I often have friends and colleagues ask me about my take on various tools and programs that I use. Each of these are for Mac as I work completely on that platform. I frequently consider adding or changing tools and this list is kept up-to-date (at the top of the page) with my current favorites.
American higher education today may be influenced more by hiring and vocational outcomes than any other time in history. Policy makers, students, and families look to postsecondary education to improve their chances of getting hired. A new book by Sean Gallagher looks at these issues and provides a thoughtful analysis of the future of university credentials. In today’s post, I want to share a book review of his work for those that may be interested in learning more about this important topic.
Governor Scott Walker of Wisconsin is joining Republicans in other states across the country in seeking to push professors to earn their salaries by teaching more. Walker cites raising college costs and a decrease in the among of time professors spend in the classroom. In today’s post, I am sharing a thoughtful piece by the Associated Press that looks at Walker’s proposal as well as similar efforts in other states. I provided background information and a quote to the story.
By Todd Richmond
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — University of Wisconsin chemistry professor Robert Hamers has a jam-packed day ahead: an hourlong lecture, a conference call with colleagues about nanotechnology, meetings and plans to check on students in the lab.
Research is more than simply collecting data and writing up results. Particularly if you’re a pre-tenure assistant professor looking to establish your research agenda, research is also about planning and arranging your publications. Without a sufficient guide, you can miss opportunities or fall short of your institution’s research expectations for tenure and beyond. In today’s post, I want to share how backward design can help you plan your research activities.
Backward design is an approach to curriculum development that calls for creating learning goals and then working backward from those goals to determine instructional methods and assessments.
The goal with backward design is to teach toward specific goals which helps to focus and organization a course. Backward design provides a roadmap to guide the instructor.
Similarly, backward design can help you develop a roadmap for your research activities.
Graduate and undergraduate students can be tremendous assets to your research endeavors and can serve as the embodiment of a merger between your teaching and research activity. For all the benefits of working with students, some concerns and challenges exist. In today’s post, I want to share some tips for publishing with students that you can use to make sure that your publishing relationships with students go well for everyone involved.
