Hannah Davis
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Making a change...the idealist takes a shot

11/26/2016

1 Comment

 
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Holistic Approach to Faculty
or
An Idealist's Pipe Dream

This semester has brought a number of insights into the roles and expectations of faculty, the impact of change, and differences in education on an international level.  Add to that a number of personal observations drawn from interactions with those in my department, office, field, and others interested in the professoriate.  Throw in a number of personal challenges and an idea has begun to take shape in my mind.  We are seeing a move towards building a higher education experience that recognizes, supports, and develops the whole student.  It seems that a similar perspective should be taken with faculty.  
If higher education expects to develop students on a holistic level, perhaps it should take a similar approach with faculty.  My intention is not to enter higher education as a means to follow others on some well-worn path to tenure.  Certainly, I would love to be in a position to be eligible for tenure as a professor.  However, I have a desire to get there in my own way and on my personal merits.  I would love to sit down with a committee and work together to develop a plan of professional development that would lead me to tenure.  I don't think that path should necessarily be the counting of publications.  My primary goal in pursuing a career in higher education is not to add to the growing body of knowledge about educational psychology.  It is to have a positive impact on those interested in learning about the field.  Why is my passion for teaching, advising, working with undergraduate researchers, or developing presentations for conferences any less impactful than someone who is locked away in an office all day running stats and writing articles?  So you served on a couple of committees - great, but how did that involvement impact student learning, how did it improve your professional goals, how does it reflect your priorities in higher education?  

We aren't going to propel students into the 21st century ready to create the future if we aren't also willing to afford faculty a similar opportunity to grow and create an individual experience of the professoriate.  If we are going to continue the propagation of the term life-long learner, then let us truly honor that among our faculty as well as our student body.  Let's give faculty credit for participating in activities, projects, collaboratives, and anything else that contributes to their growth as a professional, an educator, a citizen, and a person.  We all have so much capacity for growth, but it is based in the skills we already possess and the ones we need to gain in order to continue reaching for our goals.  

As much as I hated the way teaching assessment tools were used in the K-12 system, I have to admit I think there is some merit to their use  - even in higher education.  Such tools allow for individuals to identify strengths and areas for growth.  They require educators to be forward thinking about their goals and to incorporate their interests (although I think this could be greatly expanded).  In the end, the assessment tools should be used to identify the growth of the individual.  Certainly, the tenure process could be amended by using a similar tool.  

In the end, the change I would like to see higher education make is to be attuned to the individual differences, strengths, limitations, skills, and goals of both its students and its professors.  I have sat in class with such a diverse group of my peers.  Our different backgrounds, experiences, abilities, and concerns have shaped our conversations both in class and in our blogs.  None of us conform to a single established template of what a "good student" should be, nor are we ever going to perfectly fit an unbending idea of what it means to be a "good professor."  We all have so much to give and much of that seems to go unnoticed or under appreciated because it doesn't conform to the existing model of what it means to be a faculty member.  Let those institutions who want to meet the needs of the student of tomorrow learn how to work with the faculty of tomorrow as well.  

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Open-Access

11/13/2016

2 Comments

 
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To read more about the good, the bad, and the ugly of open access publishing, please take the time to look closely at the article to the left written by Madhukar Pai, MD, PHD 
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In looking into open access journals, I found myself stumbling upon piece after piece of pro and con style articles.  I opted to compare two OA journals, Comparative Professional Pedagogy and the International Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education, using Cabell's.  
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A brief note on gold and green publication models

From Sten Christensen blog: The Difference Between Green and Gold Open Access

“Gold open access: refers to work that is immediately available free of charge at the site of publication to any member of the public. Post-Finch it is commonly taken to mean that such access is supported by author-side article processing charges (APCs) …” (Vincent & Wickham, 2013, p. 121). In general terms the “Article Processing/Publishing Charge” means an author, upon the acceptance of a piece of work, is required to pay a fee for publication. “Pure Gold” open access journals are not subscription based and only charge an APC as a means of recouping costs (Business, Innovation and Skills Committee Open Access. Fifth Report of Session 2013-14, 2013, p. 3)

​“Green open access: refers to work that is made publicly available in a repository, institutional or subject-based, after an embargo period. Variants of Green open access depend on whether what is made available after the embargo period is the author’s final submitted text (or ‘pre-print’) or the article in its post-refereed form (or ‘post-print’).” (Vincent & Wickham, 2013, p. 121)

Comparative Pedagogy

This is a journal with a relatively high acceptance rate published out of the Ukraine.  It purports to be a peer reviewed international journal covering a variety of topics meant to encourage conversation between different fields of study.  I have to say that the language discussing the nature of the journal comes across as vague and non-specific.  I've read it several times and would still be hard pressed to tell you exactly what this journal is aiming to accomplish.  I ascertain that is predominantly concerned with research from Ukraine, Russia, and Central Europe, with a polite nod to submissions from other countries.  They claim to have a "fast, fair, and constructive peer review" process along with "editorial help."  

While I cannot say for sure, I would venture a guess that this particular journal lies fairly squarely in the for-profit category of the open-access world, rather than in trying to ensure that legitimate research is highly available to interested parties.  

International Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education

IJTLHE is dedicated to encouraging the "study, development, application, and evaluation" of teaching in higher education.  Blind peer reviews involved at least two reviewers that provide the author with substantive feedback.  It prides itself on making all content available "without charge to the user or his/her institution."  However, authors must relinquish copyright to the journal.  

The lower acceptance rate of this journal, along with the more stringent peer review process, lends it credibility.  As does the knowledge that it is a joint publication worked on by the International Society for Exploring Teaching and Learning, the Center for Teaching and Learning, and the Center for Instructional Development and Educational Research.  The latter being Virginia Tech's own CIDER program.  If I were to propose something for open access within my field, this would be my journal of choice.  

2 Comments

    HpaethD

    Challenging myself and others to critically examine or creatively explore topics in higher education.  

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