IJPE: The International Journal of Process Education

Volume 6 Issue 1

Welcome to the sixth volume of the International Journal of Process Education. In this issue, we present an exciting collection of scholarship. The collaborative research presented in this volume ranges from scholarship examining classroom techniques to examinations of program and institutional objectives.

From the Editorial Board

Our first article examines the development of programming that supports teaching assistants using a more student-centered and process-oriented approach is the focus of Utschig, Carnasciali, and Sullivan’s article, Helping Teaching Assistants Foster Student-Centered Learning. Additionally, the authors describe how survey and focus group data can be used to assist transformation in both campus-wide and specific departmental programs preparing teaching assistants for their classroom roles.

Graham and Burke examine the students’ view of a class that has both blended and flipped components to the learning structure in our second article, Students’ Perceptions on a Blended and Flipped Classroom. Most students enjoy the structure and learning techniques involved, but the authors found that achieving student buy-in early in the process is a key to success.

In our third article, Online Professional Development for Process Educators, Beyerlein, Burke, Mutiysa, and Cordon discuss the structure and benefits of a new series of professional development opportunities. Through the innovative structure of these outreach sessions the Academy seeks to provide year-round community building amongst process educators that supports continuous improvement in process-oriented teaching/learning as well as scholarly activity on Process Education itself.

In their article, Achieving Lifelong Learning Outcomes in Professional Degree Programs, El-Sayed and El-Sayed examine the role that lifelong learning plays as one of the specified outcomes for accreditation of many professional programs. Through a case study the authors show how the progression in the developmental phases of the cognitive, affective, and psychomotor domains of Bloom’s taxonomy are utilized to help to identify the areas to be targeted for continued growth, refined performance, and maturity.

Finally, using a statistical technique to analyze survey data, Mutisya, Osler, Bitting, and Rotich show the need to strengthen institutional leadership and shared governance due to a lack of correlation between the level of collegiality, the ability to influence policy, and the degree to which important information is broadly communicated in The Need for a Conceptual Framework for Leadership and Shared Governance between Faculty and Administrators. They further discuss how the Process Education-based Compass of Higher Education can be utilized as a conceptual framework for diffusing current tensions surrounding shared governance and growing effective leadership in an institution.

It is our hope that you will enjoy reading the contributions to our newest issue as much as we enjoyed working with the authors to bring the research to fruition. We look forward to receiving your feedback as well as your future research contributions.

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Helping Teaching Assistants Foster Student-Centered Learning

by Tristan T. Utschig, Maria-Isabel Carnasciali, Carol Subiño Sullivan

Abstract

We describe the evolution of campus-wide programming to support teaching assistants at the Georgia Institute of Technology towards a more student-centered and process-oriented approach. Stages in this evolutionary process include department-specific content-oriented instruction, a central approach with focus on process skills for teaching, and finally a semi-central approach utilizing inquiry-based learning infused with department-specific content. Additionally, we describe how survey and focus group data can be used to assist transformation in both campus-wide and specific departmental programs preparing teaching assistants for their classroom roles. This evolution then serves as a case study of how formative assessment data can be used to drive a transformation from teacher-centered to learning-centered environments.

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Students’ Perceptions on a Blended and Flipped Classroom

by Katherine Graham and Kathleen Burke

Abstract

An introductory macroeconomics course was redesigned from a traditional lecture format to now incorporate components of blended learning and a flipped classroom. The students were required to prepare for class by reading the text and/or working through narrated PowerPoint presentations. Individual and group quizzes were administered to ensure that the students were prepared to participate in the group activities that occurred during class. To determine the students’ opinion of the change in the course structure, a questionnaire was administered at the end of the semester. While most students did not have trouble moving to a different course structure, there was some resistance to moving away from a traditional learning method. The students indicated that they enjoyed the group aspect of the class, they were more likely to prepare for class under this mode of learning, and they were forced to create new ways of learning the material.
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Online Professional Development for Process Educators

by Steve Beyerlein, Kathleen Burke, Philliph M. Mutisya, Daniel Cordon

Abstract

Ever since the formation of the Academy of Process Educators, there has been interest in augmenting the annual conference with professional development outreach to members across the country and in campus sections through an online mechanism. At the 2014 mid-year meeting at Valparaiso University, board members outlined plans for a series of monthly sessions in conjunction with a class about educational leadership at North Carolina A&T. Four goals were laid out for this pilot: (1) utilize expertise in Process Education (PE) practices possessed by contributors to the Faculty Guidebook, (2) engage new educators and others unfamiliar with Process Education, (3) elevate skills in computer mediated communication within the Process Education community, including use of the Academy Forum (accessed through the Members Area on the Academy website), and (4) establish an event structure that can be used in programs at local sections of the Academy. Through the innovative structure of these outreach sessions the Academy seeks to provide year-round community building amongst process educators that supports continuous improvement in process-oriented teaching/learning as well as scholarly activity on Process Education itself.
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Achieving Lifelong Learning Outcomes in Professional Degree Programs

by M. El-Sayed and J. El-Sayed

Abstract

Learning to learn and lifelong learning are fundamental skills in Process Education, important for their roles in continuous growth and improved performance. Lifelong learning is one of the key outcomes for any educational program that deals with continuously and rapidly changing professional practices. In recognition of its importance, lifelong learning is considered one of the specified outcomes for accreditation of many professional programs.

Since learning outcomes are usually derivatives of the program educational objectives, both educational objectives and learning outcomes must be established. This paper examines the program educational objective for which lifelong learning is an outcome. Also discussed are the learning experiences and activities needed to achieve the desired objectives and outcomes. To conduct the study, the cognitive, affective, and psychomotor domains of Bloom’s taxonomy are revisited. The progression in the developmental phases of these domains can help in identifying the areas to be targeted for continued growth, refined performance, and maturity.

An engineering case study is presented to demonstrate the role of different learning experiences in achieving the lifelong learning outcome. The holistic behaviors and observable actions of a practicing expert in the field of engineering are used to guide the development of the self-growing educational objective for the lifelong learning outcome. Finally, alumni survey data is used to assess the role of both classroom and co-op learning experiences in achieving improved lifelong learning ability.

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The Need for a Conceptual Framework for Leadership and Shared Governance between Faculty and Administrators

by Philliph M. Mutisya, James E. Osler II, Paul F. Bitting, and Jerono P. Rotich

Abstract

There is a compelling need for shared governance in higher education based upon rising conflict between administrators’ role as leaders and faculties’ role as teachers, researchers, and service providers. This paper begins by reviewing the literature to define best practices in shared governance as well as to uncover faculty and administrator beliefs, attitudes, and dispositions that can both promote and hinder shared governance. Next, the paper outlines a survey to study the degree to which shared governance is present within an institution. A pilot survey was conducted amongst faculty at diverse institutions. Survey results are analyzed to inform a conceptual framework for better leadership and followership in higher education. A tri-squared analysis was used to study desired interaction between the level of collegiality, the ability to influence policy, and the degree to which important information is broadly communicated. The Process Education-based Compass of Higher Education is affirmed as a conceptual framework for diffusing current tensions surrounding shared governance. Helpful administrator and faculty actions are mapped within five points of the compass: self-development, learner development, institutional development, intellectual development, and faculty development. The survey used in this work can be adapted to determine the level of shared governance on any campus and to highlight strengths and areas for improvement associated with each of the compass points. This work is presently continuing with the purpose of determining how shared governance is perceived in higher education by a much larger population.

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