Don Haviland

Closing the Gap: The Impact of Professional Development on Faculty Attitudes toward Culturally Responsive Pedagogy.

This article reports on a yearlong case study on the impact of a faculty development program designed to improve learning opportunities for Latina women by encouraging the use of culturally responsive pedagogy. Although the study concluded before changes in faculty practice could be documented, it did find evidence of changes in faculty attitudes toward the pedagogy. It also suggests the importance of ongoing and embedded faculty development to achieve important meaningful changes in practice. Este artículo reporta un estudio longitudinal de un año sobre el impacto de un programa de desarrollo para profesores que fue diseñado para mejorar oportunidades de aprendizaje para mujeres latinas a través de apoyar el uso de pedagogía cultural receptiva. Mientras que el estudio concluyó antes de que se documentaran cambios en la práctica de las profesoras, sí se encontró evidencia de cambios en las actitudes de las profesoras hacia la pedagogía. Además esto sugiere la importancia de proporcionar desarrollo congruente a las profesoras para alcanzar cambios importantes y significativos en la práctica.

Beyond Compliance: Using Organizational Theory to Unleash the Potential of Assessment

This article illustrates how organizational theory can be used to support the development of authentic assessment practice among community college faculty, as well as guide research on implementation of assessment efforts. While many factors make implementing assessment difficult, the link between accreditation and assessment is a key element in distancing the practice from faculty. This dynamic arises not from the actions of accreditation agencies per se, but from the accountability narrative that has come to dominate both assessment and accreditation, the corresponding perception that assessment is “done to” faculty rather than by them, and a reliance among institutional leaders to echo this message in an effort to get assessment started. The result is implementation of assessment for compliance rather than meaningful program improvement. Understanding assessment as an innovation, and using organizational theory to guide implementation, may help community college leaders transcend this challenge and develop assessment practice that is more faculty-owned and meaningful. However, the current literature says little about how to use organizational theory to implement such assessment efforts. This article integrates Bolman and Deal’s (2008) framework on leadership and organizational change with actual examples of practice to illustrate how their model might be used to recapture the potential of assessment as well as guide research on effective implementation.

Role of Family, Culture, and Peers in the Success of First-Generation Cambodian American College Students

Cambodian American college students are often overlooked in academe because of the model minority myth. The stereotype overshadows the challenges and heterogeneity in the Asian American and Pacific Islander population. This exploratory study examined the experiences of 13 first-generation Cambodian American college students at a large, public institution in California. Findings revealed that, despite challenges associated with being first-generation, students drew upon various forms of social and cultural capital. Accessing this capital gave them validation from their parents and peers, created a sense of belonging to the college community, and helped them fashion a rich and successful college experience.

‘Separate but Not Quite Equal’: Collegiality Experiences of Full-Time Non-Tenure-Track Faculty Members

ABSTRACT Collegiality, which indicates respect, a voice in decision making, and a commitment to the common good, is central to academic governance and faculty culture. However, as faculty work is increasingly unbundled, little is known about how concepts traditionally applied to tenure-track faculty, such as collegiality and the collegium (to which access is granted through recognition of expertise), apply to newer categories such as full-time non-tenure-track faculty (NTTF). This interview study investigated collegiality experiences among 38 full-time NTTF in a public comprehensive university and a religiously affiliated research university. A framework blending symbolic interaction (Blumer, 1980; Snow, 2001) and role ambiguity (Bess, 1992) was used to understand the experiences of NTTF with collegiality. Findings suggest that with little opportunity to earn recognition as experts based on scholarship, NTTF experiences with collegiality are at best conditional and at worst deficient. Interactions with colleagues, institutional structures, and professional/academic culture reflect substantial role ambiguity that creates a “separate but not quite equal” status for NTTF. The practice of maintaining NTTF on the periphery of collegiality and the collegium may well compromise the health and vitality of an increasingly differentiated faculty body and the ability of universities to accomplish their academic missions.

CoastLines: Commitment, Comfort, Competence, Empowerment, and Relevance in Professional Development

CoastLines was a 3-year, comprehensive professional development project for teachers funded by the National Science Foundation’s Innovative Technology Experiences for Students and Teachers (ITEST) program. Conducted by Science Approach, LLC – a small research and development business located in Tucson, Arizona – in collaboration with scientists and staff from the National Science Foundation’s Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) network, the CoastLines project facilitated efficient deployment of geographic information systems (GIS) in grade 7–12 schools located in urban and suburban regions. Additionally, CoastLines focused on areas with high percentages of low-income families and with ethnic populations not highly represented in the science and engineering fields. Webinars and a summer institute presented by the project involved teachers and students in using GIS and global positioning system (GPS) technology to conduct scientific studies of coastal ecosystems and watersheds in the LTER network. This chapter first describes a professional development model based on previous evaluation work. Then, the theoretical foundation of the model is developed from the perspectives of diffusion of innovations, andragogy, and self-determination theory. Next, CoastLines’ iterative design is outlined within the context of Science Approach’s learning organization approach. After describing the project format and activities for 2008, the CoastLines professional development model is evaluated in terms of the years’ evaluation findings. Finally, recommendations for practice are offered, as well as opportunities for future research.