Rosemary S. Caffarella

Teaching Doctoral Students to Become Scholarly Writers: The importance of giving and receiving critiques

Data were gathered from 45 doctoral students through focus groups, observations, and written and oral reflections to ascertain their perceptions of a specific teaching process (the Scholarly Writing Project), which was designed to assist these students in learning how to do academic writing. It was found that preparing and receiving critiques from professors and peers was perceived to be the most influential element in helping them to understand the process of scholarly writing and in producing a better written product. More specifically, these students believed that two factors integral to the critiquing process were responsible for building their confidence as academic writers: personalized face-to-face feedback; and the iterative or ongoing nature of the critiques they received. In addition, these students emphasized that although the critiquing process was powerful and useful, it was also highly emotional and at times frustrating. The findings suggest that, in teaching scholarly writing, instructors should be very clear about the purposes and benefits of a strong and sustained critiquing process, and assist students in learning how to both receive and give useful feedback.

Professional Development for Faculty: A Conceptual Framework of Barriers and Supports.

Professional development for faculty in higher education takes many forms, from self-directed activities to organized programs of learning. Described in this article is a comprehensive definition of continuing professional development followed by a conceptual framework for thinking about those factors that support or impede our professional development. We conclude with a case study of one professors career development, noting where various factors in the framework have played a part.

Psychosocial Development of Women: A Critical Review of the Literature:

The purpose of this critical review of the literature is threefold: (a) to provide an in-depth description of the literature on the psychosocial development of women; (b) to assess the extent to which alternative developmental models for women have emerged; and (c) to critique the soundness of the research and suggest possibilities for future study and practice. Three kinds of studies which address these issues are reviewed: literature in which authors analyzed or conceptualized the psychosocial development of women, empirical investigations of developmental issues with all-female samples, and material which explored possibilities for future research and practice. From this critical review, three major themes emerged: Diverse and non-linear patterns of development characterized by discontinuities and periods of stability and transition are the norm for women; intimacy and identity are key issues throughout womens lives; and importance of relationships and a sense of connectedness to others are central to the overall dvelopmental process. Although these themes are drawn from both the conceptual and empirical work, these observations, due to the nature of the review and the limitations of the empirical studies, are not generalizable to all women.

Judging the Quality of Work-Related, Self-Directed Learning:

Provided in this exploratory study is a description of how one group of adult learners describe how they determine the quality of their work-related, self-directed learning activities. Data were collected from training and development professionals by means of focus groups and analyzed using the constant comparative method of data analysis. Five themes that emerged from the data are outlined, followed by a discussion of the issues and implications for research.