"Looking at Ourselves: A Courageous, Necessary Act"
Session: Conference of The POD Network
November 8-12, 2000, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Kay Herr Gillespie and David L. Graf
Welcome to the website for this session at The POD
conference, and we're glad you're taking a look at it!
Below you will find a description of the session and data and material
related to it. More complete data will be presented during the session
at the conference. At the end of this explanation you will find a set of
possible conclusions that will be discussed, and we welcome your thoughts
on these preliminary conclusions if they occur to you as you read through
this. You can send comments to kaygi2@aol.com.
You can look at:
Session Description:
We can trace the beginnings of what we call "faculty development" back
to about the 60s. Thus, as a field and a discipline, it is still quite
young. Indeed, we might think of faculty development as an emerging discipline,
a status which is evidenced by the continued calls for more research in
the field and for enhanced professionalization. One of the necessary characteristics
of those who would consider themselves to be members of a profession is
the willingness to reflect upon that profession by examining it critically
and by achieving distance from the profession itself in order to understand
and, consequently, to be able to contribute positively to its constantly
changing nature. By examining the "profession" of faculty developers, this
session will heighten awareness of ourselves as professionals.
Statement of Objectives for the Session:
The objectives of this session are as follows:
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to present new information descriptive of the position of faculty developer
through an analysis of position announcements appearing over the course
of a full year in the
Chronicle of Higher Education and announcements
posted on either the POD network list or STLHE (Canadian Society for Teaching
and Learning in Higher Education) network list (thus providing international
analysis as well);
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to compare this descriptive analysis to data about POD members data gathered
over the past several years and to other relevant research and survey reports;
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to invite participants' reflection on the implications of this analysis
and data for the enhancement of the "profession" of faculty development.
The implications of the data and comparative analysis together with potential
conclusions will be useful for those thinking about graduate programs and
graduate student preparation , the POD grants program, and the minority
internship grant program overseen by the POD Diversity Commission. It will
also be of interest to individuals considering a career shift to full-time
faculty development work, to those who may be considering job relocation,
and to administrators seeking to institute faculty development programs
at their institutions. Finally, the information provided and discussed
during this session should be of interest to all faculty development professionals
who are interested in increased understanding of their role within the
profession.
Target Audience
This session is designed for experienced faculty developers and for
administrators.
Conduct of the Session
The descriptive data and comparative analysis will be summarized orally,
and handouts with more complete information will be provided. Through facilitated
general discussion, participants will discuss possible implications and
conclusion.
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Data Gathered
Positions and Descriptors, 1999-2000(1) ,Faculty,
Instructional, and Organizational Development(2) ,Summary
and Overview of Information/Data(3)
General Information
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87 institutions placed advertisements
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100 positions were announced and examined.(4)
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4 institutions were from outside the U.S . (= 4%)
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5 institutions were identifiably other than public/private, non-profit
single institutions, i.e., system-level positions (2), proprietary (1),
private consortia/other (2). (= 5%)
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There were no ads for part-time developers, i.e., part-time faculty directors.
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12 institutions were community college by name or appearance of the term
within the text. (=12%)
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7 positions were college/discipline specific. (= 7%)
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Only 1 position made any mention of a focus on multiculturalism/diversity,
and this was for the position of "coordinator of multicultural teaching
and learning services. (= 1%)
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16 descriptions indicated the reporting line for the unit/position. (=
16%)
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16 ads included salary levels. (= 16%)
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7 positions made reference to working with "staff" as well as faculty (=
7%)
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2 positions included working with part-time, adjunct faculty. (= 2%)
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3 positions made mention of "teaching a course". (= 3%)
Duties (General)
Beyond the duties one might expect of such positions, the following
information is noted.
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8 positions mentioned working with TAs. (= 8%)
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4 positions indicated grant writing, experience with obtaining external
funding was either a duty or qualification. (= 4%)
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Only 1 position had a focus on multiculturalism/diversity.
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3 positions made mention of "teaching a course". (= 3%)
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4 positions indicated grant writing, experience with obtaining external
funding was either a duty or qualification. (= 4%)
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Only 1 position had a focus on multiculturalism/diversity
Qualifications (General)
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14 ads indicated the Bachelor's degree as a minimum requirement. (= 14%)
All of these, except 2, were in the areas of instructional technology and
instructional design. The two exceptions were for a system director and
a private association seeking a "trainer."
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42 ads indicated a minimum of a Master's degree with the majority indicating
a higher degree was preferred. (= 42%)
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16 positions indicated the Ph.D./Ed.D. as preferred over the Master's level.
(= 16%)
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17 positions indicated the Ph.D., Ed.D., or "doctorate as a minimum requirement
(= 17%).
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10 advertisements used the terms "higher degree", "graduate degree", or
"advanced degree as a minimum requirement. (= 10%)
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Specific Fields mentioned for the doctorate were: faculty development (1),
cognitive science (1), cognitive psychology (1), management information
systems (1), education (1), discipline "other than history (1), "in an
academic discipline" (1), and curriculum and instruction (1).
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53 ads indicated "experience" was required (teaching, administrative, faculty/instructional,
relevant, related, or other such descriptors). (= 53%) Others indicated
experience was required or expected by indirect wording and descriptors.
When precisely indicated, as little as 1 year and as much as 10 years experience
was specified.
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11 positions indicated faculty or instructional development experience
was required. (= 11%)
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24 positions required teaching experience (as compared to a general statement
that "experience" is required. (= 24%)
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Only 1 ad indicated past tenure was required - "hold or have held tenure
at the rank of Associate Professor or above. (= 1%)
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Only 5 positions required submission of documentation above and beyond
what has been traditionally expected: "an essay on philosophy and approach
to implementing faculty development programs" (1), teaching evaluations
(1), statement on how technology relates to teaching and learning (1),
professional portfolio from candidates to be interviewed (1), 1-page teaching
philosophy. (= 5%)
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4 positions indicated eligibility for a full-time faculty appointment/academic
rank appointment was required. (= 4%)
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50 positions made mention of responsibilities and activities specifically
related to technology. (= 50%)
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Implications, Thoughts, and Possible
Conclusions for Discussion
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The high number of institutions indicating experience as required has implications
for faculty/instructional development training programs and for the importance
of the POD Diversity Internship Grant program.
Possible conclusion: Training programs should include experiential
components, not just coursework.
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Clearly, understanding of current educational technologies (computer technologies)
is very important, which likewise has implications for career preparation.
Possible conclusion: Training programs should include coursework and
experience with the technologies.
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There was virtually no mention of "organizational development" activities,
as we understand them generally within the mission of POD, e.g. chair/leadership
development other than one position which included "dean development" within
the title and one position seeking a Director of Organizational Development.
The latter seemed more a description of a human resource position.
Possible conclusion: While a number of persons within POD are working
in and with what one can consider organizational development activities,
the importance of such activities is not apparent in the advertisements.
In particular, there appears to be virtually no emphasis on chairperson
or leadership development. This, in turn - whether rightly or wrongly,
appears to indicate no need.
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Only 2 positions specifically addressed a professional development focus
beyond teaching effectiveness. One referred to "integrated professional
development" but without definition of how that might be understood. Another
mentioned counseling "faculty and staff regarding career development options
and personal fulfillment."
Possible conclusion: The perception gleaned from these advertisements
is that only teaching and learning is of importance. This reflects an absence
of attention to the commonly accepted tripartite function of university/college
professors - teaching, research, and service. Moreover, it reflects no
interest in the faculty member as a "whole" person. There are some, albeit
a small number, existing programs that have this multifaceted perspective.
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There were some apparent disparities between title/duties/level of responsibility
and listing of qualifications. Examples of such seeming disparities are
provided below.
Possible conclusion: This sense of disparity may speak to the importance
of crafting a position announcement appropriate for the description of
responsibilities and expected and reasonable qualifications - in fairness
to potential applicants.
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There was virtually no mention of diversity issues within duties, responsibilities,
activities, or programs.
Possible conclusion: While one could conclude that this absence reflects
an absence of interest in diversity within faculty and instructional development,
this is unlikely to be the case. However, as diversity is an important
emphasis in most, if not all, faculty and instructional development efforts,
it would be appropriate to make mention of this within the description
of duties of many of the positions. Again, this speaks to the crafting
of position announcements.
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Only 5 institutions indicated an expectation in application materials beyond
the usual, e.g., portfolio, teaching evaluations, statement of philosophy.
Possible conclusion: We are not yet at a point where our application
procedures have become very imaginative, incorporating what we know to
be good practice for career assessment and development.
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Degree fields mentioned were primarily from disciplines from within the
field of education.
Possible conclusion: A significant number of current faculty development
practitioners have degrees from outside the disciplines of education, i.e.,
in the "academic disciplines" (the language of the advertisements). Thus,
the degree field requirement predominant in the advertisements would seem
to exclude such persons from eligibility for a good number of the positions.
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1. This information was gathered from advertisements
appearing in The Chronicle of Higher Education and on the listservs
of The POD Network and the Canadian Society of Teaching and Learning in
Higher Education. The information covers the time period of December, 1999-September,
2000.
2. Advertisements included were those with faculty,
instructional, organizational, or professional development in the title
or description. Advertisements not included were regular academic faculty
positions within a department and those that were very narrowly media positions.
3. This material has been prepared by Kay Gillespie,
CKF Associates, 2900 Tulane Drive, Fort Collins, Colorado 80525, U.S.A.,
e-mail: kaygi2@aol.com , ph: (970)
226-3731. Should it be used elsewhere, it will be appreciated if appropriate
credit is given.
4. I do not guarantee that I found every advertisement!
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