Transformative Dialogues: Teaching and Learning Journal
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Empowering Culture Change: Integrating Faculty Development and Assessment Through Active Learning Course Redesign
Get PDFThis article explores the University of Georgia\u27s journey towards fostering a culture of assessment by integrating educational development and assessment practices within a university-wide initiative focused on active learning. The authors discuss the challenges of shifting faculty mindsets and the importance of faculty engagement in assessment for informed curricular changes and improved educational outcomes. The manuscript presents the evolution of the University\u27s approach, including organizational restructuring, educational development programs, and the establishment of an Active Learning Initiative. The authors delve into the impact of the initiative, particularly through the Active Learning Summer Institute and change grants, emphasizing the alignment between educational development and assessment-driven pedagogy. Highlighting the collaboration between the Center for Teaching and Learning and the Office of Assessment, we showcase the integration of assessment practices at course, program, and institutional levels. The article concludes by emphasizing the ongoing efforts to cultivate a culture of assessment and the potential for collaboration between assessment and educational development in other institutions
Student-Parents’ Experiences of Transitioning into University in the UK: How They Feel, What They Need, and How We Can Respond
Get PDFResearch exploring the transition into university of students with parental responsibility (student-parents) in the UK is very limited. This is a notable gap, not least given the recent inclusion of student-parents in the Office for Students’ Equality of Opportunity Register, meaning that all English providers are now obliged to identify and mitigate barriers to success for student-parents in their institutional Access & Participation Plans. This paper explores the findings of a UK-wide study of undergraduate student-parents. It provides an insight into participants’ feelings and motivations on starting university and reveals what student-parents need to ensure their successful transition into higher education. The paper concludes with recommendations for practice and shares two evidence-based, research-informed guides co-created with student-parents. These guides translate the learnings from the research project into practical toolkits aimed at assisting student-parents to navigate university and supporting personal tutors to facilitate their student-parent tutees’ transition into higher education
Letters Across the Atlantic: A Hermeneutic Exploration of SoTL and the Academic Self
Get PDFWe invite you to join us in our exploration of ideas, conducted in a series of letters written between the authors over a three month period––and here we begin, by writing directly to you. To introduce ourselves, we are two Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) researchers, teacher educators, and faculty developers from different national contexts who began an ongoing transatlantic conversation after meeting at a conference in 2022, the International Society for Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (ISSOTL) in Kelowna, Canada. Both of us are from educational research backgrounds, coming later to the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL)––a closely connected but not identical field. SoTL can be thought of as practitioner inquiry that focuses on student learning, typically conducted in a post-secondary context, but it also encompasses how teachers approach their work in classrooms––these are two sides of the same coin
Generations of SoTL Scholars: Transferable Lessons and New Possibilities:
Get PDFAlthough the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) is no longer considered an emerging field, it continues to dynamically evolve. This evolution pertains to the nature of the inquiries posed, the scholars active in the field, and the frameworks and conventions that shape the transdisciplinary SoTL landscape. These structures serve as pillars and offer support to SoTL scholars; occasionally, they may also constrain the diversity of voices and perspectives that are embraced within this academic domain. In this article we apply a generational framework to the way that SoTL has evolved in white, Western, English-speaking contexts. We first articulate the generational waves (Generation Zero, Generation One, Generation Two and “SoTL First” scholars) that have emerged in this context and explore the people, goals, challenges, and successes that each generation has frequently experienced in their work to transform higher education. Subsequently, each author positions themselves within this generational framework, placing emphasis on the structures, norms, and processes that have aided and hindered their engagement with SoTL. Our goal is to explore what can be learned from the generational journey of this set of SoTL scholars, so that as SoTL continues to grow, we can better support a broader and more diverse set of scholars. In our discussion, we invite readers to consider their own SoTL journeys and to complicate and expand on this generational analysis
Approaching Ungrading: First-Time Perspectives from an Online Graduate Course
Get PDFAs a response to COVID-19 and a broader emphasis on the social and emotional elements of the learning experience, educators have turned to pedagogical responses that elevate care and student wellbeing. One of the ways in which this care has been facilitated is through alternative assessment practices, including ungrading. This study sought to understand the lived experiences of learners and the instructor in an ungraded online graduate course. Through semi-structured interviews, this qualitative study sought to explore the first experiences around this pedagogical approach. Participants reported that the experience led to shifts in their learning approaches, promoted greater student agency and creativity, and generally impacted their views toward feedback and reflection. The findings contribute to our understanding of ungrading and other alternative assessment practices in online courses and programs and their overall impact on learners and instructors
Integration of Longitudinal Evaluation Findings within the Evolving Curriculum of a National Faculty Development Program
Get PDFFrom 2004-2019, the Summer Institutes on Scientific Teaching trained 3400 faculty in evidence-based teaching practices through intensive multi-day workshops. The 15-year program history was characterized by an iterative evaluation approach that integrated evaluation findings within an evolving curriculum. This constructive evolution preserved core program elements while providing flexibility to innovate, broaden the academic representation of its participants, develop community resources, and ultimately transition the program to a non-profit organization in 2020. Analysis of historical longitudinal evaluation data yielded insights which may benefit other faculty development initiatives. Specifically, pre- and post-survey analysis, along with program leader observations, show that more recent participants arrived with greater awareness and practice of evidence-based teaching and with more diverse disciplinary backgrounds. Of the core tenets of scientific teaching – active learning, inclusive teaching, and assessment – the inclusive teaching theme warranted the greatest revision in response to participant feedback. This theme evolved to serve as a foundational framework, with increased emphasis on specific practices to create inclusive learning environments. Analysis of post-institute implementation revealed that small pedagogical changes persist and increase over time. This latter finding is strongest for leaders and group facilitators who engaged repeatedly with the program. We expect both the iterative evaluation approach and findings reported here will benefit other programs that share the goal of transforming college STEM education
Creating an Inclusive Space for Critical Dialogue and Campus Support for Sustainable Program Assessment Practices
Get PDFThis article describes the interface between assessment and educational development in the context of faculty learning communities focused on faculty leadership for sustainable program assessment. Communities of practice included faculty, assessment staff, and educational development staff who shared the goals of creating or improving program assessment practices to further student learning and success. Through rich interdisciplinary dialogues, assessment leadership plans were developed and implemented. Throughout the process, data was collected by the researchers to examine the impact of the communities of practice on institutional program assessment and reporting
Integrating Educational Development and Assessment of Student Learning Through Peer Review of Teaching
Get PDFEducational developers seek to improve faculty practice. Assessment offices look to assess student learning. Connecting educational development and student learning assessment efforts can provide a better understanding of how faculty practices are directly impacting student outcomes and identify areas for improvement. Peer review of teaching can help create the collaborative culture needed to support shared understanding of student learning outcomes and how faculty practice can help achieve those outcomes. Peer review of teaching adds an important dimension of triangulation in addition to individual faculty reflection and student evaluations of teaching by providing a more holistic context for the artifacts of student learning used for assessment. The frameworks of peer review of teaching can foster conversations among colleagues about student learning outcomes, practices for implementing instructional approaches that help achieve those outcomes, and areas for faculty growth. Faculty can learn from each other about what is working effectively and where they might need to modify their approaches. However, the goals of peer review of teaching can vary based on the approach and structural design. In this conceptual piece, we will explicate several peer observation models, review the key elements of peer review of teaching for varying goals, and consider how these various models can connect the objectives related to educational development and assessment of student learning
Shepherding from Within the Flock: Role Perspectives of a Faculty Developer Participating in a Faculty Learning Community
Get PDFA staggering percentage of faculty developers (96%) report experiences with Imposter Phenomenon (IP) (Rudenga & Gravett, 2020). How can a new faculty developer overcome feelings of IP to create a Faculty Learning Community (FLC)? What roles would a faculty developer play to create conditions for success for the FLC? This autoethnographic study examines the actions a new faculty developer took to overcome feelings of IP to lead a FLC in scholarship development. Special attention is paid to the roles I played at various stages of the FLC. New faculty developers can use this case study as a map for navigating feelings of IP to lead a group of new faculty members, while experienced faculty developers might use the results of this case study to mentor and guide new faculty developers through feelings of IP towards success
Evidencing the Impact of Institutional Scholarship: A Tried and Tested Approach
Get PDFThe UK’s Open University has a vision for a university-wide unified approach to scholarship of teaching and learning, otherwise known as SoTL, intended to create broader knowledge and an evidence base to increase excellence in teaching and learning. A large number of scholarship projects and activities occur throughout the university, enabled through the presence of scholarship centres. However, there is a paucity of published work across the sector to assess the impact of scholarship activities (particularly in reference to SoTL), especially when these are conducted on an institution-wide scale. We seek to address this issue, with particular reference to the LATIS scholarship centre. University staff have been involved in a number of LATIS projects and in a number of scholarship projects conducted prior to the formal launch of LATIS. Using the new Impact Levels (IL) model and Spheres of Influence (SoI) model, we examine the work of these scholarship projects, looking at different levels of impact and how these can be evidenced. We conclude in recommending the adoption of existing frameworks (such as the UK’s REF and TEF), and also consider new ways of assessing impact (using the Spheres of Influence model) that can have relevance to both institutional priorities and wider stakeholders