ethanporcaro/eric-fulltext-meta huggingface dataset:
The Marketing of Canadian University Rankings: A Misadventure Now 24 Years Old
Author: Cramer, Kenneth M.
Date: 2016-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Universities,Classification,Institutional Advancement,Statistical Analysis,Annual Reports,Tables (Data),Correlation,Multivariate Analysis,Evaluation Problems,Test Reliability,Test Validity,Undergraduate Study,Doctoral Programs,Medical Education

Based on analyses of Maclean's ranking data pertaining to Canadian universities published over the last 24 years, we present a summary of statistical findings of annual ranking exercises, as well as discussion about their current status and the effects upon student welfare. Some illustrative tables are also presented. Using correlational and cluster analyses, for each year, we have found largely nonsignificant, inconsistent, and uninterpretable relations between rank standings of universities and Maclean's main measures, as well as between rank standings and the many specific indices used to generate these standings. In our opinion, when assessed in terms of their empirical characteristics, the annual data show generally that this system of ranking is highly limited in terms of its practical or academic value to students. Among other difficulties with the interpretation of ranks, we also discuss the possibility that ranking exercises have unintended, though potentially serious, negative consequences for the intellectual and personal welfare of students.
Strategic Planning in an Educational Development Centre: Motivation, Management, and Messiness
Author: Albon, Simon P.
Date: 2016-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Strategic Planning,Educational Development,Motivation,Research Universities,College Planning,Educational History,Context Effect,Program Development,Program Implementation,Change Strategies,Foreign Countries

Strategic planning in universities is frequently positioned as vital for clarifying future directions, providing a coherent basis for decision-making, establishing priorities, and improving organizational performance. Models for successful strategic planning abound and often present the process as linear and straightforward. In this essay, we examine our own experiences of strategic planning for a new educational development centre situated in a Faculty of a research intensive university. Drawing from the literature, we provide a brief history of strategic planning in university contexts and consider criticisms and benefits. We investigate complicated issues related to our own process and, throughout, we argue that in spite of established formulas for creating a strategic plan, the process is non-linear and messy. We end this paper with recommendations for educational developer colleagues.
Five High-Impact Teaching Practices
Author: Fink, L. Dee
Date: 2016-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Teaching Methods,Educational Practices,Learner Engagement,Academic Achievement,Teaching Experience,Curriculum Implementation,Student Centered Learning,Small Group Instruction,Service Learning,Teacher Leadership,Instructional Effectiveness

If we want our teaching to have a major impact on student learning, what are some ideas that can help us do that? Since 1990, the scholars of teaching and learning have been generating a wealth of new ideas about college-level teaching. All of these are good ideas, but which ones have the most potential to have a high impact on student engagement and student learning? In this article, I offer my list of five high-impact teaching practices. Implementing any one of these can improve almost anyone's teaching; implementing two or three of them will provide an amazing experience--an experience that will be as exciting for the professor as it will be for the students.
Going Blended with a Triple-Entry Activity: Students' Online Discussions of Assigned Readings Using &quot;Marginalia&quot;
Author: Kanevsky, Lannie
Date: 2016-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Computer Mediated Communication,Online Courses,Blended Learning,Student Attitudes,Reading Assignments,Class Activities,Open Source Technology,Teaching Methods,Educational Benefits,Course Descriptions,Statistical Analysis,Qualitative Research,Foreign Countries,College Students

In this paper, we describe and investigate small group discussions of assigned readings in an online version of a &quot;triple-entry activity&quot; in a blended course used an annotation tool, &quot;Marginalia&quot;. We wondered if students would interact in this structured, critical, reflective reading activity as effectively online as they had when the activity was undertaken on paper in face-to-face classes. We investigated what happened, why, and if successful, and how these findings might inform the use of annotated discussions in the future. We found 30% of comments acknowledged the value of ideas expressed in a group member's response to a reading, 30% extended those ideas, 11% connected the reading to personal experience, 9% were questions, and 6% answers. Approximately 60% of the interactions were between one group member and the author of the response; 40% involved comments that were connected to each other as well as the author's response to the reading. Students felt using &quot;Marginalia&quot; to comment on classmates' responses and having classmates comment on their responses facilitated their learning from assigned readings. The instructor agreed and felt the online discussions also contributed to the development of a community of learners between face-to-face classes. In addition, reading students' responses and discussions before each class informed the instructor's preparation for in-class activities.
New Interdisciplinary Science Course for First-Year Faculty of Science Students: Overview and Preliminary Results from the Pilot
Author: Cockcroft, Robert
Date: 2016-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Interdisciplinary Approach,College Science,College Freshmen,Mentors,Pretests Posttests,Student Surveys,Pilot Projects,Curriculum Development,Investigations,Student Research,Student Attitudes,Course Descriptions,Foreign Countries

Transitioning to university can be a daunting endeavour, with student success dependent on a myriad of effects (Pascarella &amp; Terenzini, 2005). Understanding how to navigate university systems, who to meet, how to get help, how to study, and what goals to set can be hard to grasp (Valle et al., 2003). We provide an overview of the new interdisciplinary foundations course, which piloted in fall 2014, for first-year Faculty of Science students at McMaster University. This course provides a taste of research-based learning (Healey, Jenkins, &amp; Lea, 2014) and develops essential skills that are important for an undergraduate degree and future academic or career plans, exposes students to a wide range of departments and programs in the Faculty of Science, and invites students to reflect on their academic journey and how it may be changing as a result of the course. This customized approach intentionally teaches students how to locate and use institutional resources and the expectations that the institution has of its students, while offering opportunities to create networks of support essential for student success and retention (Kuh, Cruce, Shoup, Kinzie, &amp; Gonyea, 2008), and speaks to a number of considerations highlighted in the literature (e.g., Ambrose, Bridges, DiPietro, Lovett, &amp; Norman, 2010). Other factors considered include balancing the needs of the Faculty, the resources available, and the goals, demands, and interests of the students. In this paper, we describe the course's design, structure and implementation, key components of the course, support from upper-level science students, and preliminary pedagogical results, which assess its impact on and perception by students.
Is Fine-Tuning Possible with Grade-Focused Students?
Author: Frost, Gail
Date: 2016-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Formative Evaluation,Teaching Methods,Educational Practices,Learning Processes,Program Descriptions,Demonstrations (Educational),Instructional Effectiveness,Barriers,Student Motivation,Learner Engagement,Change Strategies,Foreign Countries,College Students

In our service-learning courses, students work with real people and record and reflect on these experiences, to learn appropriate professional behavior, how to think creatively, and how to respond to changing circumstances. Many of our students are strategic learners, characterized by alertness to assessment and intention to achieve the highest possible grades (Entwistle, Tait, &amp; McCune, 2000). Their need to be correct often overrides the opportunity to explore ideas, troubleshoot, and problem solve. Their slavish allegiance to one correct answer prevents many from engaging in the messy processes of trial and error, formative feedback and assessment, reflection, and refinement (Dewey, 1938). They not only avoid the benefits of proximal learning, they also deny themselves the benefits of cognitive play that Vygotsky (1962) encourages. An end of term binge, their rush to get work done at the eleventh hour, can occur because many seem reluctant to take advantage of formative feedback opportunities (i.e. fine tuning) during the term. Accompanying this binge is the concomitant expectation of immediate feedback from the instructor, and the equally unrealistic expectation of their own spontaneous comprehension of the material without adequate assimilation time. This paper will describe our efforts to implement formative assessment in our classes. We present a number of formative assessment examples, discuss the pros and cons of teaching this way, and suggest some implementation strategies that enhance student motivation and timely engagement.
Making Students' Metacognitive Knowledge Visible through Reflective Writing in a Mathematics-for-Teachers Course
Author: Menz, Petra
Date: 2016-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Metacognition,Content Area Writing,Mathematics Education,Reflection,Prompting,Elementary School Curriculum,Preservice Teacher Education,Mathematics Activities,Course Objectives,Curriculum Design,Writing Assignments,Achievement Gains,Teaching Methods,Qualitative Research,Statistical Analysis

Metacognition directly contributes to learning, performance, and beliefs about the self as a learner. This paper describes the rationale, implementation, and assessment of a weekly online reflection activity based on instructor prompts designed for post-secondary students who aspire to be elementary school teachers. Our study defines four categories of metacognitive knowledge that speak to the specific goals of the course and the characteristics of the students. Using these categories, 71 students' written responses to four reflection prompts from three course offerings were coded, and their effects were examined in terms of types of metacognitive knowledge demonstrated. Our results not only confirm that students were engaged in metacognition through the reflection activity but also show that students exhibited different categories of metacognitive knowledge in relation to the varying emphases of the prompts.
Expanding on #YouDoYou: Reflections from the 2015 Cohort of 3M National Student Fellows on Exploring Authenticity in Education
Author: Baek, Justine
Date: 2016-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Reflection,Cohort Analysis,Postsecondary Education,Teaching Methods,Instructional Innovation,Learning Strategies,Educational Practices,Educational Strategies,Classroom Techniques,Cooperative Learning,Experiential Learning,Student Motivation,Learner Engagement,Art Education,Mentors,Foreign Countries

The fourth cohort of 3M National Student Fellows explores the current state of our post-secondary education system across Canada and opportunities to further tune into practice in order to pursue an authentic and meaningful academic life. Six of the 2015 3M National Student Fellows propose recommendations for decision-makers at post-secondary institutions across Canada to challenge the status quo through embracing varied methods of teaching and learning.
Original Undergraduate Research in Classroom Contexts: Student Perceptions of a Scaffolded Approach
Author: Manarin, Karen
Date: 2016-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Undergraduate Study,Undergraduate Students,Higher Education,Student Attitudes,Scaffolding (Teaching Technique),Student Research,Research Projects,Semi Structured Interviews,Writing (Composition),Writing Instruction,Psychology,English Literature,General Education,Reflection,Interviews,Freshman Composition,Seminars,Questioning Techniques,Likert Scales,Research Methodology,Surveys,Foreign Countries

This article describes a model for supporting undergraduate research that can be adapted for very different classroom contexts; we implemented this model in a first-year general education composition class, a second-year Psychology class and a fourth-year English literature seminar. We examine student work created for each class as well as reflections and interviews to explore student attitudes towards and perceptions of research. While the scaffolded approach had an impact on students' understanding of the research process, the effects did not vary significantly by level and context as we had expected.
Flexible Learning Strategies in First through Fourth-Year Courses
Author: Cassidy, Alice
Date: 2016-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Undergraduate Students,Learning Strategies,Teaching Methods,Curriculum Design,Student Educational Objectives,Definitions,Student Centered Learning,Electronic Learning,Assignments,Audience Response Systems,Computer Assisted Testing,Tutorial Programs,Peer Evaluation,Formative Evaluation,Feedback (Response),Action Research,Experiential Learning,Learner Engagement,Agricultural Education

Flexible Learning (FL) is a pedagogical approach allowing for flexibility of time, place, and audience, including but not solely focused on the use of technologies. We describe Flexible Learning as a pedagogical approach in four courses framed by three key themes: 1) objectives and aspects of course design, 2) evaluation and assessment, and 3) challenges and improvements. Examples of strategies include: digital media-based assignments; iClicker and on-line quizzes; a librarian-created tutorial and links to copyright-cleared readings; use of Calibrated Peer Review as formative feedback; TurnItIn for self-review; wiki sites, group blogs and community work through Community-based Action Research (CBAR) conducted through the pedagogy of Community-Based Experiential-Learning (CBEL). We believe that the transferability of our experiences and findings is most relevant to educators seeking to create learning experiences that increase student engagement with complexity and uncertainty. FL approaches can help educators create learning environments that more closely resemble the contexts that students find upon graduation.
&quot;Can I Have a Grade Bump?&quot; the Contextual Variables and Ethical Ideologies That Inform Everyday Dilemmas in Teaching
Author: Dukewich, Kristie R.
Date: 2016-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Ethics,Ideology,Decision Making,Teacher Responsibility,Integrity,Best Practices,College Faculty,Vignettes,Values,Grading

Educators are regularly confronted with moral dilemmas for which there are no easy solutions. Increasing course sizes and program enrolments, coupled with a new consumerist attitude towards education, have only further exacerbated the quantity and quality of students' requests for special academic consideration (Macfarlane, 2004). Extensions, late submissions, and grade bumps--once rare--are now commonplace. However, there is very little in the pedagogical literature that addresses these everyday dilemmas. In a culture of transparency, unspoken policies that address these requests are the form of learner consideration that is the least transparent to students and educators alike. Here we explore some of the variables that contribute to the complexity of these dilemmas, and the ethical ideologies that can inform their resolution. Our goal is not to provide best practices, but rather to facilitate reflection about how individuals make these decisions. The idiosyncratic nature of these decisions can be framed as a reflection of different ethical ideologies, and we describe one approach to framing individual ethical ideologies from the business literature. Finally, we consider whether faculty should be making these decisions at all, using the centralization of academic integrity (cf. Neufeld &amp; Dianda, 2007) as a model, and explore its parallels with issues around ethical dilemmas in teaching.
Mapping the Past, Present, and Future of Teaching Leadership Chairs in Canada: A Report
Author: Andrews, David M.
Date: 2016-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,College Faculty,Teacher Leadership,Teacher Role,Educational Change,Change Strategies

We explore the advent and initiatives of teaching leadership chairs--modeled after the Canada Research Chair framework--to instill individuals or small groups of teaching leaders at various centres across the country to stimulate educational change. In its past, present, and future, we explore the grassroots of teaching leadership chairs and their spread nationwide; outline the current situation of initiatives and challenges we have experienced at our institution; and conclude with some new avenues for teaching leadership via campus-wide joint projects.
Bento and Buffet: Two Approaches to Flexible Summative Assessment
Author: Didicher, Nicky
Date: 2016-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Summative Evaluation,Grading,Weighted Scores,Evaluation Methods,Student Evaluation,Higher Education,Educational Benefits,Barriers,Problem Solving,Experiential Learning,Assignments,Foreign Countries

This practice-sharing piece outlines two main approaches to flexible summative assessment schemes, including for each approach one example from my practice and another from a published study. The bento approach offers the same assessments to all students but a variety of grade weighting schemes, allowing students to change weighting during the term. The buffet approach offers students choice of individualized assessments from a menu of possibilities and individualized grade weighting. I outline some (dis)advantages of each approach, exploring the dilemma of balance between instructor workload and high-value student learning experiences.
Examining the Role of Friendship in Mentoring Relationships between Graduate Students and Faculty Advisors
Author: Beres, Jacqueline L.
Date: 2016-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Graduate Students,Higher Education,Mentors,Friendship,Faculty Advisers,Teacher Student Relationship,Case Studies,Foreign Countries,Collegiality,Interpersonal Relationship,Statistical Analysis,Qualitative Research,Sampling,Semi Structured Interviews,Interviews

Although previous studies have offered empirical and anecdotal support for academic mentoring, there are still considerable gaps in understanding the specific actions or components that are present in these relationships. Research has shown that academic faculty mentors provide all of Kram's (1988) mentoring functions to their graduate student protégés. Despite numerous claims to the presence of &quot;friendship&quot; in graduate student-faculty advisor mentoring relationships, others question if friendship is even possible within this context. Thus, there is ambiguity about the role of this particular function in academic mentoring. In our attempt to reconcile results from a previous study on graduate student-faculty advisor mentoring and better understand the potential role and temporal development of friendship within this domain, we sought clarification in the existing literature. To our surprise, the literature lacks consensus on the topic and requires additional scholarly attention. Consequently, the purpose of this paper is to share insights from our previous study examining mentoring in academia, summarize empirical findings and conceptual advancements on the topic of friendship in graduate student-faculty advisor mentoring relationships, and propose directions for further inquiry in this area, in the hope of strengthening academic mentoring relationships.
Breathing Life into the Syllabus: The Collaborative Development of a First-Year Writing Course for Nursing Students
Author: Feltham, Mark
Date: 2016-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Course Descriptions,Writing Instruction,Nursing Education,Foreign Countries,English,College Faculty,Curriculum Development,Team Teaching,Interdisciplinary Approach,Futures (of Society),Literacy,Teacher Collaboration

In this essay, we tell the story of how a team of English and nursing professors came together to develop curriculum for a mandatory first-semester writing course in the collaborative Bachelor of Science, Nursing (BScN) at Fanshawe College and Western University, both in London, Ontario. The discussion focuses on the implementation of the course at the Fanshawe site. Following a review of literature that has informed our thinking about writing in nursing, we discuss how the team, consisting of both English/writing and nursing faculty, solved curriculum problems to develop an effective course. We also look forward to areas for future development.
Balancing Openness and Interpretation in Active Listening
Author: Topornycky, Joseph
Date: 2016-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Listening Skills,Communication Skills,Humanism,Professionalism,Listening Comprehension,Interpretive Skills,Curriculum Development,Interpersonal Communication,Foreign Countries,Workshops,Meetings,Discussion,Imitation

Active listening is an important communication skill in a variety of disciplines and professions, including the profession of Educational Development. In our roles as educational developers, we engage in a variety of processes, all of which rely heavily on the practice of active listening. Emerging strategies of active listening praxis have allowed us to highlight the risks involved in applying techniques of active listening while engaging in our day to day practices as educational developers. In this paper, we share a short historical review of theories and approaches to active listening and identify its two inherent orientations: humanism and professionalism. We highlight openness and interpretation as two pillars of active listening and explore ways of maintaining a balance between those pillars as they relate to techniques of humanism and professionalism. We explain aspects of the interactive session we facilitated during STLHE 2015 where, as a group, we named and discussed ways that active listening could go wrong. We explore ways that we, as educators and educational developers, might recognize when we may be foregrounding technique over listening, and how to correct some of these issues.
Emerging Communities of Practice
Author: McAlister, Martha
Date: 2016-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Learner Engagement,Communities of Practice,Faculty Development,Cooperative Learning,Group Dynamics,Higher Education,College Faculty,Qualitative Research,Experiments,Doctoral Dissertations,Interpersonal Communication,Pilot Projects,Organizational Change,Transformative Learning,Observation,Conferences (Gatherings),Foreign Countries

Communities of practice are emerging as an innovative approach to faculty development. While collaborative learning is becoming popular in the classroom, autonomy and individualism continue to dominate the culture of higher education for faculty. However, as we begin to recognize that old solutions to new problems are no longer effective, there is a growing desire for innovative engagement requiring the embrace of multiple perspectives. This takes the development of new habits of mind and discourse. For my dissertation, I engaged in a qualitative study with my colleagues where we experimented with generative approaches to dialogue in a community of practice. It became apparent that creating supportive, collegial spaces where we can explore beyond the edge of what we currently know can help us bridge across differences, harness the potential within diversity, and step into the emerging future. However, it also became apparent that this quality of dialogue is not easy.