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<p> Faculty mentoring has been identified as an important component of experiential learning success. However, most higher education institutions lack the support to provide training and guidance to faculty for this type of instructional programming. The identified purpose of the conducted exploratory study was to explore the faculty perceptions regarding the challenges and opportunities in experiential learning programming due to a lack of clear instructional guidelines at a public university. Despite an increase in enrollment in higher education experiential learning courses, limited research exists to assist faculty members who engage in this type of instructional strategy. Thus, faculty development and training efforts have been fragmented and not highly published. Faculty do not often feel equipped to embrace this type of instructional strategy. River City University (RCU) has an existing experiential learning program with over 2,500 students enrolled in some form of experiential learning each semester yet no clear guidelines exist for the role of faculty in this instructional programming. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore RCU faculty perceptions of the challenges and successes of the current program by gathering data through in-depth individual interviews with seasoned faculty mentors. The research was used to create recommendations to enhance the current program at RCU. The methodology used for the study was an exploratory, qualitative, holistic, single case study which investigated the "how and why" of this contemporary phenomenon. Data was gathered through open-ended, semi-structured in-depth interviews with seasoned faculty mentors. The participants were a diverse group of faculty from various disciplines who previously mentored students in experiential learning courses. The setting was a large state university within the southern region of the United States. A pseudonym, River City University (RCU), was used for the name of the actual university. The results of the study indicated that faculty at this institution significantly valued experiential learning as an instructional strategy as well as a means for preparing students for future career and life opportunities. The review of both successes and challenges provided the researcher the opportunity to present realistic recommendations for enhancing the experiential learning program at this public state institution. </p>

Academics believe in a symbiotic relationship between research and teaching, though evidence challenges its existence. Previous studies may have defined these constructs too narrowly to detect the perceived relationships. This study used a qualitative approach to investigate chemistry professors' beliefs about the effects of their research activities on teaching practice. Semistructured, in-depth interviews were conducted with 25 chemistry professors from a large research-intensive university. Professors' contended that research affects teaching subject-matter knowledge in the forms of knowledge currency, examples, domain-thinking, and pedagogical knowledge through student interest, as well as pedagogical content knowledge in terms of contextualization and explanation. Findings are contextualized within Shulman's (1987) theory of teacher knowledge as well as current learning theories. / Les professeurs d'université croient que leurs recherches peuvent être bénéfiques à leur enseignement bien que cette croyance n'ait pratiquement pas de preuves empiriques. Nous croyons que les définitions de la recherche et de l'enseignement proposées dans les études antérieures ont été trop simplistes pour établir un tel lien. Basée sur les interviews de 25 professeurs de chimie, notre étude fait la lumière sur leurs croyances au sujet des effets de leurs activités de recherche sur leur enseignement. Les professeurs interviewés relatent plusieurs effets positifs. Leurs recherches leur permettent de conserver leurs connaissances scientifiques à jour, de stimuler l'intérêt des étudiants, de tirer des exemples de la recherche, de donner des meilleures explications et de situer l'information dans un contexte plus large. Ces affirmations ont été classées en utilisant le modèle de Shulman (1987). Nos résultats sont évalués en tenant compte des théories pédagogiques contemporaines et des recommandations du rapport Boyer.

This case study explored the personal and professional lives of 10 Cégep physical and health education (PHE) teachers. The participants, between 32-59 years, were PHE educators at Cégeps within a large Canadian city and its surrounding areas. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with the PHE teachers about their experiences instructing at the Cégep level. Rich discussions were generated to explore the roles and responsibilities of the participants within the Cégepat which they taught. Data analyses were conducted on the verbatim transcriptions of the interviews. Four themes emerged from the data. The first theme, pathways to teaching, reflected the discussions about teacher experiences that led the educators to instruct at the Cégep level. The second theme, Cégep PHE teacher career, demonstrated the structure and professional life of the PHE teachers. The third theme, a focus on education outcomes, highlighted participants' recollections of individualized instruction and resultant student success. The fourth theme, insider's perspective, described the participants' personal viewpoints about the teaching position which allowed for the identification of benefits and challenges of the job. Data triangulation, member checking, peer review, audit trail, and researcher reflexivity were used to establish trustworthiness. The Cégep PHE teachers spoke of their professional experiences which may influence the teaching of physical activity and health behaviours of at-risk college-aged students. Recommendations are made for future studies to delve into the world of Cégep to spark more research about PHE delivery and its effect on college-aged populations. / Cette étude de cas a explore les vies personnelles et professionnelles de dix enseignant d'éducation physique et en santé au Cégep. Les participants ont été entre 32 et 59 ans et ils étaient les éducateurs de Cégep au sein d'une grande ville canadienne et ses banlieues. Des entretiens semi-structurés ont été pratiqués avec les enseignants d'éducation physique et en santé. Des entrevues ont suscités des discussions riches pour mieux comprendre les rôles et les responsabilités des participants au sein de l'établissement d'enseignement au cours de laquelle ils ont enseigné. Une analyse des données ont été réalisés sur les transcriptions des entrevues. Quatre thèmes ont émergé : le chemin d'accès à l'enseignement, la carrière des enseignants d'éducation physique et en santé au Cégep, mettant l'accent sur les résultats scolaires, et la perspective d'un initié. Les résultats ont reflété l'importance des expériences qui ont dirigé les éducateurs pour enseigner au Cégep, la structure et la vie professionnelle de cette carrière, et l'accent mis sur leur instruction de chaque étudiant individuelle. Les résultats ont également décrit les points de vue personnels des participants sur l'enseignement qui ont permis des avantages et des défis de l'emploi. La triangulation des données, la vérification de membre, l'examen par un collègue, le chemin de vérification, et la réflexivité du chercheur ont été utilisé pour établir la fiabilité des descriptions faites par les enseignants. Les enseignants d'éducation physique et en santé au Cégep ont parlé de leur expériences professionnelles qui peuvent influencer l'enseignement de l'activité physique et les comportements de santé des étudiants collégial.

A public oral defense of the written dissertation is mandatory for completion of the doctorate in most North American universities, yet how students experience it has rarely been documented. This study examined how a group of Canadian education PhD candidates experienced and made sense of their dissertation defenses. Employing an identity lens, it focused on how these students viewed themselves, performed, and were viewed by others as researchers before, during and after the defense. The perspective on identity was principally drawn from the communities of practice (COP) theory. Accordingly, doctoral candidates' researcher identities were defined by memberships (being members in the community of researchers in certain fields/areas of research), meanings (making sense of defense experiences) and trajectories (ways in which the defense connects doctoral candidates' past, present, and future). The participants were 11 PhD candidates (six women and five men) from three departments in a faculty of education at a Canadian research-intensive university. Each of them was interviewed before the defense about his/her preparation experience and after the defense about his/her defense experience. Through observation, questions from the 11 defense committees and the candidates' answers were recorded. Data also included the participants' background information and institutional documents regarding the conduct of the PhD dissertation defense. Over 20 other defenses were observed to understand the Faculty practices associated with the defense. Case-specific findings pointed to how doctoral candidates performed as researchers during the defense by balancing knowing and not-knowing in answering defense committees' questions. The candidates navigated across research areas, methodological and epistemological borders, and drew on various sources of knowledge to demonstrate knowing; and they evaluated the significance and relevance of questions and provided provisional and hedged answers to negotiate not-knowing. Cross-case findings indicated that the defense confirmed most candidates' researcher identities and played a role in weaving together their past, present and future in terms of their researcher identity development. The study concluded with implications for interpreting doctoral candidates' defense experiences and for understanding the functions of the public PhD dissertation defense. / Une soutenance orale publique de la thèse écrite est obligatoire pour l'achèvement du doctorat dans la plupart des universités nord-américaines, mais comment les élèves la vivent a rarement été documenté. Cette étude a examiné comment un groupe de candidats au doctorat canadiens en éducation ont vécu leurs soutenances de thèse. Employant une lentille d'identité, elle se concentre sur la façon dont les candidats au doctorat se considèrent comme des chercheurs, performent comme des chercheurs et sont considérés par les autres comme des chercheurs, avant, pendant et après la soutenance. Le point de vue sur l'identité a été principalement tirée de la théorie «communities of practice» (COP). En conséquence, l'identité des doctorants chercheurs ont été définis par les membres (dans la communauté des chercheurs dans certains domaines / zones de recherche), le sens (donner un sens à l'expérience de la soutenance) et les trajectoires (de quelle manière la soutenance de thèse des doctorants relie le passé, le présent et l'avenir).Les participants étaient 11 candidats au doctorat (six femmes et cinq hommes) de trois départements d'une faculté d'éducation dans une université canadienne axée sur la recherche. Chacun a été interrogé avant la soutenance sur l'expérience de la préparation et après la soutenance sur l'expérience de la soutenance. Des questions des 11 comités de la soutenance et les réponses des candidats ont été recueillies, ainsi que les informations générales des participants et les documents institutionnels en ce qui concerne le déroulement de la soutenance de thèse de doctorat. Plus de 20 autres soutenances ont été observées pour comprendre les pratiques de la Faculté associés à la soutenance. Conclusions sur des cas spécifiques révèlent la façon dont les candidats au doctorat performent en tant que chercheurs au cours de la soutenance de l'équilibrage de savoir et non-savoir à répondre aux questions des comités de soutenance. Les candidats ont navigué dans des domaines de recherche, méthodologiques, les frontières épistémologiques et s'est appuyé sur diverses sources de connaissances afin de démontrer le savoir, et d'évaluer l'importance et la pertinence des questions et a fourni des réponses provisoires pour négocier le non-savoir. L'ensemble des résultats ont indiqué que la soutenance a confirmé la plupart des candidats en tant que chercheurs et a joué un rôle dans le tissage de leur passé, présent et futur en termes de développement de leur identité de chercheur. L'étude a conclu avec des implications pour l'interprétation des expériences de soutenance des doctorants et pour comprendre les fonctions de la soutenance publique de thèse.

This dissertation presents a user-centred, interdisciplinary study on information use strategies. In complex learning contexts such as ill-structured-domains, there are three ways of using information. The first is to make sense of the information fragments to construct a cohesive whole. The second is to integrate this newly constructed whole into the learner's existing knowledge structures. The third is to make use of this integrated entity to achieve the learning goals. The Information Science literature refers to this three-fold process as "using information". A number of strategies can be applied to using information in order to help learners address the challenges of using information within these complex contexts. This dissertation study is a qualitative inquiry on the influence such strategies can have on using information to complete ill-structured-domain learning tasks.This was a naturalistic study designed to better understand both the general nature of the information use process and the influence of strategies on this process. The study consisted of a user-centred study that examined the information use process of nine graduate students enrolled in the faculty of Education at McGill University over the period of an academic semester. This investigation focused on two graduate level ill-structured-domain learning tasks. The first was to produce a set of reflective critiques on the required course readings over the course of the term, one for each theory studied. The second task was a final term paper that proposed research based on the theories studied in the course. Learners were required to synthesize the theories and the course content in order to propose a research study relevant to the field of Education. Both tasks required the use of higher order thinking skills. The information use strategies used by students during these two tasks were studied in order to better understand their nature and thus make an original contribution towards theory and practice in the Information Science. The two frameworks developed by this study represent theoretical contributions. The first framework provides an overview of the information use process in an ill-structured-domain learning task. The second framework demonstrates the influence of strategies on this process. These two frameworks could be used as springboards for future Information Science research.These frameworks could also be used to design instructional programs in such a way as to improve student performance. This represents a contribution to professional practice. The user-centered approach provides insights on factoring in user subjectivity into these programs. The framework for information use strategies can help inform learners on how to construct dynamic and optimal strategies and plans that are best adapted to their learning goals and to the progressive stages of using information.A number of interdisciplinary propositions guided this investigation. The investigation of the information use process was predominantly guided by Dervin's (1983) “sensemaking approach” and Spiro's (1987) "cognitive flexibility theory". The analysis of strategies in the information use process relied mostly on the Education literature and employed Pressley's (1989) "strategy oriented perspective" as the key theoretical concept. / La présente thèse est une étude interdisciplinaire, centrée sur l'utilisateur, portant sur l'utilisation de l'information stratégique. Dans le cadre de contextes d'apprentissage complexes, notamment dans les domaines mal structurés, les avantages tirés de l'information obtenue répondent à trois fonctions. La première est la construction de sens à partir de fragments d'information pour obtenir un portrait cohésif global. La seconde est l'intégration du sens construit dans les structures de connaissances de l'apprenant. La troisième est l'intégration du tout pour atteindre les objectifs d'apprentissage. La littérature en sciences de l'information regroupe ces trois fonctions sous l'appellation « utilisation de l'information ». Les stratégies relatives à ces fonctions permettent à l'apprenant de surmonter les défis qui découlent de l'utilisation de l'information dans de tels contextes. La thèse présente une enquête qualitative sur l'influence des stratégies pertinentes à l'utilisation de l'information dans le cadre de tâches d'apprentissage dans des domaines mal structurés. L'étude naturaliste a été conçue pour découvrir la nature générale du processus d'utilisation de l'information et l'influence des stratégies dans ce processus. Une approche et centrée sur l'utilisateur a permis d'examiner le processus d'utilisation de l'information de neuf étudiants aux études supérieures de la Faculté de l'éducation de l'Université McGill au cours d'un semestre.L'enquête a porté sur deux tâches d'apprentissage dans des domaines mal structurés. La première tâche comportait une série de critiques réflexives sur les lectures obligatoires du cours. Ces critiques étaient distribuées tout au long de la session et chacune d'entre elles portait sur un aspect théorique du cours. La deuxième tâche était un travail de session où l'étudiant devait proposer une recherche basée sur les aspects théoriques présentés dans le cadre du cours. Cette proposition exigeait des apprenants qu'ils synthétisent la théorie et utilisent les connaissances acquises dans le cours pour proposer une nouvelle recherche propre aux sciences de l'éducation. Les deux tâches faisaient appel à des processus cognitifs de niveau supérieur. Les critères relatifs aux tâches justifiaient l'approche et ont permis l'étude détaillée des stratégies, en plus d'offrir une contribution originale, théorique et pratique, pour les sciences de l'information.Les deux cadres conceptuels de l'étude comptent parmi les contributions théoriques. Le premier cadre conceptuel offre un aperçu du processus d'utilisation de l'information approprié dans le cadre de tâches d'apprentissage dans des domaines mal structurés. Le second cadre conceptuel démontre l'influence des stratégies dans le processus. Les deux cadres théoriques peuvent être utilisés comme pierre d'assise pour d'éventuelles études sur le comportement informationnel.Du point de vue pragmatique, ces cadres conceptuels peuvent être utilisés pour concevoir des programmes éducatifs afin d'améliorer le rendement des étudiants. L'approche centrée sur l'utilisateur permet de tenir compte de la subjectivité de l'étudiant et son intégration dans les programmes. Ainsi, le cadre conceptuel pour les stratégies d'utilisation de l'information pourrait servir à informer les apprenants sur les techniques de construction de plans de stratégies dynamiques et optimales qui s'adapteront à leurs objectifs d'apprentissage et aux stades progressifs de l'utilisation de l'information.L'enquête repose sur une approche interdisciplinaire. Dans un premier temps, l'approche de la construction de sens (sensemaking) de Dervin (1983) et la théorie de la flexibilité cognitive de Spiro (1987) ont guidé l'enquête. Dans un second temps, l'aspect stratégique du processus d'utilisation de l'information se base principalement sur la littérature des sciences de l'éducation, notamment la perspective orientée stratégie de Pressley (1989) comme assise théorique.

Quality assurance (QA) has become a fact of life in higher education. Institutions engage in QA activities to direct spending to the areas that contribute to quality improvement and present to stakeholders evidence of the effectiveness and quality of their programmes. Dental schools are particularly pressured to demonstrate QA efforts to meet accreditation standards and ensure the quality of patient care. This study presents a quality assessment conducted at a school of dentistry in a developing country. A mixed methods approach is used to seek input from patients, students and faculty members to evaluate the quality of the clinical teaching offered in the pre-doctoral programme. Students and patients completed service quality assessment surveys that are adapted from the SERVPERF model. A focus group and one-on-one interviews were held to seek input from faculty members. Analysis of the data shows that the patients are generally more satisfied with the services than the students or faculty. The main issues that have been identified by stakeholders to negatively influence the quality of the learning experience and the quality of services provided are: (1) The expansion of the facilities is disproportionate with the growing numbers of students, (2) lack of comprehensive approach to patient care, and (3) the difficulty in patient recruitment and retention. The findings of this study will advise the decision makers at the school in their planning for curriculum and process reviews, QA efforts and development plans. The surveys that have been used in this study could be used to routinely collect data on patients' and students' satisfaction; however, further testing of the instruments is advised. Key words: dental education, quality assessment, clinical teaching curriculum / L'assurance qualité est devenue un fait-de-vie dans les universités. Les institutions d'éducation postsecondaire s'engagent dans les activités d'assurance qualité pour montrer aux intervenants la supériorité de leurs programmes et pour diriger les dépenses aux domaines qui contribuent le plus à l'amélioration de la qualité. Les Écoles de Médecine Dentaire sont particulièrement sous pression de démontrer leurs efforts d'assurance qualité de leurs programmes d'études pour répondre aux normes d'accréditation, d'assurer la qualité des soins dentaire et la sécurité des patients. Cette étude présente une évaluation de la qualité effectuée dans une école de médecine dentaire dans un pays en développement. Des méthodes mixtes servent à collectionner les données des patients, des étudiants et des membres du corps professoral à fin d'évaluer la qualité d'enseignement clinique offert dans le programmes pré-doctorat. Les étudiants et les patients ont été demandés de répondre aux questionnaires d'évaluation de la qualité de service qui sont adaptées en suivant du modèle SERVPERF. Pour collectionner les données et les commentaires des professeurs, ils étaient invités à participer dans un groupe de discussions ou des entrevues individuelles. L'analyse des données montre que les patients sont généralement plus satisfaits avec les services dentaires offerts que les étudiants ou les professeurs. Les principaux problèmes qui ont été identifiés d'influencer négativement la qualité de l'expérience d'apprentissage des étudiantes et la qualité des services offerts aux patientes sont les suivants: (1) L'élargissement des installations est disproportionné par rapport au nombre croissant d'étudiants, (2) le manque d'approche compréhensive des soins aux patients (3) et les difficultés de recrutement et de rétention des patients. Les résultats de cette recherche informeront l'administration de l'Écoles de Médecine Dentaire au sujet de leurs efforts d'assurance qualité, la planification de programmes, la revue des processus, et leurs plans de développement. Les questionnaires qui ont été utilisés dans cette étude peuvent être utilisés régulièrement pour évaluer la satisfaction des patients et des étudiants. Toutefois, plus des tests de ses efficacités sont recommandés.Mots clés: éducation de médecine dentaire, évaluation de la qualité, programmes d'enseignement clinique

<p> Contemporary college student activism efforts are growing. Little research has been conducted on student activism and leadership development. As student affairs educators consider leadership an important part of an undergraduate education it is important to consider how the context of activism actually influences student leader identity development. The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of contemporary student activism on college student leader identity development so that Christian Higher Education student affairs professionals can provide purposeful educational experiences that assist the understanding of a leader identity in student activists. </p><p> Data were collected using qualitative phenomenological methods, specifically semi-structured in-depth interviews. Seventeen junior and senior college students who are exemplar activists from a small, selective, residential, engagement-rich, Christian liberal arts college in the Midwest participated. The interview sessions were analyzed and compared in an effort to identify categories and themes that summarize activists' leadership identity development. </p><p> Resulting analysis revealed four primary findings. First, activists in this study collectively define leadership as a relational environment imbued with clearly defined values and purposes whereby all members have the opportunity to engage, explore, and empower as followers and leaders together. Four significant elements that make up what a relational environment of leadership means to them includes: selflessness, collaboration, responsibility, and visionary. </p><p> Second, activists desire to have a strong identity of being a relational, humble and yet confident leader and desire to be more like the person of Jesus Christ; however, they are still discovering their unique qualities and abilities as a leader. </p><p> Third, involvement in an activist context has considerable positive effects on college student leader identity development: 1) the impact of a relational environment deepens self-confidence, 2) the unique site to integrate, ground and make meaning out of personal values develops authenticity, 3) encountering hands-on learning shapes behaviors, and 4) the independence of relying on one's own beliefs and feelings helps determine self-authorship. </p><p> Fourth, activists' experiences are consistent with Komives et al. (2006) LID model and did appear to help students' progress through the model.</p>

<p> Over the past 30 years there has been a call for higher education to reprioritize the civic purposes of the university (Campus Compact, 2012). Community-based teaching and research have emerged as key academic strategies to enhance the student experience and increase the civic mission of higher education (Erlich, 2000; Eyler &amp; Giles, 1999; Stanton, Giles, &amp; Cruz, 1999). While more faculty are encouraged to incorporate community engagement into their work (Colby, Ehrlich, &amp; Stephens, 2003), minimal research focuses on the motivations of early career engaged faculty (O'Meara, 2012). This study explores why early career faculty, in order to fulfill their roles as engaged teachers, scholars, and active community members, are motivated to integrate community engagement into their teaching, research, and outreach. </p><p> The following research questions guided this qualitative study: Q1: How do early career faculty describe their motivations to include community engagement into their teaching, research, and outreach? Q1a: What do early career faculty perceive as the greatest areas of support for community engagement in their teaching, research, and outreach? Q1b: What do early career faculty perceive as the greatest barriers to include community engagement in their teaching, research, and outreach? </p><p> This study employed a qualitative, interpretive research design (Patton, 2002). Three sequential phases were utilized: <i>N</i>=6 semi-structured individual expert interviews, <i>N</i>=5 focus groups with <i> N</i>=23 participants involving early career faculty from New England, and <i>N</i>=19 reflective questionnaires administered to focus group participants and additional early career faculty in New England. Purposeful and snowball sampling techniques (Patton, 2002) were used to secure participants through Campus Compact. Data analysis was accomplished using Krueger and Casey's (2009) Classic Approach strategy. </p><p> Five major themes emerged: 1) The desire to deepen student learning and enhance teaching methods, 2) Responsibility for community impact and community collaboration, 3) Driven by personal identity, values, and 'meaning making', 4) The struggle for work-life balance, and 5) Motivations grounded in unique institutional culture and characteristics. Findings may be used to recruit and hire new engaged faculty, and design future faculty development efforts to increase faculty involvement, satisfaction, and retention at college, universities, and higher education organizations that promote community engagement.</p>

<p> The purpose of this study was to explore the perceptions of first-generation college students and learn why they believed they persisted to graduation. First-generation students are students whose parents did not attend college. Research literature on the topic reflects a the concern for first-generation students and their decreased likelihood of graduating college but the problem is there is a lack of information exploring why first-generation students believe they persisted to graduation. The research questions were: Who are the first-generation students at Midwestern University (MWU) who have persisted to graduation as measured by those who applied to graduate? When comparing first-generation students to non-first-generation, what are the similarities and differences between MWU students who complete degree programs? Based on MWU first-generation student responses to interview questions, are there patterns that emerge among first-generation students who persist to graduation? Participants of this study were students enrolled at MWU in the winter and spring terms of 2012, were enrolled in the final two terms of their degree program, and had submitted a degree application for May 2012 graduation. Qualitative methodology was used for this study using data gained from a demographic survey and individual interviews. </p><p> Using qualitative methodology, data was collected from 220 demographic surveys and 22 face-to-face interviews. A statistical z-test was conducted on the demographic survey and the interviews were transcribed and analyzed through axial and open coding which identified themes related to why participants persisted to graduation. Seven themes emerged among first-generation participants related to first-generation students' persistence to graduation: college preparedness, encouragement, adjustment, choice of major, faculty interaction, financial impact, and personal awareness. The salient finding revealed that first-generation students need encouragement in achieving their goal of degree attainment and in understanding and overcoming obstacles. Encouragement from family, faculty, staff, and course colleagues positively influenced first-generation students and was the main reason they persisted to graduation. Universities may benefit from repeating this research and comparing the results in addition to following first-generation freshman cohorts. Programs designed for first-generation students, including programs for families of those first-generation students were recommended as future initiatives.</p>