Optimizing Teaching and Learning: Practicing Pedagogical Research

Optimizing Teaching and Learning will serve as a practical guide for anyone, anywhere, who is interested in improving their teaching, the learning of their students, and correspondingly, contribute to the scholarship of teaching and learning. Bridges the gap between the research and practice of SoTL Provides explicit instructions on how to design, conduct, analyze, and write-up SoTL work Includes samples of actual questionnaires and other materials (e.g., focus group questions) that will jumpstart investigations into teaching and learning Explores the advantages and disadvantages of various pedagogical practices and present applications of SoTL using case studies from a variety of disciplines

Table of Contents:
Preface viii Acknowledgments xiii 1 What Is Pedagogical Research? 1 Multidisciplinary Roots of Pedagogical Research 3 Examining Definitions of Scholarship 4 The Other SoTL: Action Research and Teacher Research 6 Beginnings 8 Why Is Pedagogical Research Important? 11 A Teaching Hierarchy 12 A Caveat 16 How Can Pedagogical Research Be Useful to You? 16 2 Pedagogical Research: Focussing on the Teaching 18 Assessing Our Teaching Effectiveness 20 What Can We Learn from the “Best” College Teachers? 25 Creating your Teaching Philosophy Statement 31 How Do I Teach? 33 Using Teaching Inventories 34 Determining Your Teaching Goals 38 Assessment Tools 43 Alternative Classroom Assessment Techniques 65 Teaching Portfolios 68 Learning to Conduct Pedagogical Research: How to Get Started: Designing Your Pedagogical Research Program 70 Developing Your Research Ideas and Questions 72 Focus on Student Learning: Connecting Your Learning Goals, Assessment Choice, and Teaching Technique 75 Applying the Findings of Your Pedagogical Research: Using General Principles of Learning to Making Changes to Your Teaching Strategies 78 Sharing Your Findings and Connecting with Others in the Field 81 Conclusion 84 Appendix: Examples of Discipline-Specific SoTL Journals 85 3 Pedagogical Research: Focussing on Learning 87 What Do You Want to Find Out? 90 What Do We Know about How Students Learn? 91 Student Engagement: If You Engage Them, They Will Learn 94 How Can You Investigate Your Students’ Learning? 96 How Do Students Study? 103 Metacognition 104 Measuring Study Behaviors 110 Can You Improve Study Skills? 118 Key Psychological Factors Influencing Learning 119 Designing Your Research: How Do You Study Your Students’ Learning? 120 Measuring How Performance on Your Assessments Vary 125 Guidelines for Human Research Participants in SoTL 131 A Further Note on Ethics 132 Conclusions 141 Appendix: Questions on How to Make Cognitive Research Available to Educators 141 4 Is It Significant? Basic Statistics 145 Why Do We Need to Analyze Our Classroom Data? 145 Qualitative or Quantitative? That Is the Question 147 Setting the Stage: Important Background for Measurement and Analyses 149 Two Main Forms of Statistical Analyses: Descriptive Analyses 151 Watching Your Curves 153 Inferential Statistics 154 Software Options 159 Calculating Descriptive Statistics 161 Calculating Inferential Statistics 163 Kicking It Up a Notch: Testing Multiple Factors 164 Conclusions 168 5 Pedagogical Research as Scholarship: Resources for Success 169 Developing a Center with a Focus on SoTL 170 Determining Needs on Your Campus 174 Determining Your Goals: What Is the Purpose of the Center? 175 Guiding Principles when Creating a New Center 178 Creating Programming Initiatives to Achieve Your Goals 183 Mentoring Programs 191 SoTL and Tenure and Promotion 193 The Role of Assessment 195 Sources for SoTL Support or Funding 199 What Else Is Available through Faculty Development Centers? 200 Potential Challenges Identified by Those Who Have Come Before You 201 Appendix: Useful References 203 References 207 Index 222