning in order to better train the teachers that will serve them. This is why more higher education professionals should engage in high school programs that prepare students for college.Oftentimes, previous educational experiences do not properly prepare students for college life, resulting in withdrawals, longer times to degree completion, or even unwillingness to complete a degree. Maxwell N. Kwenda investigated one of these aspects by trying to track and explain college credit completion in freshmen students. His results suggest high school academic performance, GPA, and college entrance exams can indeed predict academic success, which is why it is important to engage potential college students before they graduate from high school.This tenth issue of HLRC also features selected papers presented at the X Jornadas Internacionales de Innovación Universitaria [X International Conference on Innovation in Higher Education], celebrated by the Universidad Europea de Madrid, in Spain. The aim of the Jornadas is to promote research and ground-breaking teaching proposals in higher education. The selected papers reflect current pedagogic trends and incorporate innovative teaching strategies to engage college students and promote cross-sectional competences. Among the proposals, supporting research activities among students, promoting content and language integrated learning among faculty, providing practical experiences and cooperation in communication and audiovisual programs, student tutoring, taking into account the students emotional intelligence, and even using advanced computer software to provide International Relations students with the change to manage a transition to democracy from an authoritarian regime stand out

Characterizing the University of California's tenure-track teaching position from the faculty and administrator perspectives.

Teaching faculty are a potential mechanism to generate positive change in undergraduate STEM education. One such type of faculty is the Lecturer with Potential Security of Employment (L(P)SOE), a tenure-track faculty line within the University of California (UC) system. As a foundation for future studies, we sought to characterize individuals in the L(P)SOE position in terms of their background training, job expectations, and resources available for their success. Data were collected through an online survey completed by over 80% of STEM L(P)SOEs across the UC system, as well as interviews with over 20 deans and chairs in STEM departments at three UC campuses. From this work, we found that the majority of current L(P)SOEs were formally trained within their disciplines and not in an education field; however, they possessed substantial education experience, such as classroom teaching or participation in professional development opportunities. Expectations for time spent on teaching, research, and service are aligned between individuals within varying ranks of the L(P)SOE faculty and between L(P)SOEs and administrators. L(P)SOEs and administrators are also in agreement about what constitutes acceptable professional development activities. Interestingly, we identified differences that may reflect changes in the position over time, including increased start-up funds for more recently hired L(P)SOE faculty and a differing perspective on the role of discipline-based education research and scholarly activities between non-tenured and more senior L(P)SOEs. Overall, these data provide a snapshot of the L(P)SOE position that will aid in future work to identify the potential institutional impact of these individuals

An Interactive Zoo Guide: A Case Study of Collaborative Learning

Real Industry Projects and team work can have a great impact on student learning but providing these activities requires significant commitment from academics. It requires several years planning implementing to create a collaborative learning environment that mimics the real world ICT (Information and Communication Technology) industry workplace. In this project, staff from all the three faculties, namely the Faculty of Health, Engineering and Science, Faculty of Arts, Education and Human Development, and Faculty of Business and Law in higher education work together to establish a detailed project management plan and to develop the unit guidelines for participating students. The proposed project brings together students from business, multimedia and computer science degrees studying their three project-based units within each faculty to work on a relatively large IT project with our industry partner, Melbourne Zoo. This paper presents one multimedia software project accomplished by one of the multi-discipline student project teams. The project was called 'Interactive ZooOz Guide' and developed on a GPS-enabled PDA device in 2007. The developed program allows its users to navigate through the Zoo via an interactive map and provides multimedia information of animals on hotspots at the 'Big Cats' section of the Zoo so that it enriches user experience at the Zoo. A recent development in zoo applications is also reviewed. This paper is also intended to encourage academia to break boundaries to enhance students' learning beyond classroom.Comment: 11 Page

The Changing Nature of the Faculty and Faculty Employment Practices

[Excerpt] The nature of faculty employment practices at American colleges and universities is changing rapidly. So too is the gender, racial and ethnic composition of American faculty members. These changes, along with the growing importance and costs of scientific research, the increased commercialization of faculty research, the elimination of mandatory retirement for tenured faculty members and the growing costs of retiree health insurance, the growing salary differentials across universities and academic fields within an university, and the growth of collective bargaining for tenured and tenure-track faculty and graduate assistants at public universities and now adjuncts at private universities, have put enormous stresses on our nation’s academic institutions and their leaders. The discussion that follows explains why