Educator’s Toolbox
Posts about instructional communication and the assessment of student learning and teacher behaviors.
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If we focus on student learning, do we really need courses?
Barbara Wright, Vice President of Western Association of Schools and Colleges suggests that our biggest threats build on the changing demographics of our students, but also our changing perceptions of technology, assessment, learning-outcomes, and alternative higher education. At colleges, the old business model relied on of knowledge, instruction, learning, degrees, social networking, cultural opportunities, and…
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The future of higher education relies on the future of our current minorities
“It’s no surprise to anybody that the landscape of higher education is changing, ” says Steve H. Murdock, Professor of Sociology at Rice University, on the demography of classrooms. The American population is changing, growing, becoming more diverse, and indicative of an aging, and shrinking majority population. The largest population growth in the nation is…
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An Exploration in Digital Literacy
I’m embarking on a journey through an untested classroom. At Queens University of Charlotte, the university is investing in a prototype for faculty-student interaction through seminars that explore a specific question or inquiry. I’ve agreed to be part of the pilot project taking place this spring. Fifteen brave students and I will examine the landscape of digital literacy and…
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Spaces of Learning meet User Experience Design
Those planning construction or renovation projects for educational facilities might want to study the people using the proposed space as part of the construction and planning process. Dr. John A. McArthur makes this case in an article in the American Clearinghouse on Educational Facilities Journal. The publication, titled “Practical Lessons from User-Experience Design for Spaces of…
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Ballin’ on Burris – Journal of Critical Incidents
Dr. Steve Cox and Dr. Brad Brooks, of the McColl School of Business, and Dr. John A. McArthur, of the Knight School of Communication, at Queens University of Charlotte collaborated on a publication in the 2011 edition of the Journal of Critical Incidents. The journal, one of three case study journals published annually by the Society for Case Research, publishes…
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Twitter and Teacher Behaviors
Does Twitter influence student perceptions of teacher behaviors? As part of a session surrounding new and emerging technologies in instruction, I presented my research (co-authored with Kristen Bostedo-Conway) on Twitter’s role in the classroom at the National Communication Association 2011 National Convention in New Orleans, LA. We conducted this research in Spring 2010 to better understand…
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Academics and Technology: Early Adopters or Left Behind?
Alexis Carreiro, assistant professor in the Knight School of Communication, offers that the adoption of technology might be a strange marriage of Goldilocks and Marshall McLuhan: “When we rush to adopt technology, it’s too hot. When we wait awhile to adopt technology, it’s too cold. How do we adopt it so it’s just right?” We are surrounded…
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Developing a Creative Process
“What do artists know that business people need to know?” The answer: “The creative process,” says Professor Cathy Anderson, professor at Queens University of Charlotte, who led a faculty workshop during the Fall 2011 opening events. People are all creative. The question is, how do you develop a personal creative process?Andersonis no stranger to the creative process having…
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Teach Less Better
Students come to college eager to learn, but that eagerness can quickly become diminished. Some faculty members can even create the students they don’t want. What can faculty do to develop deep, lasting student learning? Dr. Peter Felten, Assistant Provost and Associate Professor of History at Elon University, presented at Queens University of Charlotte’s opening…
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Constructive Criticism for Faculty?
Books such as Academically Adrift, In the Basement of the Ivory Tower, and The Marketplace of Ideas critically examine the role of colleges and universities. One of our issues on campuses around the nation is that we don’t take such criticism personally. But should we? Should recent analyses of higher education shape the way university…
J.A.McArthur 