How Professors at the Pennsylvania State University's College of Agricultural Sciences Engage in the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning: A Post-hoc Analysis
Open Access
Author:
Kenno, Bryanna Tyler
Area of Honors:
Agricultural and Extension Education
Degree:
Bachelor of Science
Document Type:
Thesis
Thesis Supervisors:
Daniel Douglas Foster, Thesis Supervisor Daniel Douglas Foster, Thesis Honors Advisor John Ewing, Faculty Reader
Keywords:
Scholarship Teaching Learning Evaluation
Abstract:
The call of ensuring the effectiveness of postsecondary education has been issued from all levels of society: from policymakers in Washington D.C. to parents in rural America to students currently enrolled in institution of higher learning. An undergraduate researcher in a college of agricultural sciences conducted a descriptive study with a purpose of determining how instructional faculty from the previous academic year in the Pennsylvania State University’s College of Agricultural Sciences perceive their engagement in Scholarship of Teaching and Learning with an emphasis on instructional assessment. The study was guided by three research objectives: (1) identify agricultural sciences faculty sources of instructional assessment. (2) describe agricultural sciences faculty perceptions of effectiveness of instructional assessment to improve teaching practice and (3) describe other measures of scholarship of teaching and learning College of Agricultural Sciences faculty utilize. A valid and reliable quantitative survey was administered with accepted survey methods via an online survey tool. The response rate of 67% from the population of 168 individuals yielded 113 responses from the eight academic units in the college. The results indicate that faculty members engage in this form of scholarship and reflection due to mandates as opposed to desires for teaching and learning gains and perceive evaluations as being less than effective. These results confirm findings from previous studies that a majority of instructors engage in the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, specifically instructional assessment; however, further investigation is needed to determine impact of the scholarship of teaching and on student learning outcomes.
