Guidance for Graduate Students, Post Docs and Early Career Faculty Karl A. Smith University of Minnesota Introductory Session Nanyang Business School October 2012

Scholarship Reconsidered: Priorities of the Professoriate Ernest L. Boyer The Scholarship of Discovery, research that increases the storehouse of new knowledge within the disciplines; The Scholarship of Integration, including efforts by faculty to explore the connectedness of knowledge within and across disciplines, and thereby bring new insights to original research; The Scholarship of Application, which leads faculty to explore how knowledge can be applied to consequential problems in service to the community and society; and The Scholarship of Teaching, which views teaching not as a routine task, but as perhaps the highest form of scholarly enterprise, involving the constant interplay of teaching and learning.

Reflection and Dialogue Individually reflect on interest in teaching and an academic career and what you’d like to get out of the workshop. Write for about 1 minute. Discuss with your neighbor for about 3 minutes –Describe your interests & goals for the workshop. Make sure each person talks –Select some aspects that you would like to present to the whole group if you are randomly selected Whole group discussion

Levels of Education Inquiry Source: Streveler, R., Borrego, M. and Smith, K.A Moving from the “Scholarship of Teaching and Learning” to “Educational Research:” An Example from Engineering. Improve the Academy, Vol. 25, Level 0 Teacher –Teach as taught Level 1 Effective Teacher –Teach using accepted teaching theories and practices Level 2 Scholarly Teacher –Assesses performance and makes improvements Level 3 Scholarship of Teaching and Learning –Engages in educational experimentation, shares results Level 4 Discipline Based Education Researcher –Conducts educational research, publishes archival papers

Levels of Inquiry Level 1: Excellent teaching –Involves the use of good content and teaching and assessing methods Level 2: Scholarly Teaching –Involves good content and methods and classroom assessment and evidence gathering, informed by best practice and best knowledge, inviting of collaboration and review.

Levels of Inquiry (cont’d) Level 3: Scholarship of Teaching and Learning –The Instructor (a) Is aware of modern pedagogical developments and incorporates them in his/her teaching where appropriate, and (b) Reflects on, assesses, and attempts to improve his/her teaching (classroom research) –Is public and open to critique and evaluation, is in a form that others can build on, involves question-asking, inquiry and investigation, particularly about student learning.

The Basic Features of Scholarly and Professional Work The activity requires a high level of discipline- related expertise. The activity breaks new ground, is innovative. The activity can be replicated or elaborated. The work and its results can be documented. The work and its results can be peer-reviewed. The activity has significance or impact. Adapted from: Diamond R. & Adam, B Recognizing faculty work: Reward systems for the year San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Basic Features of Professional and Scholarly Work It requires a high level of discipline-related expertise It is conducted in a scholarly manner with clear goals, adequate preparation, and appropriate methodology The work and its results are appropriately and effectively documented and disseminated. This reporting should include a reflective critique that addresses the significance of the work, the process that was used, and what was learned. It has significance beyond the individual context. It breaks new ground or is innovative. It can be replicated or elaborated on. The work both process and product or result is reviewed and judged to be meritorious and significant by a panel of ones peers. Bob Diamond (2002)

What Resources are Available? Advisors and Colleagues Center for Teaching and Learning Services Department Chair/Head Senior Colleagues Professional Organizations - Disciplinary Books

New Professor Handbooks Davidson, Cliff I. & Ambrose, Susan A The new professor’s handbook: A guide to teaching and research in engineering and science. Bolton: Anker. Reis, Richard M Tomorrow’s professor: Preparing for academic careers in science and engineering. New York: IEEE.

New Professor Handbooks Wankat, Phillip C The effective, efficient professor: Teaching, scholarship and service. Boston: Allyn and Bacon

Tips for Busy New Professors Phil Wankat ChE & ENE, Purdue University Submitted to ASEE IL-IN Section, April 2010

Clarify Your Vision Decide what goals are important to you –Promotion & Tenure –Significant other –Family: When to have a baby? –Starting a company –Becoming rich or famous –Running marathon, golf, fishing, reading? Need to prioritize and balance Spend time every week on important goals.

Promotion/Tenure Tips Obtain & study the written rules. Understand the procedure and timing. Discuss unwritten requirements with knowledgeable professors –Preferably both inside & outside department –Understand impact & potential Develop goals that will satisfy promotion & tenure committees. Spend time every week on these goals.

Promotion & Tenure Requirements Research Universities: –Money! At least enough to support research –Quality Publications, good journals. Goal: Impact! –Good teaching (great helps on margin) –Good citizen and service (may include advising) Undergraduate Institutions: –Good to great teaching. Goal: Impact! –Advising, service and citizenship –Involve UG in research & Money to support research

Efficiency Tips Never enough time. Need time management: –Set Goals & Prioritize – Use To-Do list. Include: goals for P&T committee your own work goals high-priority non-work items –Delegate work Give clear assignments & responsibility for details Check on progress and provide feedback Give credit –Learn to say no pleasantly –Maximum productivity: about 55 hours work/week.

Personal & Family Time Reserve time for yourself & your family. –Work at most 6 days/week on regular basis –Spend time with family daily –On trips, call home every day –Take short vacations. Develop flow activity - golf, cooking, etc. Stress point – balancing work & family –All studies: balancing harder for women.

What Leads to Student Learning 1.Involve the students 2.Students actively processing material 3.Positive expectations 4.Practice – reflection – feedback, and repeat 5.Time on task – Deliberate practice 6.Challenged, yet successful 7.Enthusiastic, engaging teacher.

Organizing Lectures Lecture Constraint: Attention span of students. Use mini-lectures with active learning breaks. Mini-lectures: –Opener & connector –Main Body –Brief Summary & connector. Control content tyranny – relaxing in class is more important than covering everything. Breaks: Introductions, brainstorming, stretch/restroom, one-minute quiz (demonstrated later), small group discussions, demos, & whatever else will make the students be active.

Building Lectures Build a lecture like a house: –Foundation, frame, outer walls & roof first, then finishing touches room by room. Houses and lectures are not built in one day. Start with 10 to 15 minutes on the foundation and frame – add more later. Max of 2 hrs prep time/50 minute lecture (assuming you know the material). Relaxing & being human is more important than covering everything – avoid content tyranny.

Active Learning Since it is what students do that leads to learning, teaching methods that force students to be active can be very effective. Co-operative groups Project & problem based learning (PBL) Hands-on and computer simulation labs Mastery learning Since these methods are unfamiliar & can fail –Get assistance in starting –Start slowly (e.g., as part of a lecture class)

Teaching Tips Write and share your course objectives. –Students are more likely to learn what you want them to if they know what that is. Come to class early and stay late –Easiest time for students to talk to you. Solve tests before you hand them out Attend at least one teaching workshop After 1 st test, ask what will help students learn. Lecture less! Use active learning methods. Remember: What students do is more important than what you do.

Research Tips Role of research advisor –Maintain professional relationship with students –Obtaining $ and budgeting –Use your start-up $ for maximum impact –Attend a Proposal Writing Workshop Balance research projects: –Continuation PhD/postdoc & new research –Working with your own grad students & collaborating with other profs & research alone Don’t expect grad students to get you promoted –Low risk & high risk –Fast pub/low impact & slow pub/high impact

Research: How much money? Assume: –average one Ph.D./year at steady state. –Ph.Ds graduate in 4 (or 5) years (rapid). –one terminal MS every 2 years. –Thus, group is 5 (or 6) students (moderate size). –1 grad student (incl. equipment, supplies, & overhead) costs $40(to 75) K/yr (reasonable). –PI: 2 months summer plus 10%AY (& overhead!) Estimate: ~$250,000 - $500,000/year

Questions Move into small groups & introduce yourself. On 3x5 card write one or two questions about “Tips for Busy New Professors” that the group agrees are good questions. Turn in the cards. I will comment on cards in the order received. This is called a “one-minute quiz” – it is useful in classes, and as a backup if you run out of lecture material.

Resources Teaching Engineering, free at: ChE/AboutUs/Publications/TeachingEng/index.html Wankat, The Effective, Efficient Teacher, Allyn & Bacon, 2002 Reis, Tomorrow’s Professor, IEEE, Monosson, Motherhood, The Elephant in the Laboratory: Women Scientists Speak Out, Cornell Univ Press, Diamond, Preparing for Promotion, Tenure, and Annual Review. A Faculty Guide, Anker Pub. Co., Burroughs Wellcome Fund & Howard Hughes Medical Instit., Making the Right Moves. A Practical Guide to Scientific Management for Postdocs and New Faculty,

Promotion and Tenure Guides Diamond, Robert M Preparing for promotion and tenure review: A faculty guide, 2 nd Ed. Bolton: Anker Diamond, Robert M Serving on promotion and tenure committees: A faculty guide, 2 nd Ed. Bolton: Anker.

Principles of Good Practice: Supporting Early-Career Faculty Mary Deane Sorcinelli Improving Tenure Process 1.Good practice communicates expectations for performance 2.Good practice gives feedback on progress 3.Good practice enhances collegial review processes 4.Good practice creates flexible timelines for tenure Encouraging Collegial Relations 5.Good practice encourages mentoring by senior faculty 6.Good practice extends mentoring and feedback to graduate students who aspire to be faculty members 7.Good practice recognizes the department chair as a career sponsor Easing Stresses of Time and Balance 8.Good practice supports teaching, particularly at the undergraduate level 9.Good practice supports scholarly development 10.Good practice fosters a balance between professional and personal life

Paradise Lost: How the Academy Converts Enthusiastic Recruits into Early-Career Doubters Cathy A. Trower, Ann E. Austin & Mary Deane Sorcinelli AAHE Bulletin, May 2001 What We Can Do? 1.Provide consistency, clarity, and communication of reasonable performance expectations (throughout graduate school and the probationary years). 2.Ensure formal orientation, mentoring, and feedback. 3.Offer flexibility and choice, and help scholars understand various career tracks (Ideally, we need to legitimize those tracks outside of the tenure system). 4.Afford support for ongoing self-reflection and dialogue with colleagues about the kind of work and life we want to have.

Heeding New Voices: Academic Careers for a New Generation R. Eugene Rice, Mary Deane Sorcinelli and Ann E. Austin. AAHE Inquiry #7, 2000 Three core, consistent, and interwoven concerns on the minds of early-career faculty: 1.Lack of a comprehensible tenure system 2.Lack of community 3.Lack of an integrated life

Additional References Boyer, Ernest L Scholarship reconsidered: Priorities for the professoriate. Princeton, NJ: The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. Diamond, R., “The Mission-Driven Faculty Reward System,” in R.M. Diamond, Ed., Field Guide to Academic Leadership, San Francisco: Jossey- Bass, 2002 Diamond R. & Adam, B Recognizing faculty work: Reward systems for the year San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. Shulman, Lee S Taking learning seriously. Change, 31 (4), Smith, Karl A Guidance for new faculty (and students). Journal of Engineering Education, 89 (1), 3-6. Wankat, P.C., Felder, R.M., Smith, K.A. and Oreovicz, F The scholarship of teaching and learning in engineering. In Huber, M.T & Morreale, S. (Eds.), Disciplinary styles in the scholarship of teaching and learning: A conversation. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.