Building and Mobilizing Social Capital: A Phenomenological Study of Part-time Professors

This paper explores the experiences of new part-time professors (instructors hired on a semester-by-semester basis that have been working at the institution for less than five years) and considers the phenomenon of how they connect with peers. It examines whether a lack of connection exists among part-time professors at the University of Ottawa and how this may affect their experience (i.e. teaching and career), lead to barriers to connection, and affect their social capital (i.e., their ability to access or use resources embedded in their social networks). Using Moustakas’ (1994) phenomenological approach for collecting and analyzing data and Creswell’s (2007) approach for establishing validity, we uncovered several thematic patterns in participants’ experience that indicate barriers to connection and affect the ability to access and mobilize social capital: Feeling uncertain or impermanent, isolated, overwhelmed, and like second-class citizens. The paper concludes that inadequate social capital may not only influence part-time professors – it may also have problematic implications for students, the department, and the University as a whole. Keywords: Social capital, barriers to communication, phenomenology, qualitative methods, part-time professor

First Impressions Matter! An Experiment Comparing Autonomous and Controlling Language in Course Syllabi

The course syllabus serves as an important first contact between professors and students in university courses and the language used in a syllabus can influence students’ first impressions of the professor and expectations for the course. Existing research in Self-Determination Theory has shown that autonomy-supportive language leads to increased positive outcomes for students compared to controlling language. The objective of the present studies was to compare an autonomy-supportive with a controlling syllabus to see how students felt when reading the syllabus (Study 1), and how the syllabus related to their impressions of the professor, reported motivation, and expectations for the course (Study 2). The results of Study 1 supported that the students reported more positive feelings when viewing the autonomy-supportive syllabus and perceived the autonomy-supportive syllabus was more autonomous and the controlling one was more controlling. In Study 2, the results showed that students who viewed the autonomy-supportive syllabus reported more positive impressions of the professor (more need-supportive, better quality), were more likely to have positive expectations about the course, and more likely to have a self-determined motivation towards attending class compared to students who viewed the controlling syllabus. Overall, the results from both studies supported that there are benefits to using autonomy-supportive language in a syllabus with few side effects. Professors could benefit by making a good first impression upon students by integrating autonomy-supportive language into their syllabus

Perceptions of the effects of clicker technology on student learning and engagement: a study of freshmen Chemistry students

While technology – in the form of laptops and cellphones – may be the cause of much of the distraction in university and college classrooms, some, including the personal or classroom response system (PRS/CRS) or clicker, also present pedagogical opportunities to enhance student engagement. The current study explored the reactions of students to clicker implementation in a large, introductory chemistry class. During the final class of the semester, 200 students in an introductory chemistry class responded to an attitudinal and informational student survey using both Likert-type and non-Likert type questions to evaluate their perception of the implementation of the clickers and their impact on student learning and engagement. The results demonstrated that, when implemented effectively, clickers contribute to greater student engagement and, ultimately, an opportunity for professors to enact best practices in higher education pedagogy. This study points to the importance of effective pedagogy in making clickers worthwhile

The Relationship between Professors’ Motivation and Interpersonal Behaviour Styles in the Classroom, and Course Evaluations

Professors create a positive learning environment for students through their interpersonal behaviour style in the classroom. High quality interpersonal interactions are associated with a number of positive student outcomes such as increased motivation, effort, learning, satisfaction, and higher ratings on formal student evaluations of teaching (SETs). This study tested a Self-Determination Theory model in a university setting by measuring the association between professors’ reported psychological need satisfaction, teaching motivation, and self-reported supportive interpersonal behaviour styles, exploring how these variables related to SETs. Overall, we found support for the model; all relationships were significant and in the expected direction except that reported autonomy and competence supportive behaviours did not relate to SETs. From this, we can conclude that relatedness support is important to the student experience and that professors who engage in relatedness supportive interpersonal behaviours are also positively evaluated by their students

La relation entre la motivation des professeurs et des professeures et les styles de comportement interpersonnel dans la salle de classe, et les évaluations des cours

Professors create a positive learning environment for students through their interpersonal behaviour style in the classroom. High quality interpersonal interactions are associated with a number of positive student outcomes such as increased motivation, effort, learning, satisfaction, and higher ratings on formal student evaluations of teaching (SETs). This study tested a Self-Determination Theory model in a university setting by measuring the association between professors’ reported psychological need satisfaction, teaching motivation, and self-reported supportive interpersonal behaviour styles, exploring how these variables related to SETs. Overall, we found support for the model; all relationships were significant and in the expected direction except that reported autonomy and competence supportive behaviours did not relate to SETs. From this, we can conclude that relatedness support is important to the student experience and that professors who engage in relatedness supportive interpersonal behaviours are also positively evaluated by their students.Les professeurs et les professeures créent un environnement d’apprentissage positif pour les étudiants et les étudiantes grâce à leur style de comportement interpersonnel dans la salle de classe. Les interactions interpersonnelles de haute qualité sont associées à un certain nombre de résultats positifs parmi les étudiants et les étudiantes tels que l’augmentation de la motivation, des efforts, de l’apprentissage, de la satisfaction, ainsi que des scores plus élevés dans les évaluations de l’enseignement formelles par les étudiants. Cette étude a examiné un modèle de théorie d’auto-détermination dans un milieu universitaire en mesurant l’association entre les besoins psychologiques tels que rapportés par les professeurs et les professeures en matière de satisfaction et de motivation à enseigner, et les styles de comportement interpersonnel de soutien auto-rapportés, et elle explore comment ces variables sont liées aux évaluations de l’enseignement par les étudiants et les étudiantes. Dans l’ensemble, nous avons trouvé qu’il existait un soutien pour le modèle et que toutes les relations étaient significatives et allaient dans la direction attendue, sauf que l’autonomie et les comportements de soutien de la compétence rapportés n’étaient pas liés aux évaluations de l’enseignement par les étudiants et les étudiantes. Ceci nous permet de conclure que le soutien de la relation est important pour l’expérience des étudiants et des étudiantes et que les professeurs et les professeures qui s’engagent dans des comportements interpersonnels relationnels de soutien sont également évalués de manière positive par leurs étudiants et leurs étudiantes

An Evaluation of a University Peer-Mentoring Training Programme

This study of a university peer-mentoring training programme evaluated mentor reaction, learning, transfer of learning and impact on organizational goals. Using quantitative and qualitative measures, the study found that the mentors reacted positively to the training, that training enabled mentors to develop and reinforce skills and encourage them to establish and maintain networks, or social capital, throughout the university. Peer-mentors reported transferring skills and identified effects beyond mentoring. The study affords insights into the training requirements and learning experience of peer-mentors and shows that mentor training is indispensable in providing tools and techniques and an opportunity to reflect on practice, and in facilitating the feedback necessary to continuous improvement in the mentoring capacity

Using LectureTools to enhance student–instructor relations and student engagement in the large class

Positive student–instructor relationships are important for student engagement, motivation, retention and achievement. Yet, as class sizes grow, these relationships can be increasingly difficult to develop. This study explores LectureTools – a web-based student response and learning platform that facilitates communication between instructors and students – as a possible solution to this issue by analysing survey data collected from students in a second-year communication class at a large Canadian university. This study builds on previous evidence that using LectureTools results in an increase in student engagement, attentiveness and level of learning, while expanding on this work to include the concept of student instructor relationships. Ultimately, the functionality of LectureTools was found to facilitate the development of student–instructor relationships in the large class while also enhancing student engagement