November 21-24, 2002

Marcum Conference Center
Miami University
Oxford, Ohio

The Sins of the Fathers and the Issue of Generational Homophobia: A “Deflected” Appraisals Perspective

W. Eric Gilford Aikens, Physical Education, Health, & Sport Studies, Miami University

Abstract:

Quantitative and qualitative studies on the topic of homophobia can be divided into two major categories: (a) those that survey heterosexuals’ attitudes/beliefs broadly and (b) those that survey non-normative subjects on particular dimensions of the homophobic phenomena. For analytical purposes, I construct the heterosexual figure as both the object and subject of critical analysis to examine the effects of the homophobic ideology on queer receptivity. In this session, I present the results of an exploratory research-to-pedagogy project that interrogates the social construction and constitution of homophobia along the father-son dyad. I discuss the perceptions of African American heterosexual males on the question of how their male parental would receive them IF they were gay or bisexual. I conclude by discussing the ways the deflected appraisals of respondents’ male parental figure could operate as predictors of generational homophobia along the father-son dyad and its relationship to a queer pedagogy of sexuality diversity.

Proposal:

Introduction

How would your father receive you if your were (shhhhh). . . gay or bisexual?
The general research question above was derived from pedagogical content data, formal and informal conversations, observations, and the instructional assignments obtained from students who were enrolled in a humanities/liberal education course I teach at Miami University, Oxford, Ohio. It is my contention that although students are generally less resistant to engage in critical discussions about the sexualized “other,” reflective discussion about the cultural politics of what homosexuality WOULD mean for heterosexuals—as a disarticulated dimension of their sexual identity—was pedagogically and theoretically encouraging. The theoretical stance informing this project is referred to as “deflected appraisals.” Deflected appraisals transgresses Rosenberg’s (1979) framework in that they allow for an indirect examination of the ways homophobia (like self-esteem, which also impacts perceptions of the self) promotes disharmony in familial relations and is based on the following model: For heterosexuals, the degree to which they report that their parental figure would receive their gay, lesbian or bisexual orientation will determine the relative position parents will occupy along the homophobic continuum with respect to the parent-child dyad.

This queer research-to-pedagogy project represents a radical departure from the body of research that is typically found within queer studies, queer pedagogy, and queer theory in general (see, for example, Boswell, 1980; Beeman and Eliason, 1996; Butler, 1993; de Laurentis, 1991; Hansbanny, 1989; and Sedgwick, 1990). This theoretical/pedagogical transgression is also absent among those studies examining the effects of homosexuality on the family (see Bozett, 1989, and Bozett and Sussman, 1990).

In this study, deflected appraisals were constructed to examine the relationship between the “imagined” homosexual orientations of African American males and how they perceive their male parental figure would receive particular social and psychological dimensions of their imagined homosexual orientation. A second purpose was to theorize the ways the deflected appraisals of respondents’ male parental figure could operate as predictors of generational homophobia along the father-son dyad. Thus, the emphasis of this project is not on the actual attitudes of the respondents’ male parental figure. Instead, I concern myself with examining the perceptions of African American heterosexual males on the question of how their male parental figure would receive them if they were “gay” or “bisexual” and the relationship of this response to paternal homophobia. Based on deflected appraisals, the greater the perceived receptivity - than rejection, the more likely homophobia will be understood as an unfavorable form of hate that promote disharmony in the collective black family.

Participants

The participants for this exploratory survey research were 94 undergraduate heterosexual African American males students attending Miami University, Oxford, OH (USA). This number roughly represents 35% of the total number of African American students and less than 1.5% of the total number of students on this campus. All of the students tended to be 18-21 years old; approximately 45% of them were in their first or second year of college. Thirty-three percent of the males responded in “gay imaginary,” and 67% responded in “bisexual imaginary.” Ninety-four percent of the respondents reported that there were no gay or bisexual male members in their immediate family, while 5.3% reported at least one gay or bisexual sibling. Approximately 18% of the respondents reported at least one gay or bisexual male in their extended family. (Demographics for respondents’ male parental figure are reported in the full paper.)

Measure

Ninety-four black heterosexual males attending Miami University completed a 10-item Likert-scale questionnaire. The survey instrument’s—Heterosexuals in Queer Imaginary (HQI)—aim was to examine categorically the ways homophobia structures the social relationships of men. Specifically, it queried respondents’ knowledge of how their paternal figure would receive particular aspects of their gay or bisexual sexual orientation. The10 scale items on the HQI were concerned with changing one’s homosexual orientation to heterosexual; accepting lesbian and gay friends/associates; physical harm; accepting bisexual friends/associates; the issue of long-term homosexual relationships; interracial dating; concerns with being ridiculed; and openness for “queer” discussion. For each scale item, respondents were provided with seven response alternatives (strongly disagree = 1; disagree slightly = 2; disagree = 3; undecided = 4; agree slightly = 5; agree = 6; strongly agree = 7). Item responses were summed to yield a scale score that could range from 10 to 70, with higher scale scores indicating more favorable perceptions.

Procedure

Four undergraduate research assistants (three males in senior standing and one female in junior standing) assisted in the data gathering process. These students were also instrumental in organizing the data, computer imputing, and critical preliminary discussions of the emerging patterns. The research assistants received semester-long diversity education/training experience in race and sexuality and were involved in this project as partial fulfillment of the requirements to receive the Certificate in Human Resource Management. Two hundred survey instruments were distributed to black males through a variety of methods. Of this number, 137 were returned or collected (69%). Incomplete questionnaires were discarded, leaving 94 questionnaires being used in the project.

Results

Stepwise discriminant function analysis was conducted to see which of the 10 scale items best predicted (separated) the perceptions of the black heterosexual males who imagined an (a) gay or (b) bisexual homosexual orientation. The HARM item—“My father/male guardian would not physically harm me if I expressed my homosexual orientation” (Wilks [Lambda] = .80, p [less than] .001) and the RIDICULE item: “My father/male guardian would not ridicule me if I expressed my homosexual orientation” (Wilks [Lambda] = .69, p [less than] .001)—met criteria to enter the model. These two predictor variables correctly classified 95.2% of the black males in “bisexual imaginary” and 48.4% of those in “gay imaginary” (overall correct classification was 79.8% (Wilks [lambda] = .69, [Chi] sup.2] = 36.74, df = 2, p [less than] .001. Nonparametric t-tests were conducted to specify the direction of differences in the perceptions of the two groups.

African American males who imagined a bisexual homosexual orientation were more likely to believe their male parental figure would not physically harm them (t = -4.80, p [less than] .001) nor ridicule them (t = -4.58, p [less than] .001) if they exhibited their homosexual orientation than males who imagined a gay homosexual orientation. Following a discussion on the response patterns of the respondents, I present a framework for a queer pedagogy that explicates the socially constructed nature of generational homophobia along the father-son dyad.

Conclusions: Teaching/Learning the Cultural Politics of Generational Homophobia

Relatively few research studies (qualitative or quantitative) interrogate the social construction and constitution of homophobia along the father-son dyad. And given the discursive ways generational homophobia is theorized to function in the black community in general, this project is pedagogically (and theoretically) promising for several reasons. Using Exodus 34:7 as an ideological context, students come to understand that African American males’ perceptions of the ways their paternal figurewould receive them IF they were gay or bisexual was created in a particular social context and historical specificity. That is, it emerged from within a cultural milieu where the reality, possibility, and invisibility of black male homophobia has been institutionalized through moral/spiritual reasoning; the ways racism intersects heterosexism; and the materiality of patriarchal power and privilege. A second reason is that as students reflect on and then discuss critically their homophobic attitudes/behaviors, they come to understand the ways their attitudes and behaviors resonate with those of their paternal figure. And finally, in theorizing generational homophobia along the parent-child dyad in general, students are able to articulate the ways their race(ism), economic position, and moral/spiritual reasoning cohere to structure the ways the homophobic ideology might operate (albeit subversively) in their child-rearing practices. Ultimately, students come to understand that how their past, present, and future homophobic attitudes and behaviors are linked to discursive networks contributes to the ways they reproduce the “sins of the(ir) fathers.”

References

Beeman, B., & Eliason, M. (1996). Queer studies: A lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender anthology. New York: New York University Press.
Boswell, J. (1980). Christianity, social tolerance, and homosexuality. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.
Bozett, F. (1989). Homosexuality and the family. New York: Harrington Park Press.
Bozett, F., & Sussman, M. B. (1990). Homosexuality and family relations. New York: Harrington Park Press.
Butler, J. (1990). Gender trouble. New York: Routledge.
de Laurentis, T. (1991). Queer theory: Lesbian and gay sexualities: An introduction. Differences, 3 (2), iii-xviii.
Hansbanny, R. (1989). Homosexuality and religion. New York: The Harrington Park Press.
Rosenberg, M. (1979). Conceiving the self. New York: Basic Books.
Sedgwick, E. K. (1990). Epistemology of the closet. Berkley: University of California Press.

Student Perceptions About and Performance in Problem-Based Learning

Helaine M. Alessio, Physical Education, Health, & Sport Studies, Miami University

Abstract:

Feedback from graduate-level students participating in a course taught using problem-based learning (PBL) was mostly negative. The students indicated they "learned more from lectures." To determine if more learning occurred from lectures versus PBL activities, a comparison was made between two classes that used different pedagogical methods—traditional lectures and PBL. Mean grades for the PBL and lecture-format classes were 82% + 5.4 and 82.5% + 6.1, respectively. Grade distribution of the exam was similar between the two classes. In conclusion, students may perceive a difference in the way they learn using PBL activities, but their test performance was not compromised.

Bringing Ethics Into the Classroom

Valerie L. Askren, Department of Agricultural Economics, University of Kentucky

Abstract:

Few faculty address ethics in the classroom, but most are frustrated by the lack of ethical behavior they observe in their students. Further, many students will work in jobs such as policy analysis, scientific discovery, social services in which ethics plays a dominant role. The objective of this session is to help faculty incorporate ethics into the classroom through (a) developing guidelines for ethical classroom behavior, (b) ethics in writing and research, and (c) professional ethics. Participants will design an "ethical" Lilly conference session, participate in a case study in research ethics, and build their own Professional Code of Ethics.

Proposal:

Most college professors rarely address ethics in the classroom, but are continually frustrated by the lack of ethical behavior they observe in their students. Has our adherence to science, combined with the pressure to remain non-secular and unbiased, rendered rigorous ethical debate in academia as one of the untouchables? Unfortunately, thoughtful ethics discussions appear to have been relegated to philosophy classes, medical boards, and late night bar room conversations.
Yet each of us is facing increasingly belligerent students who appear ignorant of ethical classroom behavior and submit written work punctuated with unethical citations--if not outright plagiarism. Further, upon leaving college, many of our students will go on to jobs in policy analysis, scientific discovery, social service (including the legal profession), and a host of other career choices in which ethics plays a dominant role. Consequently, we as college professors have a responsibility to promote ethical behaviors in each of our classrooms.
Pence (2000) defines ethics as
the branch of philosophy that investigates and creates theories about the nature of right and wrong, duty, obligation, freedom, virtue, and other issues where sentient beings can be harmed or helped.
Each of our professions has notions of right and wrong, duty, and obligation. But as science and information technologies have increased the choices of what we can do, academia must help society sort out what we should do. Further, students are increasingly unclear as to what the ethical issues are, let alone able to evaluate who is harmed and who is helped.
As seen by recent news stories, from accounting standards to military aid to funding for the arts, ethics discussions are germane to all disciplines. But in reality, not all students will have the opportunity to take a course in ethical theories. And few teaching faculty have had training in the philosophy of ethics. However, ethics can be effectively brought into the classroom in a variety of ways.
The objective of this session is to help college professors promote ethical behavior and ethics discussion in the classroom. The session will focus on three avenues of incorporating ethics by lay faculty: (a) developing guidelines for ethical classroom behavior, (b) ethics in writing and research, and (c) ethics in the profession.
Developing Ethical Guidelines for Classroom Behavior
Creating and maintaining an appropriate classroom atmosphere is essential to a healthy learning environment. Consequently, treating the classroom and all of its components with reverence and respect is integral for good learning to occur. This portion of the session will discuss how professors can create and maintain an ethical classroom environment. Conference participants will be asked to identify the necessary ingredients of an “ethical” classroom by pulling ideas for an “ethical” Lilly conference session.
Ethics In Writing and Research
In all disciplines, students are required to research and write papers and/or undertake projects. Unfortunately, teaching faculty increasingly are faced with ethical dilemmas such as the free-rider problem in team work, papers that have been purchased off the Internet, and direct plagiarism of research and published work. Further, a growing pool of literature has addressed the dangers of citation negligence and vigilance (Garfield, 1991). This portion of the session will utilize a case study in research ethics and developing good literature reviews (Askren et al., 2002) recently created at the 2002 Bioethics Institute. Conference participants will be provided with additional case study materials for use in their own classes.
Ethics in the Profession
Many professions have their own Professional Code of Ethics (National Academy of Sciences, 1995). In addition, each profession has its own set of ethical questions that arise. This portion of the session will use small-group break-outs to assist participants in identifying pertinent ethical questions that arise in their discipline and identify elements of their own (proposed) Professional Code of Ethics. Notes from each group will be collected and then posted to a Web site by the presenter for viewing by all conference participants.
As proposed, this session will present material using three different active-learning techniques (audience pull, case study, small group dynamics). Hopefully, the session will also provide inspiration for teaching excellence by helping faculty combine professional knowledge with personal values and insight to stimulate ethics discussions and ethical behaviors in their classrooms.
References
Askren, V. L., Carthy, R., Chase, C., Comstock, G., Franz, E., & Oriola, T. (2002, June). A case study in research ethics: Literature surveys and citations. Paper presented at the Bioethics Institute, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI.
Garfield, E. (1992). Bibliographic negligence: A serious transgression. The Scientist, 5 (23). [Reprinted in Essays of an Information Scientist, (Vol. 14), pp. 398-399. Philadelphia, PA: ISI Press]
National Academy of Sciences. (1995). On being a scientist: Responsible conduct in research. Committee on Science, Engineering, and Public Policy. National Academy of Engineering. Institute of Medicine. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.
Pence, G. (2000). A dictionary of common philosophical terms. New York: McGraw-Hill.

Building a National Faculty: Asynchronus and Hybrid Modes Link Three Campuses in a Simultaneous Course in Media, Religion, and Cultural Identity

Claire Badaracco, College of Communication, Marquette University

Abstract:

Engaging students as partners in the learning community has been established as vital (Cox & Sorenson, 1999). This presentation describes an innovative course in journalism, public relations and religious studies using technology. Using hybrid and asynchronous modes, Jesuit campuses in three regions of the country linked, using distance learning technology in on-site, simultaneous classes, to discuss how mass media report on religions, how public culture interprets religious values, and how the confluence of values in material culture employs icons. Thus, “distance” and “convergence” influence individual belief, perception and collective identity. Among the learning goals are understanding pluralism and sociology of media.

Proposal:

Engaging students’ interest, as conversational partners and learning collaborators is essential to the vitality and authenticity of the professoriate (Cox & Sorenson, 1999; Kloss, 1994). Educational technology, mixing asynchronous and hybrid modes and melding distance methods and “on-site” methods in the experimental class will be discussed in this presentation. A two-year experiment (2001-2002) was undertaken because communication students along with the teacher wanted to learn the new technology and integrate contemporary analysis of media with courses in religious studies, which is part of the required Jesuit undergraduate curriculum. As the lead instructor, initiator, and fund-raiser, I sought to overcome “isolation” for myself and provincialism for my students (Rice, Sorcinelli, & Austin, 2000), and to involve them in a subject that interests me, religious pluralism in America (Eck, 2001). As a lay professional working within the Jesuit educational philosophy, I was and am committed to cura personalis, or educating the whole person, to be “men and women for others” (Thomas, 1992).
An expert in neither religion nor in sociology, my role in this experimental course was as a facilitator-coach and a role model for HOW to communicate using asynchronous technology (Grasha, 1996). Thus, I designed a course that would engage students; get widely dispersed faculty on several of the 28 Jesuit campuses in the U.S. from different disciplines to think and work as colleagues; get students to collaborate across the miles using the advantages of the virtual classroom; and engage national experts in law, religion, public policy, mass media, and the practices of religions to join in a conversation so that students would begin to embrace the interest inherent in religious pluralism and ethnic diversity that make up the values and beliefs of the American public.
What did we learn? The asynchronous modes made obsolete the concept of the scholar-expert in a “talking heads” style lecture, increased our diversity by linking Western, Midwestern, and Southern classrooms, and enabled students to begin to collaborate with others in basic data gathering assignments integrating the virtual and on-site classroom. With a philosophy of active learning, active listening, and engaging students collaboratively in a conversation among equals, this class is designed to raise the level of students’ abilities to articulate their personal religious beliefs publicly with other students, strangers, and experts. In my role as conversational model and facilitator, I needed to “teach” our guest-experts in how to telecommunicate with our students by preparing a list of Socratic-style questions around which the discussion would be based. Each student, then, knew the subject, read something by the speaker, and had a list of the key questions in front of him or her when the discussion began. A brief look at the diversity of our experts is helpful:
Ý In a discussion of Orientalism, we engaged a second-year professor of Sanskrit from New Orleans to discuss Edward Said’s book (and video).
Ý For a discussion of prayer in schools and religion and public policy, we engaged the national spokesperson and constitutional layer, Dr. Charles Haynes, of the Freedom Forum, First Amendment Center.
Ý For a discussion about Islam and media perceptions of Islam, we engaged Dr. Aslam Abdallah, editor of Minaret, the nation’s largest circulation Muslim magazine, who sat before a portable unit in Los Angeles, where the editorial offices of Minaret are based.
In addition, participating faculty were invited to lead one class in their areas of expertise, which included cults/new religions, public relations, and theology and communication. In the first year, classes linked 10 times, shared a course Web site, and enrolled about 30 students; in the second year, classes linked 14 times, stored all readings on electronic reserve on a shared course site, and enrolled 55 students. I found that student willingness to converse correlated with the increase in class size, decreasing dead air and the inhibitory effect of the camera.
In addition to the impact using new technology had on HOW WE TALKED in this experimental class, and the transformation of learning what integrating technology in the classroom poses for the future, the use of asynchronous tools provided an opportunity at the end of the semester to let students read one another’s final term projects, then respond and discuss. My communication students went into the field and prepared investigative journalism broadcast packages, which we produced using Imovie software in our new media lab. One collaborating class wrote traditional term papers, posting abstracts on individual Web sites. Another collaborating class developed Web sites according to media genre, posting research data.
This experimental style of integrating technology within an on-site classroom is extremely time consuming. Beyond the steep learning curve about the technology, though, there was a class spirit: Students knew the instructor was learning how to teach this subject at the same time they were learning how to use the technology and investigate new areas of the subject. Faculty and students were on the same plane. We knew we had “arrived” when faculty thousands of miles apart had learned the faces and names of students in the distant, participating classes well enough to ask questions, direct, challenge, and converse. Getting away from lectures and moving toward conversational models levels the communication playing field within the learning community. Increasing the technology within the environment blurred the lines between the virtual classroom and the room where we gathered. My ideal is a porous classroom, where virtual and on-site can meld, and that carries over in to the community beyond the campus, leading students develop the habit of asking strangers questions, weighing their responses, and bringing the results back “home.” The purpose of deconstructing popular prejudice, dissecting personal beliefs, then, is to know the self. If students are pulled out of their conventional habits of learning and offered new avenues, they learn to arrive at their own truths in new ways.
References
Cox, M. D., & Sorenson D. L. (1999) Student collaboration in faculty development. To Improve the Academy, 19, 97-127.
Eck, D. On common ground. Harvard Divinity School Pluralism Project [CD].
Grasha, A. S. (1996). Teaching with style: A practical guide to enhancing learning by understanding teaching and learning styles. Pittsburgh: Alliance.
Kloss, R. J. (1994). A nudge is best. College Teaching, 42, 151-158.
Rice, R. E., Sorcinelli, M. D., & Austin, A. E. (Eds.). (2000). Heeding new voices: Academic careers for a new generation. New Pathways: Faculty careers and employment for a 21st Century (Inquiry #7). Washington, DC: AAHE (American Association of Higher Education).
Thomas, T. (1992), Connected teaching: An exploration of the classroom enterprise. Journal on Excellence in College Teaching, 3, 101-119.

Midwest Technology Teaching Academy (MTTA): Assessing a Multi-Institutional Scholarly Community

Abstract:

The Midwest Technology Teaching Academy (MTTA) is a four-state consortium designed to facilitate faculty development in the use of technology-enhanced pedagogies based on the concepts of the "Teaching Academy Organized around Technology" (Shulman, 1999). Faculty teams focused on integrating technology in the design of a specific course. The presenters will outline the MTTA design, highlight projects, and share data from the Scholarship of Teaching plans. Presenters will report on the quantitative and qualitative assessment of MTTA Project outcomes. Session participants will share ideas related to the impact of technology on student learning and the creation of collaborative teams on their campuses.

Proposal:

Presenters will share the results of a unique multi-institutional faculty development model, which promoted growth of faculty in the area of instructional technology, interdisciplinary and inter-institutional dialogue about teaching/learning and technology, and a new understanding of what Shulman calls a “scholarly community” (1999, p.6). Presenters will outline the Midwest Technology Teaching Academy (MTTA) design, highlight the wide range of innovative projects, and share data from the Scholarship of Teaching plan. Finally, presenters will report on the quantitative and qualitative assessment of MTTA Project outcomes. Session participants will be encouraged to share ideas related to both the impact of technology on students learning and the creation of mentor-mentee teams on their campuses.
MTTA Design
In June 2000, the AT&T Learning Network and the Foundation in Higher Education (FIHE) funded the MTTA, a four-state consortium designed to facilitate faculty development in the use of technology-enhanced pedagogies. This model implemented the concepts of the “Teaching Academy Organized around Technology” (Shulman, 1999) and Classroom Research (Angelo, Cross, & Cross, 1993), specifically by initiating and supporting the work of mentor-mentee faculty technology teams. Each team focused on integrating technology in the design or redesign of a specific course that the mentee was scheduled to teach with direct support and feedback from the mentor faculty. The redesign of the course was driven by pedagogical and disciplinary concerns as informed by the mentor teacher’s expertise. These teams formed cross-institutional linkages through the use of the MTTA Web site and listserv, and through collaborative meetings held at participating campuses.
Project Highlights
MTTA team projects reflected the diversity of institutional resources and the technological/pedagogical/disciplinary interests and expertise of mentors and mentees. Projects ranged in scope from the implementation of Blackboard courseware sites to the development of cross-disciplinary class collaborations involving Web design, business-client relationships, and the digitization and Web publication of primary source material from University archives.
Scholarship of Teaching/Learning
The development of a scholarship of teaching plan was an essential component of the MTTA design. Mentees were asked to incorporate classroom research methods to assess the effect on student learning. All mentees were asked to reflect on this impact of their use of technology and shared both their process and product results at the culminating spring conference.
Project Assessment
Assessment project outcomes included formative and summative evaluations by participants regarding the impact of technological innovation on student learning as well as perceived changes in teaching practice. Pre- and post-project surveys asked participants to rate the value of participation in a scholarly community, in the variety of MTTA facets, dimensions, and program activities (for instance, multi-level collaboration, scholarship of teaching, enhancement of student learning, program conferences). Participants also reported pre- and post- levels of technological competence, interests, and values.
In addition to the quantitative results of the survey instrument, the MTTA grant writing team has collated the qualitative responses to open-ended questions included in the surveys administered at the end of each project year. These qualitative responses provide a strong indicator of the degree to which each project objective was met and speak eloquently to the impact of the MTTA on both mentors and mentees. Additionally, a qualitative study designed to assess the MTTA project utilized Heideggerian hermeneutical methodology and focused on the experiences of the MTTA faculty who served in the mentor role. The goal of this study was to achieve understanding of the lived experiences of these mentors and to describe and interpret these meanings to a high degree of depth and richness. Individuals in this study shared their own “mentoring” stories, and through these stories the patterns emerged. Presenters will share the results of this study and explore the implications of the mentoring experience on the professional and personal lives of higher education faculty.
Summary
The MTTA program is unique in terms of addressing so many current concerns in higher education: collaboration among colleagues across disciplines and among institutions; increased faculty involvement in the use of technology-enhanced pedagogies; mentoring relationships incorporating early, mid-career, and senior faculty in a new way; increased classroom research opportunities and the scholarship of teaching and learning; and the establishment of learning and scholarly communities. The development of a community based on these relationships is relatively new, and the extension of these shared experiences to an extended six institution, four state scholarly community, connected by an interactive Web site, opens new possibilities to the academic community. As Shulman states, “if teaching academies are to contribute to a scholarship of teaching and learning, they cannot work in isolation; they must be connected, linked in communication, building on one another’s work” (1999, p. 6).
References
Angelo, T., Cross, K. P. & Cross, P. (1993). Classroom assessment techniques: A handbook for college teachers (2nd ed.). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Shulman, L. (1999, November, December).Visions of the possible: Models for campus support of the scholarship of teaching and learning. Paper presented at the meeting of the Carnegie Academy for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning.

An Assessment of the Role of Multimedia in Enhancing Student Learning

Ruth E. Beattie, Biology, University of Kentucky

Abstract:

The number of instructional multimedia products being commercially developed has increased dramatically. While some research suggests that students benefit from using computer-based instructional materials, few studies have been conducted on the role of multimedia in enhancing student learning. This presentation will describe a pilot multimedia assessment project and will include (a) a demonstration of some of the multimedia products developed for this project, and (b) a discussion of the preliminary results of the assessment.

Assessment and Facilitating of Student Critical Thinking in Online Discussions

Sandy Bell, Department of Educational Leadership, University of Connecticut

Anne James, Occupational Therapy Department, University of Hartford

Abstract:

Increasingly, faculty are using the World Wide Web as a format for engaging students in asynchronous dialog and discussion. Researchers and educators, however, have observed that online discussions often lack evidence of student critical thinking and genuine interactions among students. In this session, we share our innovations for assessing level of student critical thinking in online discussions and instructional strategies to improve students' application of critical-thinking skills in online discussions primarily through enhancing students' self-regulation skills. Participants will leave the session with samples of the tools we have developed that they can adapt to their own online contexts.

Proposal:

The opportunity for learners in any place at any time to access information and interact with other learners is unique to the asynchronous online environment (Berge, 2000). Because the online environment is especially supportive of student-to-student interaction, faculty in higher education are utilizing this environment as a format for student discussion. King (1997) has identified individuals’ application of critical-thinking skills as a key component of “high-level discussions” (p. 224) among students. Many educators (Beaudin, 1999; Henri, 1995; Winiecki, 1999), however, have observed that asynchronous online discussions frequently lack evidence of genuine interactions among students. Often, faculty lack experience in facilitating student application of critical-thinking skills in the online environment and are without means to assess the level of critical thinking in students’ online interactions.
According to King (1997), students are engaged in high-level discussions when they interact in ways that feature “the mutual exchange of ideas, explanations, justifications, speculations, inferences, hypotheses, [and] conclusions” (p. 224). Students demonstrate critical thinking when they exhibit these types of behaviors in discussions (King, 1994; Sternberg, 1997). Researchers (Ertmer & Newby, 1996; Garrison, 1992; Schraw, 1995) have demonstrated that critical thinking links closely to metacognitive knowledge and skills. Specifically, Henri (1991) has identified metacognitive knowledge and self-regulation skills as key components to in-depth processing of exchanged information and to level of contribution in collaborative learning processes in asynchronous online discussions.
Purpose of Session
Given the potential of the asynchronous online environment to support discussion among learners and the important role that metacognitive knowledge and skills play in the application of critical thinking when engaged in discussion, we set out to examine (a) how the level of critical thinking in student contributions to online discussions can be assessed in a valid and reliable way and (b) how instructors can facilitate student critical thinking in online discussions through promoting metacognitive knowledge and skills. Our efforts were supported by the State of Connecticut Department of Education Teaching and Learning Enhanced by Technology (CT TALENT) Program, and in keeping with the spirit of the program, it represented a collaborative effort of faculty and students from multiple state institutions of higher education.
The purpose of our session is to share our innovations for assessing level of student critical thinking in online discussions and facilitating students’ application of critical-thinking skills in the online environment. The assessment tools and instructional strategies we will share are outcomes of a 2-year research project and an extensive review of the literature in the areas of critical thinking, content analysis, and metacognitive knowledge and self-regulation skills. Specifically, we developed a set of instructional strategies designed to improve students’ application of critical-thinking skills in course-related online discussions, primarily through enhancing students’ self-regulation skills. Three instructors representing one graduate and two undergraduate courses that utilized the online format entirely or in part applied the instructional strategies during the fall 2001 semester. Transcripts of online discussions for each course were analyzed for indicators of level of student critical thinking as well as the instructional climate in which the discussions took place. A 7-item Assessment of Student Critical Thinking Rubric and a 6-item Instructional Climate Checklist were developed for these purposes. Our analyses indicate the levels of student critical thinking increased over the course of the semester in each course.
Session Format
We will engage participants in problem-solving activities that reconstruct the key processes we experienced in our study and that they can apply to their own online contexts. Specifically, participants will identify indicators of student critical thinking and instructional climate that pertain to their online learning environments and targeted learning outcomes. Additionally, they will begin to design instructional strategies that they can use to promote student critical thinking in online discussion. Participants will leave the session with samples of the tools we have developed that they can adapt to meet their own needs and interests.
References
Beaudin, B. P. (1999). Keeping online asynchronous discussions on topic. Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks, 3 (2), 41-53.
Berge, Z. L. (2000). Components of the on-line classroom. In R. E. Weiss, D. S. Knowlton, & B. W. Speck (Eds.), Principles of effective teaching in the online classroom. New Directions for Teaching and Learning, No. 84. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Ertmer, P. A., & Newby, T. J. (1996). The expert learner: Strategic, self-regulated, and reflective. Instructional Science, 24, 1-24.
Garrison, D. R. (1992). Critical thinking and self-directed learning in adult education: An analysis of responsibility and control issues. Adult Education Quarterly, 42, 136-148.
Henri, F. (1991). Computer conferencing and content analysis. In A. R. Kaye (Ed.), Collaborative learning through computer conferencing (pp. 117-136). London: Springer-Verlag.
Henri, F. (1995). Distance learning and computer-mediated communication: Interactive, quasi-interactive, or monologue? In C. O’Malley (Ed.), Computer-supported collaborative learning (pp. 15-161). London: Springer-Verlag.
Kelly-Riley, D., Brown, G., Condon, B., Law, R., & Henderson, T. (2000). Critical thinking project report: Executive summary. Washington State University, WA.
King, A. (1997). ASK to THINK-TEL WHY: A model of transactive peer tutoring for scaffolding higher-level complex thinking. Educational Psychologist, 32, 221-235.
King, A. (1994). Inquiry as a tool in critical thinking. In D. F. Halpern & Associates (Eds.), Changing college classrooms (pp. 13-38). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Newman, D. R., Webb, B., & Cochran, C. (1994). A content analysis method to measure critical thinking in face-to-face and computer supported group learning. Retrieved September 2, 2000, from Queen’s University, Belfast Web site: http://www.qub.ac.uk/mgt/papers/methods/contpap.html
Schraw, G. (1998). On the development of adult metacognition. In M. C. Smith & T. Pourchat (Eds.), Adult learning and development (pp. 89-106). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
Winiecki, D. J. (1999). Keeping the thread: Adapting conversational practice to help distance students and instructors manage discussions in an asynchronous learning network. DEOSNEWS, 9. Retrieved October 15, 2000, from http://www.ed.psu.edu/ACSDE

A Dialog on the Utility of Classroom Action Research

Abstract:

Classroom action research is a practical approach to exploring classroom processes. For many classroom teachers, the rigors of experimental design required by traditional research are impossible. Sometimes the lack of controls and statistically significant results in this process causes some instructors to not conduct such inquiry. During 2001-2002, the Raymond Walters College Learning and Teaching Center formed a faculty learning community to focus on classroom research. In this panel session, participants report the results of their classroom action research. The group will debate the utility of this form of research for informing teaching and learning.

Proposal:

Classroom action research is promoted as a practical approach to exploring classroom processes (Mettetal, 2001a). For many classroom teachers, the rigors of experimental design required by traditional research are impossible. However, in classroom action research (CAR) a researcher can create limited inquiries into the learning and teaching processes in the microcosm of his or her classroom. Mettetal defines CAR as “. . . research designed to help a teacher find out what is happening in his or her classroom, and to use that information to make wise decisions for the future. Methods can be qualitative or quantitative, descriptive or experimental” (2001b, p. 1). In her writings, Virginia Richardson differentiates between Action Research and other forms of teacher research and “formal research.” She makes the distinction that practical inquiry is limited in its influence to the individuals who are undertaking the research, while formal research has a greater impact on the larger community’s knowledge base. (Richardson, 1994). While the results of this research may not be generalizable to the larger population of students, it can be of practical significance to those involved in that classroom, or to the instructor who will be teaching this class again.
Classroom Action Research is a practice that can be related to Angelo and Cross’ well-known Classroom Assessment Techniques (CATs) (Angelo and Cross, 1993). While both approaches are rooted in classroom practice, and emphasize observing task oriented student performance, these two approaches have slightly different agendas. Classroom Action Research is primarily concerned with focused assessment of a particular learning goal. Classroom Action Research, while it shares the goal of assessing student learning, is more broadly focused on a particular research question, recommends triangulation of several assessment techniques, and looks for wider generalization of classroom function. Certainly, a classroom action researcher may use assessment techniques outlined in Classroom Assessment Techniques: A Handbook for College Teachers to investigate her research question.
Nevertheless, the lack of controls and statistically significant results in this process can cause some instructors to balk at conducting such inquiry. Criticisms of the process of action research itself lies in potential for reflection to be too introspective and not confrontational of thinking and learning. For critical reflection to be effective, the practitioner must take into account both the “broad institutional and social contexts” necessary to decisions about change (Day, 1998, p. 272). Therefore, teacher-researchers are faced with a number of issues to consider when they begin classroom research. Sometimes the discipline of the teacher-researcher strongly influences the methods he or she chooses to conduct the research, how he or she will make use of the findings, and what kind of acceptance the findings will receive.
During the 2001-2002 academic year, the Raymond Walters College Learning and Teaching Center formed a faculty learning community, supported by the Ohio Teaching Enhancement Program and the office of the Dean, to focus on the scholarship of teaching and learning. The faculty participants initiated classroom action research projects as part of this program. The disciplines represented in the learning community are allied health, biology, English, library, nursing, and sociology. Each project investigated different aspects of teaching and learning. The subjects of inquiry included how students learn to do research; how problem based learning exercises promote student learning; how students deal with epithets about minorities; whether group work promotes student learning; whether students negotiate support services; and what teaching strategies are most effective for a nursing program. The faculty researchers gathered data from their own classes.
In this session, each participant will report on the results of his or her classroom action research. Then the group will debate the utility of this form of research for informing teaching in general, addressing teaching questions for a specific class, and promoting student learning. Questions the group will address include does the lack of rigor and control make the results so idiosyncratic as to be useless? Can an instructor find useful information from one class that will help another class? Does the process of engaging in the research help the researcher better understand his or her teaching or the students’ learning? Can publishable work come from this kind of inquiry? These, and other questions from the audience, will be addressed from the perspective of the varied disciplines represented by the group.
References
Angelo, T., & Cross, K. (1993). Classroom Assessment Techniques: A handbook for college teachers. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Day, C. (1998). Working with the different selves of teachers: Beyond comfortable collaboration. Educational Action Research, 6 (2), 255-275.
Mettetal, G. (2001a). The what, why and how of classroom action research. The Journal of Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, 2 (1), 6-13.
Mettetal, G. (2001b). Classroom action research overview. Gywnn Mettetal Homepage: Indiana Southbend University. Retrieved June 20, 2002, from http://www.iusb.edu/~gmetteta/Classroom_Action_Research.html.
Richardson, V. (1994). Conducting research on practice. Educational Researcher, 23 (5), 5-10.

The Effects of Active Learning Techniques on College Student Motivation

Zachary Birchmeier & Andrea I. Bakker, Psychology Department, Miami University

Abstract:

The roots of student motivation and learning outcomes were examined using path analyses of data from students enrolled in one of two sections (traditional vs. active learning) of a psychology course. Those in the active-learning section perceived material to be more valuable than students in the traditional class format and reported marginally higher levels of motivation. Levels of active engagement were found to be significant predictors of students' motivation and perceived learning outcomes, after controlling for the perceived significance of grades. This evidence supports views of student-centered educational environments as being conducive for learning and as a more gratifying approach.

Proposal:

Original models of student learning assumed that students were sufficiently motivated to engage in active cognitive strategies while learning new material (Pintrich, Marx, & Boyle, 1993). More recent models propose that students possess varying degrees of motivation toward learning domain content (American Psychological Association, 1993; Bransford, Brown, & Cocking, 1999; Pintrich, 1989). According to such models, students’ motivation to pursue course content is based upon their feelings of being able to effectively master material in a domain that possesses some value to the learner, also known as students’ expectancy-value assessment (McMillan & Forsyth, 1991; Pintrich, 1989; Rotter, 1966).
Engaging students in the process of their own learning can lead to their placing more value on the material and to generating more positive expectancies of success, which together serve to motivate students to employ deeper, more effective cognitive strategies for learning (Garcia & Pintrich, 1996; Pintrich, Roeser, & DeGroot, 1994). Student responsibility over course material is therefore expected to result in differential patterns of motivation for learning as well as perceptions that learning has occurred. These relationships were expected to be mediated through perceptions of material value and expectations for success. Student responsibility can be supported by classroom structures that demand active participation (for instance, including student-written items on exams, centering class time on discussion rather than lecture). Classes that encourage student choice and autonomy while simultaneously allowing for student involvement can be referred to as active-learning classrooms.
This project had two purposes: (a) to clarify the causal relationships among the components of the motivated learning model using path analysis techniques and (b) to demonstrate the effects of utilizing student-centered methods in college classrooms on student motivation, effort, and perceived learning outcomes. It was predicted that student efforts, operationalized merely as the amount of time that students spent reading, applying, and preparing for a course, would be predicted by their perceived value and expectancy of course material, and, as such, the degree to which students were motivated to engage in goal-directed activity.
Method
Participants for this study were 67 students enrolled in one of two introductory social psychology courses at a mid-sized Midwestern university. Participants completed questionnaires on the first day of class, prior to receiving any information (such as a syllabus) for the class (Time 1), and again approximately two weeks from the end of the academic semester (Time 2). Cronbach’s alpha for each of the scales was .69 or higher. The questionnaires contained measures of the following constructs: active learning, which measured the extent to which students felt actively engaged and in control of their learning; effort, which measured the amount of effort that students put into the class; motivation, which examined students’ motivation to study and utilize social psychology; perceptions of learning, which measured students’ perceptions of how much they learned in the course; material value, which measured students’ perceptions of how valuable or interesting the class material was; expectancy, which measured students’ expectations about how efficacious they were in the class; significance of grades, which examined students’ belief that their grades were an accurate reflection of their effort and learning; extrinisic motivating factors, which measured the extrinsic factors motivating students’ learning in the class.
One of the social psychology classes, the traditional classroom, served as the control class, while the other, active-learning classroom served as the experimental class. The experimental classroom was designed so that students were more actively involved in the learning process. For example, there was minimal lecturing in the experimental classroom, and a significant portion (one fifth) of students’ grade was based upon their leading of the classroom material. While discussion was also utilized in the control classroom, the class was conducted using a significantly higher proportion of lecture, and there was less opportunity for students to choose and lead the topics discussed. Aside from the manipulation of an active-learning versus a control classroom, the two classes were equated in as many as ways as possible.
Results
In order to clarify the potential mediational paths between these variables, series of hierarchical regressions were employed to predict motivation and perceptions of learning composites from the other dependent measures (several path analysis figures accompany, and they are an integral part of the project). All mediations were found to be significant using Sobel’s (1982) statistic, all p < .02. As directed by Baron & Kenny (1986), alternate sequences of mediation were examined, but none of the reported sequences of prediction were reversible, indicating “perfect mediation” (p. 1177). Only the valid mediational sequences are reported.
The students in the active-learning classroom rated course material as more valuable (M = 7.12) than those in the traditional classroom (M = 6.27), F(1, 45) = 8.53, p < .048. Students in the traditional classroom reported feeling less motivated (M = 6.09) than students in the active-learning classroom (M = 6.92), F(1, 45) = 3.21, p < .08. Mean differences on end-of-semester expectancies of success, grade attributions, efforts, and learning outcomes between the two sections were all nonsignificant (p > .10).
Students in the active-learning section were marginally significantly more likely (M = 5.76) to agree that other classes should be structured in the same manner than were those students in the traditional classroom (M = 4.77), t(45) = 1.73, p < .09. A similar effect was observed on students’ recommendations that others take the course, as those in the active-learning classroom gave marginally significantly higher recommendations (M = 7.0) than those in the traditional classroom (M = 5.91), t(45) = 1.90, p < .064.
Discussion
In predicting student motivation, students’ perceptions of material value were found to mediate the influence of expectancies of success, after controlling for student attributions concerning the significance of grades. One interpretation of this finding is that the motivating properties of perceiving class material as personally valuable are enabled only after learners are assured of the impact of their efforts. However, the strong predictive reliability of material value on motivation and perceptions of learning indicate that, once enabled, recognizing the importance and relevance of a topic is crucial in maintaining pursuit.
In support of Dweck’s (1986) assertions of the benefits of adopting a mastery orientation, students who are afforded control over their experiences in college courses were shown here to develop elevated expectancies of success, leading to a more intrinsic devotion to the process of learning. This evidence provides validation for proposals of student-centered educational environments as being not only conducive to learning, but also as a more intrinsically gratifying approach. Similar class structures and innovations, such as having students write their own exam questions or using problem-based learning approaches, could also provide comparable benefits for motivation and learning outcomes.
References
American Psychological Association. (1993). Learner centered psychological principles: Guidelines for school design and reform. Kansas City: Mid-Continent Regional Educational Lab.
Bransford, J. D., Brown, A. L., & Cocking, R. R. (1999). How people learn: Brain, mind, experience, and school. Washington DC: Department of Education.
Dweck, C. S. (1986). Motivational processes affecting learning. American Psychologist, 41 (10), 1040-1048.
Garcia, T., & Pintrich, P. R. (1996). The effects of autonomy on motivation, use of learning strategies, and performance in the college classroom. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 21 (4), 477-486.
Pintrich, P. R., Roeser, R. W., & DeGroot, E. A. M. (1994). Classroom and individual differences in early adolescents’ motivation and self-regulated learning. Journal of Early Adolescence, 14 (2), 139-161.
McMillan, J. H., & Forsyth, D. R. (1991). What theories of motivation say about why learners learn. In R. J. Menges & M. D. Svinicki (Eds.), College teaching: From theory to practice. New Directions in Teaching and Learning, No. 45. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Pintrich, P. R. (1989). The dynamic interplay of student motivation and cognition in the college classroom. In C. Ames & M. Maehr (Eds.), Advances in motivation and achievement: Vol. 6, Motivation and enhancing environments (pp. 117-160). Greenwich, CT: JAI.
Pintrich, P. R., Marx, R. W., & Boyle, R. A. (1993). Beyond cold conceptual change: The role of motivational beliefs and classroom contextual factors in the process of conceptual change. Review of Educational Research, 63 (2), 167-199.
Rotter, J. B. (1966). Generalized expectancies for internal versus external control of reinforcement. Psychological Monographs, 80 (1).

The Rewards and Pitfalls of Service Learning

Susan Borchert, Department of Social Sciences, Lake Erie College

Abstract:

Service learning, the effort to combine academic study with community service, has increased exponentially as a means to invigorate classroom work, increase student engagement and encourage community participation. This session examines service learning as a tool as well as its rewards and hazards in actual practice.

Proposal:

Twenty-two years of teaching has convinced me that field experience and service learning are crucial components of education, especially in the social sciences. Students desperately need first hand exposure to people from diverse backgrounds in a myriad of circumstances.
The emphasis on service learning does not mean subordinating reading, but rather placing the literature in its historical/social/political context, understanding different perspectives, teaching students to challenge information, and, then, when possible, having them explore and test the data or concepts in the field.
The majority of students taking social science courses are doing so as requirements. Some see these as merely obstacles; they don’t see the value for their own lives or how real life is “multidisciplinary,” frequently messy, and with inherent conflicts. Even the social science majors tend to focus on the individual, ignoring the group and institutional dimensions. In addition, in an era of political status quo, students need to see that ordinary people can work on ameliorating social problems and create social change.
Theoretical Perspective
A long intellectual tradition exists that favors experiential learning. Service learning, “a teaching strategy that explicitly links community service experience to classroom instruction” (Billing, 2000, p. 5), is central to this tradition. It integrates fields of knowledge, humanizes the learning process, and focuses upon multiple ways of knowing.
Those of us who take teaching seriously are painfully aware of how many current students are unprepared, disengaged, and apolitical. Many are attending college just to get their “tickets punched” so they can advance in the occupational hierarchies. Students demand usable knowledge; that is appropriate. Our obligation, however, is to expand what they consider, including community service. “We can provide the models and perspectives lacking in our culture” (Loeb, 2001, p. 42).
The research on multiple intelligence points toward service learning as well. Teaching experience informs us that students have radically different academic backgrounds, career interests, and family concerns, all of which affect how we learn.
What I Do
In the last few years I have incorporated “service days” into most of my classes; I also teach a class in conjunction with Habitat for Humanity. In both of the above, the goals are to clearly link abstract concepts such as “poverty” or “institutional discrimination” with real examples. We also confront solutions that invariably turn out to be partially satisfactory. In most classes we spend two class sessions at two different organizations, such as the following: packing sandwiches at a homeless shelter or groceries at a food pantry, serving lunch or assisting at the Salvation Army, having a tea at an HUD subsidized senior residence, entertaining children for Big Brothers/Big Sisters, or building a Habitat House.
The Habitat course consists of approximately one third construction and two thirds academic work. Our focus is on the lack of affordable housing. The goals of the course include having the students understand why 25% of the U.S. population has difficulty obtaining housing, why Habitat has become a phenomenon and is playing a small role in addressing the problem.
Benefits of Service Learning
Students frequently cite these service experiences as the best part of the courses. These opportunities allow them to see issues in context and the relationships among variables and people. They meet people who are committed and involved. It forces them to confront issues more directly than on paper; the experience serves to reinforce more powerfully what they are reading about. For many students, experience provides a boost in self-confidence and maturity. The service experiences also encourage some students to continue through internships, taking the Habitat course, and in some cases career development. For example, after spending some time in a hunger center, one student went on to become the founder of a homeless shelter!
Limitations of Service Learning
No approach is perfect. Some students do consider “service days” as a chance to goof off. Some skip, arrive late or get lost. In recent days I have had to create “remedial” service so they can make up the credit. Although even in this instance they still benefited from working in the food pantry on another day. Some students miss the point entirely. In one instance, a young woman didn’t understand why she couldn’t work on her boyfriend’s construction project for part of her Habitat labor credit!
Clearly, service work is not self-explanatory. Students need to be prepared to go into the field, even for one day. I prepare them by lecturing on both the general topic as well as about the particular organization. It is crucial to place the experience in context, including the fact that the problem is not solved with one approach or one organization.
References
Billig, S. (2000, May). Research on K-12 school-based service learning: The evidence builds. Phi Delta Kappan, 81, 658-680.
Bringle, R., & Hatcher. J. (2000). Successful service learning programs: New models of excellence in higher education. Journal of Higher Education, 71, 504-510.
Loeb, P. (2001). Against apathy: Role models for engagement. Academe, 87, 42-47.

Evaluating Teaching Efficacy Using
Meta-Analysis of Single-Case Design Methodology

Jean A. Boyer, Education
College of Mount St. Joseph

Abstract:

Reconfiguration of teacher education programs has been identified as a key component of current educational reform efforts. However, the course content and processes of preservice teacher education that will impart benefit to children has yet to be empirically determined. Meta-analysis of single case design offers a methodology that can support causal inference between teacher preparation coursework and outcomes for children subsequently taught. Effect-size data based on student permanent products and processes offer accountability crucial for the teacher education reform initiative, and can be modified and adapted to other course content.

Proposal:

The most current in a wave of education reforms involves the substantive restructuring of teacher education programs. In order to substantiate the tenability of preservice teacher education reform, assumptions and practices of teacher educators must be evaluated. Specifically, the efficacy of the preparation must be assessed. Because teachers apply knowledge and skills acquired during college preparation, efficacy evaluation must include more than their perceived usefulness of coursework. In addition, the knowledge, skills, and dispositions acquired during college preparation must be linked to outcomes and benefits for the children subsequently taught by graduates from reformed teacher preparation pedagogy.
According to the National Commission on Teaching and America’s Future (1996) and the National Council for the Accreditation of Teachers (1996, 2000), the goals for reforming teacher education to develop high quality teaching professionals include preservice preparation in three areas: (a) sensitivity and effectiveness in working with diverse learners, (b) the ability to collaborate with other professionals, and (c) assessment expertise in determining how well children are learning and what needs to be done in order to move them along
An underlying assumption of teacher education reform is that preparing teachers at the preservice level of training with the knowledge and skills needed to support students with a variety of needs in the classroom will prevent or minimize the well documented problem situations related to student diversity, including low academic, social, and school survival skill development (Lilly, 1989; Lipsky & Gartner, 1989; Sarason, 1993). However, the coursework providing the knowledge, skills, and dispositions that will yield such benefit for the students ultimately taught has not yet been empirically determined. Indeed, this inquiry into the existence of an empirical relationship between the content of teacher training programs and the subsequent outcomes for the children taught by the graduates of these programs has been termed the “unstudied problem” (Fullan, 1991; Sarason, Davidson, & Blatt, 1986; Zeichner & Gore, 1990). To date, much of the research on teacher education programs has focused on the perceptions of preservice teachers about their professional training programs (Goodlad, 1990). Whereas inquiry into the preferences expressed by teachers about their course work can offer directionality for reorganizing teacher training programs, it remains unsettled which teacher preparation courses benefit children most and which benefit children the least.
Single-case design methodology offers the possibility of establishing such a link. Although more than one subject can be and often is included in single-case design research, each subject in the study constitutes a single experiment. Thus the term “single case” is employed to clarify that the effects of an intervention are evaluated for each single case (Barlow & Herson, 1984). Several single-case design experiments can be aggregated to determine effect size for a group (Busse & Kratochwill, 1995; Scruggs & Mastropierie, 1987). (See Appendix 1 for a sample of single-case design data.)
In the current study, meta-analysis for single-case design was employed to link content and process in teacher preparation coursework to outcome for children subsequently taught. The independent variable is a curriculum intervention in the form a course in collaborative problem solving. Research on collaborative problem solving has been shown to be both preferred and effective by professional teachers already in practice ( Allen & Graden 1995, Gutkin, 1999). Each preservice teacher in the collaborative problem-solving course maintained ongoing progress monitoring data for children they taught. Thus, each individual preservice teacher enrolled in the course constituted a “single-case” experiment. Meta-analysis methodology for single-case design was then employed to determine a group effect size, using percentage of non-overlapping data points as the metric. Therefore, the dependent variable in the study is the aggregated effect size of the course in collaborative problem solving on academic and behavioral outcomes for children served by those enrolled in the course.
Study results showing strong effect sizes (.70 -.90) will be presented for critique. Participants in this session will be encouraged to consider and share other ways assessment of student permanganate products and student processes can be used for meta-analysis of single-case design as a way of measuring instructional efficacy. Metrics in addition to percentage of non-overlapping data points that can be used as meta-analytic tools to study and assess pedagogy, such as goal attainment scaling, will be introduced for discussion.
References
Allen , S. J., & Graden, J. L. (1995). Best practices in collaborative problem solving. In A. Thomas & J. Grimes (Eds.), Best practices in school psychology (pp. 667-678). Washington DC: National Association of School Psychologists.
Barlow,D. H., & Herson, M. (1992). Single case experimental designs: Strategies for studying behavior change (2nd ed.). Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
Busse, R. T., Kratochwill, T. R., & Elliot, S. N. (1995). Meta-analysis for single-case consultation outcomes: Applications to research and practice. Journal of School Psychology, 33, 269-285.
Goodlad, J. (1990). Teachers for our nation’s schools. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Gutkin, T. B. (1999). Collaborative versus directive/prescriptive/expert school-based consultation: Reviewing and resolving a false dichotomy. Journal of School Psychology, 37, 161-190.
Lilly, M. S. (1989). Teacher preparation. In D. K. Lipsky & A. Gartner (Eds.), Beyond separate education: Quality education for all (pp. 143-157). Baltimore: Paul H. Brooks.
Lipsky, D.K. & Gartner, A. (1989). The current situation. In D.K. Lipsky & A. Gartner (Eds.), Beyond separate education: Quality education for all. (pps. 143-157). Baltimore: Paul H. Brooks Publishing.
Sarason, S. B., Davidson, K. S., & Blatt, S. B. (1986). The preparation of teachers: An unstudied problem in teacher education. Cambridge, MA: Brookline Books.
Sarason, S. B. (1993). The case for change. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Scruggs , T.E., Mastropieri, M.A., & Castro, G. (1987). The quantitative synthesis of single-subject research: Methodology and validation. Remedial and Special Education, 8, 24-33.
Zeichner K.M., & Gore, J. M. (1990). Teacher socialization. In W.R. Houston (Ed.), Handbook of research on teacher education (pp. 329-348). New York: MacMillan.

Rethinking Teaching Through Assessment: A Work in Progress

Cristina Campos, Departamento de Ciências da Educação, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Faculdade de Ciências Sociais e Humanas, Lisboa, Portugal

Abstract:

In this research we want to know how to improve college teaching through Classroom Assessment Techniques (CATs), looking at ways to stimulate teaching and learning and bringing some degree of innovation to the current teaching methods in a Portuguese university. We will start small with 10 volunteer teachers engaged in a program about CATs envolving their own professional development, and thereby generating opportunities to reflect upon, and to challenge, their teaching practices. Then we will characterize how do teachers and students live and feel this experience.

Proposal:

Introduction and Research Framework
This research intends to know how to improve college teaching through innovative classroom assessment practices. Teachers’ beliefs and knowledge are deeply rooted in their formative experiences and are known to be related to their teaching practices. Challenging teacher’s own beliefs and knowledge through reflection is a means that can enhance their disposition to change and to innovate (Schon, 1987, 1992).
In the last 40 years Portuguese higher education has experienced a number of profound and extensive changes. The number of students increased dramatically, and the school population nowadays is very diversified. Within 40 years the number of students registered in the universities increased nearly 20 times, jumping from 24.000 to approximately 400,000 students (Candeias & Pinto, 2001). Such a fundamental achievement, however, was not accompanied by a corresponding improvement in the quality of education provided (Azevedo, 1994). Research figures show that drop-out rates are extremely high, mainly in the first years of college, and that nearly half of the students don’t finish their academic degrees (Barreto, 1996, Cachapuz, 2001). These figures, as negative as they are, constitute a major challenge to the education system, which clearly needs to rethink teaching methods and the very trainning of the teachers so as to enable them to deal with a culturally and socially heterogeneous student population showing different levels of capacity and preparation (Esteves, 1992; Cachapuz, 2001).
The purpose of this study is to address such a problem and to look at ways that may contribute to solving it, in particular by considering changes and bringing some degree of innovation to current teaching methods. We want to know if is it possible to improve college teaching through classroom assessment techniques (CATs), which are designed to monitor teaching and learning in order to improve it (Angelo & Cross, 1993; Angelo, 1998). These practices, very well known in the United States, are not yet followed by Portuguese universities.
Research Goals
In this research a number of teachers will be engaged in a program envolving their own professional development, thereby generating opportunities to reflect upon, and to challenge, their own knowledge and practices in the context of the classroom. We believe that teachers’ dificulties in coping with change and innovation can be lessened if they have the chance to discuss and to reflect upon them.
The main goals of this research are (a) to develop and implement a teacher education program about CATs, (b) to stimulate communication among faculty teachers about teaching, (c) to investigate teachers’ practices resulting from the use of CATs, and (d) to characterize how teachers and students live and feel this experience.
Method
In order to achieve the above-mentioned goals, this project will be developed throughout three different but related phases.
Phase 1: Contextualized Teacher Education
A short teacher education program about CATs will be developed with 10 volunteer teachers in the faculty of Social and Human Sciences of Lisbon. The program will require an active participation of the faculty teachers and will be based on four activiteis: (a) introduction to the use of CATs, (b) reflections on meaningful research findings texts about CATs, (c) written or oral reflections on theoretical and practical issues, and (d) oral or written descriptions of the teachers’ own teaching practices.
Phase 2: A Probatory Period Using Simple CATS
We intend that faculty become aware of what is classroom assessment by using simple Classroom Assessment Techniques such as the Minute Paper or Directed Paraphrasing.
Phase 3: Planning and Implementing Classroom Assessment Projects
Phase 3 will be based on reflection upon the results of the previous phases of the study. Teachers will start by setting teaching goals and will define a classroom assessment project. At the end of this phase, teachers and researcher will analyze the results.
The methodology to be used will be interpretative in nature (Erickson, 1986) and will be based on a constructivist research paradigm (Guba & Lincoln, 1994). Data will be collected during three semesters through interviews and observations of documents and artifacts. Data collection will be mainly based on narrative and descriptive interviews (Evertson & Green, 1986). The teacher education program is based on Angelo and Cross’s materials and suggestions (Angelo & Cross, 1993; Angelo, 1998) and guided by Schon’s perspectives (Schon, 1983, 1992).
References
Angelo, T. (Ed.). (1998). Classroom assessment and research: An update, on uses, approaches, and research findings (Vol. 75). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Angelo, T. A., & Cross, K. P. (1993). Classroom assessment techniques: A handbook for college teachers ( 2ª ed.). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Azevedo, J. (1994). Avenidas de liberdade. Reflexões sobre política educativa. Porto: Asa.
Barreto, A. (Ed.). (1996). A situação social em Portugal 1960-1995 (Vol. I). Lisboa: Instituto de Ciências Sociais da Universidade de Lisboa.
Cachapuz, A. (2001). Em defesa do aperfeiçoamento pedagógico dos docentes do ensino superior. In C. Reimão (Org.), A formação pedagógica dos professores do ensino superior. Lisboa: Edições Colibri.
Candeias, A., & Pinto, P. R. (2001). Sintese final do colóquio. In C. Reimão (org.), A formação pedagógica dos professores do ensino superior. Lisboa: Edições Colibri.
Erickson, F. (1986). Qualitative methods in research of teaching. In M. C. Wittrock (Ed.), Handbook of research on teaching (pp. 119-161). New York: MacMillan.
Esteves, A. J. (1992). Notas sobre pedagogia universitária. In A. J. Esteves & S. R. Stoer (Eds.), A sociologia na escola: Professores, educação e desenvolvimento (pp. 287-301). Porto: Edições Afrontamento.
Evertson, C. M., & Green, J. L. (1986). Observation as inquiry and method. In M. C. Wittrock (Ed.), Handbook of research on teaching (pp. 162-178). New York: MacMillan.
Guba, E., & Lincoln, Y. (1994). Competing paradigms in qualitative research. In N. Denzin & Y. Lincoln (Eds.), Handbook of qualitative research (pp. 105-117). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Schon, D. (1987). Educating the reflective practitioner. Toward a new design for teaching and learning in the professions. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Schon, D. (1992). Formar professores como profissionais reflexivos. In A. Nóvoa (Ed.), Os professores e a sua formação (pp. 77-91). Lisboa: Publicações D. Quixote/Instituto de Inovação Educacional.

Teaching Leadership Across Disciplines

Jack D. Cichy, Management, Davenport University

Abstract:

This presentation focuses on popular research supporting essential leadership effectiveness traits that might be relevant for undergraduate students to master across disciplines. Twenty-two areas of leadership effectiveness are briefly examined within six clusters along with strategies for professors to utilize in teaching-to these traits. The leadership clusters include Creating a Vision, Developing Followership, Implementing the Vision, Following Through, Achieving Results, and Team Playing.

The Teaching of W301: Organization Theory and Behavior

David Chandler, Business, Indiana University East

Abstract:

Organization Theory is essential to be understanding of management, and management is vital to the operation of business. Management principles apply worldwide and include support for diversity, the ability to make sound decisions, an understanding of organizations, an anticipation of and response to change, ethical principles, social responsibilities, and short- and long-term planning. Creativity is important on the part of a supervisor. The professional in business must be aware of the theory and practice of management. Diversity as practiced by the modern manager means inclusion of women and minorities in the work force. Leadership, whether charismatic or organization based, must be a primary force in management. Sometimes mental agility is not as important as sheer perseverance. This presentation will cover all these topics and more.

Experiencing Diversity: Challenges and Opportunities for Student Learning in the Context of a Course Taught Abroad

Mel Cohen, Department of Political Science

Marilyn Anderson & Carolyn Mason, Department of Nursing, Miami University Middletown

Abstract:

Health Care & Nursing in The Gambia was a course developed to enmesh students in a multicultural experience--with their classmates, faculty, and the Gambian people. Often the focus when traveling to a third world country becomes "what can we do for them or teach them?" The focus of this course is on "what they can teach us," which produces growth and cultural awareness in students. Teaching abroad presents students and faculty with both challenges and opportunities to experience cultural diversity in unique ways, unlike traditional on campus courses.

Proposal:

Introduction
We often “talk diversity” in academia without having to think about or experience it personally. Our purpose was to develop a course to simultaneously enmesh students in a multicultural experience with their classmates, faculty, and the local people while studying in a Third World African country. The focus often times when traveling to a Third World country becomes “what can we do for them or teach them?” The focus of this course is on “what they can teach us,” producing growth and cultural awareness in the student. Many challenges and opportunities for student learning were identified as the course was developed and taught for the second year. The authors believe many of the situations encountered during the implementation of this course can serve as a model for developing other transcultural courses and fostering a global perspective in our thinking.
Course Supporters
Over several years, faculty of Political Science and Nursing from Miami University worked together to establish a collaborative relationship with the health care system of The Gambia, West Africa. We have received strong support from two other academic institutions and a local hospital. Contacts with the Chief Nurse in The Gambia over the last four years have provided multiple opportunities to access various health care agencies and nursing leaders in the country. Excellent contacts between the university and various Gambian agencies have been established as the course has evolved. The interdisciplinary and inter-organizational makeup of the course’s supporters strengthens the diversity and the tangible link to the community in a greater way than if only one group developed it.
Course Development
A three-week credit workshop was developed with its primary purpose for learners to gain international health care experience to enhance their ability to provide culturally competent care to clients everywhere. Course learners explore a variety of cultural and contextual factors that impact life, health care, and health care systems in The Gambia and compare and contrast these factors with those operating in the United States. Learners are encouraged to increase cultural awareness regarding the impact of cultural variables in their own lives. The course culminates in clinical nursing experiences in health care settings in The Gambia. Students have the opportunity to work alongside practicing nurses and/or nursing students in the Gambia. Time is allotted for excursions and exploration of the culture of the Gambia beyond the health care system.
A variety of teaching-learning strategies are used, including class discussions, guest lectures, interactive exercises, reflective writing exercises, and other expressions based upon student assessments of their own learning styles. Students participate in three pre-travel orientation sessions on topics such as poverty and race that are designed to sensitize them to aspects of life in The Gambia. Learners are asked to share their feelings and insights via reflective journaling and debriefing sessions while they are in The Gambia.
Three-Week In-Country Experience
During week one of the three-week in-country experience, students travel and become oriented to the town, shopping, money changing, transportation, and are introduced to many of the nursing leaders and health care agencies. They receive tours of clinics, the hospital, and the school of nursing. They meet with Gambian nursing students during one of their classes and become acclimated to the country in general. During week two students spend about five hours each day in a clinical setting working with Gambian nurses. In week three they visit non-governmental agencies working on health, such as the World Health Organization and the Medical Research Council. A trip to a rural health care center provides a contrast with how the people in the country live compared to the city. The weekends provide time for sightseeing, shopping, and visiting important historical locations of the slave trade. All of these experiences become part of the debriefing sessions.
Course Opportunities for Student Learning
The goal when the course was developed was for students to experience issues difficult to learn in the United States first-hand. Some students are exposed to extreme poverty and very harsh living conditions for the first time. The non-minority students experience what it means to be a minority. Learning about race becomes personal and real. Additional learning occurs because of the dynamics within the group. There were age, marital status, years of nursing experience, religious, racial, and ethnic differences within the group that provided interesting discussions about the differences and similarities of The Gambian people and themselves.
Course Challenges
Faculty experienced some expected and some unexpected challenges. Anticipated student needs were addressed in a pre-travel orientation dealing with travel issues, self-awareness, culture shock, and an overview of the nursing, sociocultural and political issues of The Gambia. Unexpected challenges occurred with issues about group dynamics, the presence of spouses, splintering of the group, lifestyle issues, and habits of sleeping and rising, traveling independently while a part of the course, and, in general, staying within the established boundaries of the group. Faculty learned that many things needed to be clearly written down and agreed upon prior to being in the course. Faculty’s role and responsibilities are different than in a traditional course requiring sensitivity to student needs in different ways. Faculty were “on” 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Summary
The course Health Care and Nursing in The Gambia was evaluated very highly by students as a life-changing learning experience. College teaching and student learning is enhanced when real world, lived experiences are at the heart of the education process. Teaching abroad provides both students and faculty with a real-world culturally diverse experience that is unlike traditional on-campus courses.
References
Faal, D. (1999). A history of The Gambia, 1000-1065. Serrekunda, The Gambia: Edward Francis Small Printing Press.
Heineken, J., & McCoy, N. (2000) Establishing a bond with clients of different cultures. Home Healthcare Nurse, 18 (1), 45-53.
Saine, A. (2001). The military and “Democratization” in The Gambia: 1994-2000. Unpublished paper.
Veenema, T. G. (2001). An evidence-based curriculum to prepare students for global nursing practice. Nursing and Health Care Perspectives, 2 (6), 292-298.
The Gambia’s foreign policy since the coup, 1994-1999. (2000). Commonwealth and Comparative Politics, 38 (2), 73-88.

Freshman Success and the Challenge of Retention: A Preliminary Report

Christine Colella & Joanne Schweitzer, College of Nursing, University of Cincinnati

Abstract:

This freshman course was devised as a method of student retention. The goal was to create an environment that would connect students to college life, establish links to the nursing profession, and provide a sense of belonging to both. Forming learning communities was a parallel goal. The method developed could be adapted by any discipline as a template to minimize attrition. Our presentation will include an interactive session that utilizes teaching strategies to engage the audience in a simulation of the freshman experience. We are confident this sharing will generate ideas for broader application and provoke valuable comments from participants.

Empowering Adult Learners' New Understandings of Content Knowledge and Methodologies Using Focused Discussion Groups

Jacqueline K. Collier
Adjunct Professor Teacher Education Department
University of Dayton

Abstract:

Interactive learning processes empower the construction of new understandings of content knowledge and instructional methodologies, as explained by Barr and Tagg (1995). Adult learners, however, come to these interactions with prior knowledge and experiences that impact that learning--often creating blockages toward different understandings. Zemelman, Daniels, and Hyde (1993) explain how cooperative learning has been shown to empower learners to reexamine existing beliefs. Melding these ideas, discussion groups with focusing roles, originated by Daniels (1994), have provided the lens and framework for re-examining familiar knowledge and processes in a different way in both undergraduate and graduate classes.

Proposal:

The teacher education department of any university has the task of guiding adults in undergraduate and graduate classes in the design of instructional practices that will help students who are actively learning new information or processes. In order to accomplish this, the adult must suspend his or her existing knowledge base to see through the eyes of the new learner. This is true in any area of content or processes and is a difficult task to accomplish. Preservice teachers and graduate students alike struggle with trying to comprehend what it is like NOT to know and understand in order to better prepare their instruction to meet the needs of students.
Various methodologies have been used to simulate the experience of not knowing in order to help adult learners suspend their use of prior knowledge. However, the experience is not truly authentic unless the adult learner is actually in a new learning situation and can identify with the challenges, the struggles, and the revelations embedded in the learning experience. The challenge also is to present this new and challenging experience within the content of the course to be covered. Time is always an issue in a university course, and so the learning experiences must be integrated to provide content within the desired process. Both the content and the process must be areas for examination and reflection, leading to new understandings of both the content and the learning process.
In my own case, these university learning experiences have taken place in the field of literacy instruction. Reading and writing are both skills/processes that it is assumed undergraduate and graduate students mastered a long time ago. Teaching about the instruction of reading and writing processes at the university level requires that the child’s needs as a novice be understood in order to provide appropriate guidance. It is mandatory that the university students experience the process of new learning within the context of information about literacy in order to understand the novice learner’s perspective. Herein lies the challenge. How can that be accomplished?
Harvey Daniel’s Literature Circle (1994) format has been used in my graduate and undergraduate classes to allow students to experience new roles, and to become the active learner in a new and different process of discussion engagement centered around the area of literacy comprehension instruction. My goal is to develop adults who are actively engaged in a reading process aimed at implementing critical-thinking skills as described by Torres (1995) as analytical literacy.
This interactive learning design utilizes the structure of Johnson, Johnson, and Smith (1998) in the use of cooperative-learning groups. In this format, the groups are focused in their decision-making and discussion outcomes. They are given a high level of autonomy in the selection of reading and discussion materials. What makes this experience unique is that the group discussions are tightly woven around six major roles: discussion director, vocabulary enricher, artful artist, summarizer, and passage master. These roles provide lenses through which students engage with the text. This format provides the structure to promote new learning through self-discovery and experience while interacting with content-specific materials.
First, a visual presentation will explain the guidelines and framework for the introduction and use of the six different roles. Student discussion guides will be distributed to demonstrate the flexible structure of the system. Second, the participants will take part in a demonstration of the process of group discussion using these roles. Third, documented student reflections on the empowerment of this cooperative learning design and the clearer understanding of familiar material will be shared. Finally, the audience will become a part of a group discussion about the use of Literature Circles at the university level.
References
Daniels, H. (1994). Literature circles, voice and choice in the student-centered classroom. York, ME: Stenhouse.
Johnson, D. W., Johnson, R., & Smith, K. A. (1998). Active learning: Cooperation in the college classroom. Edina, MN: Interaction.
Torres, E. (1995). Analytical literacy: Making scholars out of students. Journal on Excellence in College Teaching, 6 (2), 17-29.
Zemelman, S., Daniels, H., & Hyde, A. (1993). Best practice: New standards for teaching and learning in America’s schools. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

Student Perceptions of Risk Concerning Pesticide, Biotechnology, and Environmental Issues: Did the 9/11 Attack Have Any Effect?

C. R. Curtis, Department of Plant Pathology, The Ohio State University

Abstract:

What do students think about various risks in their lives? As teachers, we strive to learn what we can about students early in the course to tailor content and pedagogical approaches. This study explored the perceptions of risk severity and knowledge of risks regarding pesticides, biotechnology, and the environment by seniors enrolled in a societal issues course over a 2-year period. We include a short presentation, open discussion, and a comparison of conference audience data with student data. Information will be shared on the pre- and post-September 11, 2001, attack in addition to gender differences regarding risk perception.

Proposal:

What do students think about the risks that exist in their lives? The basis used for making those decisions about everyday risks is an important factor in how individuals function in life. As teachers, we strive to learn as much as we can about students early in the course. College-level instructors frequently use surveys to assess students’ beliefs, values, perceptions, and attitudes. This becomes a basis for tailoring content and pedagogical approaches to fit individual groups of student learners.
In the early 1990s the University went through a major curriculum change in all academic departments. One recommendation was to create new societal issues courses for seniors. The objective was to bring together students from various majors, creating an integrative learning environment employing lectures, written and oral assignments, and group social interactions. The students were to become familiar with relationships and connections among several disciplines derived from different academic departments.
Plant Pathology 597, Societal Issues: Pesticides, Alternatives, and the Environment, is a 5-credit senior course that considers contemporary issues of broad regional, national, or worldwide significance. The main issues covered deal with health concerns with pesticides, cancer, food, biotechnology, and the environment. These issues are among the top concerns by policy leaders in Ohio (Geis, 2002). The class size is limited to 40 students, who come from a wide variety of majors.
Data are scarce concerning student perceptions of societal risks and their knowledge of the risks. It is important for a contemporary issues instructor to know this information to gauge how students feel about certain modern questions and problems. Knowing a little about student perceptions early in the course allows planning classroom activities involving critical thinking and facilitates design of appropriate learning experiences.
Considerable long-term research has been focused on the American public’s perceptions of science, science literacy and technology (Indicators, 2002). Today there is a strong anti-science sentiment and even opposition to science (Curtis, 1995; Holton, 1992). In general, the American public appreciates science and technology but is grossly unprepared to understand modern science and technology (Indicators, 2002).
In this session, I would like to discuss the findings from a 4 quarter classroom survey given on the first day of class. The quarters include the two classes before and the two after the 9/11 attack. The questions asked are (a) What are students’ expressed perceptions about the riskiness of selected items, and (b) Did 9/11 have an effect on students’ perceptions of issues? This session could provide a basis for an interesting dialogue with colleagues concerning student beliefs, how best to deal with this in the classroom, and assisting students to examine and evaluate how they developed their perceptions and underlying beliefs.
In exploring student perceptions of risk and knowledge of the risk, the specific objectives were (a) to determine the levels of risk perceived by students compared to their knowledge of the risk, (b) to determine if differences exist between pre and post 9/ll, and (c) to determine if differences exist between gender perceptions.
All students were given the survey instrument to complete on the first day of class (Feinberg, et al). The quarters surveyed were autumn 2000, winter 2001, autumn 2001, and winter 2002. September 11, 2001, fell between the winter 2001 and autumn 2001 quarters. For all 4 quarters the total number of responses was n = 128, (72 males, 54 females, 2 non-responses in some cases). The survey used a descriptive methodology with two different Likert-type scales analyzed by SAS (SAS Institute, Inc., 2001)
The first scale used a 7-point indicator from 1 (“I am not afraid”) “ to 7 (“I am very afraid”) along with the question “Do you believe the following activities to be risky?” The 21 activities included antibiotics, x-rays, caffeine, fireworks, bicycles, skateboards, smoking, chain saws, pesticides used in home for insects, biotechnology, nuclear reactor accidents, pollution, pesticides used in home gardening, tampering with food, auto exhaust, hand guns, auto accidents, and pesticides used in farming for food. A similar scale was used for the same 21 items, from 1 (“I don’t know a lot about the risk of. . . . ”) to 7 (“I know a lot about the risk of. . . .”).
In a second item, the students were asked to indicate their perceptions of the risks of pesticide use in 14 items ranging from drinking water, pregnancy, residue on foods we buy, pollution, to accidental poisoning of pets and wildlife. The question was “What is the danger from the pesticides you use in the home?” and “What is the danger from pesticides used on the farm?” on a scale where 1 = no risk, 2 = very low risk, 3 = low risk, 4 = moderate risk, and 5 = high risk.
A third study listed 11 possible sources of pesticides and asked for a 5 point rating of the likelihood that you feel personally at risk of some pesticide contact from various sources.
Results
Students were most afraid of pollution, nuclear reactor and nerve gas accidents, smoking, and hand guns. They were least afraid of water fluoridation, bicycles, skateboards, caffeine, and fireworks. Their reported knowledge level was highest for smoking, auto accidents, hand guns, bicycles, and skateboards. They knew least about water fluoridation, nerve gas accidents, food tampering, biotechnology, and nuclear reactor accidents. For some items pre and post data indicated significant differences between males and females.
Session Participation
During the conference I would like to share our major results with interested individuals and have an opportunity for the audience to participate in a very small time -limited survey so they could compare their perceptions with the class results that were collected over a two-year period. I would then like to discuss (dialogue) the implications of the data with the audience, and how it relates to improvements in teaching current issues classes. Another excellent alternative would be to share these results in a panel discussion or other joint, interactive presentation mode.
By examining these societal issues and student perceptions in a critical thinking setting, the students may bridge an important progression from the undergraduate classroom to further graduate studies or to function as more informed citizens.
References
Curtis, C. R. (1995). The Public and pesticides: Exploring the interface. National Agricultural Pesticide Impact Assessment Program, United States Department of Agriculture. Columbus, OH: The Ohio State University.
Geis, P.A. (in press). Science and technology policy issues of concern to Ohio’s Leaders: A report of the science policy advisory committee of the Ohio Academy of Science. Ohio Journal of Science, 102.
Feinberg, R. F., Whitford, R. F., & Rathod, S. (1992). Perceived risks and benefits from pesticide use: The results of a statewide survey of Indiana consumers, pesticide professionals, and extension agents. Purdue University Pesticide Programs unpublished report.
Holton, G. (1992). How to think about the “anti-science” phenomenon. Public Understanding of Science, 1, 103-128.
National Science Board, Science and Engineering Indicators. (2002). Arlington, VA: National Science Foundation, 2002 (NSB 02-1).
SAS Institute, Inc. (2001). SAS version 8.2. Cary, NC, USA. (Current site license to The Ohio State University)