scholarly journals It’s in the syllabus … or is it? How biology syllabi can serve as communication tools for creating inclusive classrooms at a large-enrollment research institution

2021 ◽  
Vol 45 (2) ◽  
pp. 224-240
Author(s):  
Logan E. Gin ◽  
Rachel A. Scott ◽  
Leilani D. Pfeiffer ◽  
Yi Zheng ◽  
Katelyn M. Cooper ◽  
...  

Syllabi are usually required by institutions of higher education and often are the first exposure that students have to a particular course. Instructors can use syllabi as a mechanism to convey important information to students. Moreover, a syllabus can be considered a tool to create inclusive biology courses by transmitting information to all students equitably. In this study, we examined 75 biology course syllabi collected from a research-intensive institution to examine what content instructors include. We reviewed the syllabi to determine the presence or absence of elements and assessed to what extent there were differences in the presence or absence of certain syllabus elements based on course level and course size. We found that instructors are most likely to include content about course expectations and least likely to include content about creating positive classroom climate on their course syllabi. Despite university requirements, many instructors did not include the university-mandated criteria and they did not include elements that could increase how inclusive students perceive the course to be. However, instructors more often included inclusive content when it was required by the university. We also found that students enrolled in upper level courses and small enrollment courses are provided with less content on their syllabi, which we would then interpret as a less inclusive syllabus. We discuss the implications of how these results may differentially impact students in these courses and how the syllabus can be a tool for creating more inclusive college biology courses.

2012 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hunud Abia Kadouf ◽  
Umar Aimhanosi Oseini ◽  
Ainul Jaria Maidin

The primary function of Ahmad Ibrahim Kulliyyah (Faculty) of Laws, at the very beginning of its inception, was that of teaching civil law and Sharî’ah subjects. As it matured, its vision has been varied from teaching to that of research with the aim of attaining the status of a full research institution that provides both quality research and best legal education in the region. Similar to other institutions of higher education in Malaysia, the responsibility of research is a shared function of both graduate students and the academic staff. The research output, on the part of the students is mostly composed of either Master Dissertations or PhD Theses. The academic members of the Faculty, however, are involved either in direct research, individually or jointly, supervision, and publications of their findings. By investigating and analyzing factors influencing research activities at AIKOL in the past twenty years, the researchers will be able to identify the general trends and development of research as it unfolded over years. The researchers hope that the policymakers, at both Faculty and University levels, will use the findings to improve research quality by boldly addressing the problems hampering research progress at AIKOL.


2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 552-552
Author(s):  
Melissa Cannon

Abstract A crucial first step in preparing to become an Age-Friendly University (AFU) is seeking endorsement from the campus community and leadership. This presentation describes the mapping of the AFU principles to the strategic plan and initiatives of Western Oregon University, leading to endorsement by its faculty senate, and highlights a study of the older community members’ use of the university, laying the groundwork for advancing age-friendliness on campus. Data were collected through surveys (N=46), interviews (N=9), and photovoice method (N=7) with older adults, and data were analyzed using SPSS, team coding, and intensive group discussion to develop categories and themes. Themes emerged related to how the college campus is used by older adults, the need to promote lifelong learning to the community, and the need to address accessibility issues in order to be more age-friendly, providing helpful insight to other institutions of higher education seeking to join the AFU network.


2017 ◽  
Vol 25 (3) ◽  
pp. 181-189 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew Hines ◽  
Alexandra Whittington

Purpose A research project exploring emerging student needs explored six aspects of student life: living, learning, working, playing, connecting and participating. Design/methodology/approach A modified version of the University of Houston’s “Framework Foresight” method was used to explore the future of six aspects of future student life. The resulting scenarios were analyzed for their implications, including the use of the World Café technique, and ultimately led to the identification of nine emerging student needs. Findings Nine specific emerging needs of future students could be used strategically by institutions of higher education to guide and inform planning and to generate innovative ideas for university offerings. Specific examples of offerings that would meet the projected future needs are recommended. Research limitations/implications In terms of research limitations, the paper is focused on the needs of students and does not purport to be an exhaustive analysis of all of the issues influencing higher education. It views the future of higher education through the lens of students and their emerging needs. Practical implications The paper is intended for educators, researchers and administrators to provide insight on how the needs of students, their key customers, are evolving. Originality/value This piece explores student life in its totality as way to more accurately identify student needs in the future.


1974 ◽  
Vol 36 (4) ◽  
pp. 217-220 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edward J. Kormondy ◽  
William Kastrinos ◽  
Gertrude G. Sanders

2019 ◽  
Vol 48 (2) ◽  
pp. 92-108
Author(s):  
Lane D. Trotter ◽  
Amy Mitchell

As with higher-education institutions around the world, British Columbia (BC) and Ontario are increasingly faced with demographic and market pressures that erode the traditional difference between the university and non-university sectors (i.e., colleges and institutes). Key components that ensure these provinces’ institutions preserve their unique roles and differentiations in a changing context, partially driven by their governments, include research mandates, transparency in institutional governance, and strategic documents that resist the academic drift created by institutional isomorphism. Both governments are actively reshaping their post-secondary systems to align with national or regional economic needs, increasing access, streamlining degree completion, and responding to community pressure to have a university or a degree-granting institution. An analysis of the enabling legislation, government policy directives, and institutional documents of both provinces shows that there is a blurring in the distinction between colleges and universities, and the costs associated with this.


2021 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Barbara Ferman ◽  
Miriam Greenberg ◽  
Thao Lee ◽  
Steven C. McKay

Over the last fifty years, institutions of higher education have served as anchor institutions in cities’ broader neoliberal efforts to generate new economic sectors, attract the creative class, and build amenities that stimulate market-oriented redevelopment. These activities, combined with universities’ own neoliberal restructuring, including diminishing housing support for students and staff, have contributed to gentrification and displacement in neighborhoods surrounding universities, creating the context for interrelated struggles for the right to the city and the right to the university. Using Temple University in Philadelphia, and University of California Santa Cruz as case studies we examine how students, faculty, and other university actors are joining with organizations and movements in surrounding communities to resist restructuring and displacement. In doing so, these emerging coalitions are transcending the more divisive town/gown narrative, forging new solidarities that are reimagining more just and equitable futures for both the city and the university.


Author(s):  
Mikhail Sergeevich Pasholikov

This article is dedicated to determination of organizational and pedagogical conditions for arranging educational practice in the process of vocational training of future managers in the university. The relevance of this topic is substantiated by dissatisfaction of the pedagogues, students and employers’ representatives with the results of educational practice. The author compares the international models of management education, and highlights the key differences in the Russian and foreign approaches towards arranging educational practice for the bachelors in management. The author describes the basic organizational and pedagogical conditions for improving the effectiveness of educational activity, implemented in Herzen State Pedagogical University of Russia within the framework of the Bachelor’s Program in Management. The novelty of this research consists in the proposal of criteria and indicators for assessing the results of organization of educational practice from the perspective satisfaction of its subjects, as well in elucidation of the key mechanisms for improving the stages of training and conducting educational practice, such as individualization of the process of vocational training of future managers, establishment of long-term relations between the graduate departments and employers’ representatives, continuous improvement of the content and mechanisms of its organization. Practical importance of this work consists in the possibility of application of the selected organizational and pedagogical conditions for arranging educational practice in development and implementation by the institutions of higher education of the basic programs of vocational education for training future specialists; development of  the programs for educational, industrial and other types of practices; as well as creation of the corporate internship programs.


2015 ◽  
Vol 156 (35) ◽  
pp. 1396-1401
Author(s):  
Árpád Somogyi

Hans Selye, the father of the stress concept, was a giant of science of the twentieth century. Beyond his best-known work on stress, he also made several discoveries on various other fields of experimental medicine. He described and characterized various pluricausal diseases. In addition, he made pivotal contributions to the broad field of endocrinology, especially to the classification of steroids and to our better understanding of their mode of action. He developed surgical technics and experimental animal models suitable for studying the pathogenesis and prevention of human diseases. Selye was an extremely well educated, highly intelligent and disciplined individual, an original and creative scientist, an outstanding teacher, a philosopher, a prolific author, a fabulous communicator and a gifted organizer successfully establishing, developing and managing a major academic research institution, the word-famous Institute of Experimental Medicine and Surgery of the University of Montreal. Orv. Hetil., 2015, 156(35), 1396–1401.


Author(s):  
Kenneth Joel Zogry

The introduction explains the role of the Daily Tar Heel, the UNC student newspaper, in the broader context of the university and the state of North Carolina. It outlines the key arguments and themes in the book: academic freedom, freedom of speech and press; the ideological evolution of the university; the political push-pull over progressivism and conservatism in the state; and the role of big-time athletics at a top-tier research institution.


Web Portals ◽  
2011 ◽  
pp. 252-269 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marko Bajec

Portal-based solutions have been proved in practice to be a promising technology that offers companies a way to transform and integrate their information systems more effectively and at lower cost. The main point of this paper is to discuss the use of portals in institutions of higher education. We examine the motivating factors that drive higher-education institutions to use portal-based solutions. As an example, we explain how the University of Ljubljana is taking advantage of portal technology and what benefits are to be expected from the use of portals as core components of the university’s new user-centric information system.


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