Creative Virtual Communities of Scholarship

Mark AlexanderVice President, Curriculum and Content ServicesGrand Canyon University

Grand Canyon University

Traditional Campus

Full-time and Adjunct Faculty

Non-traditional Campus

Full-time and Adjunct Faculty

Doctoral Learners

Non-traditional, online

How do you engage a distributed, diverse population of faculty and students?

Center for Innovation and Research in Teaching

Doctoral Candidate (DC) Network

Doctoral Education The Problem

Doctoral Attrition remains at relatively the same

level during the past 50 years, even though the

number of doctoral learners has increased by an

average of 3.8% each year (Hoffer, et al., 2001)

Doctoral attrition (40 – 70%) is a well documented

problem and is often considered, “ok”, as rite of

passage (Hawlery, 2003; Lovitts, 2001; Lovitts & Nelson, 2000)

Most recently, in a study of 29 U.S. and Canadian

universities, only 57% of Ph.D candidates completed

their program within a decade! (Sowell, Zhang, Redd, & King, 2008)

Key Studies Exploring Doctoral Attrition

Difference of opinion of why doctoral students leave

their programs of study (Lovitts, 2001)

Possible causes of attrition:

Learner Isolation (Azad & Kohum, 2006, Stallone, 2004, Hawley, 2003, Lovitts,

2001)

Unclear requirements (Azad & Kohum, 2006)

Little academic difference between those who

complete vs those who do not complete (Lovitts, 2011)

Complexity

Goals A learner driven, scholarly community designed to

help learners successfully complete their program of study

Provide a rich collaborative environment that includes resources, roadmaps, references, and tools to support learners in becoming independent scholars, capable of producing and publishing high-quality research.

Create appropriate supplemental resources.

Research / Dissertation

Dissertation Topic

Faculty Bios

Tutoring

Population, Sample, & Methodology Population

48 Graduates and Users of DC

Equal representation male/female

41.7% digital native, 58.3% digital immigrant

Sample 24 Graduates and Users of DC

Methodology, Sampling, & Analysis Quantitative

Online Survey- 14 questions

Survey open from 4.15.13 and 4.20.13

Results of the survey were analyzed using descriptive statistics

Research Questions

Do graduating doctoral students value the DC Network?

What resources are graduating doctoral students using on the DC Network?

Are there differences in graduating doctoral student usage between digital natives and digital immigrants?

Logon Frequency

Connection

Helped me…

DC Activity

Learners who logon to DC more than 1 time per week reported less isolation, greater connection with other learners

Logon / Week

N Reduced

isolation

%

0 - 1 logon 14 1 7.1%

2+ logon 10 7 70.0%Logon / Week

N Connection to

Learners

%

0 - 1 logon

14 2 14%

2+ logons 10 6 60%

Results

Do graduating doctoral students value the DC Network?

91% responded that the DC network helped them locate dissertation resources

78% responded that the DC network helped them locate research resources

67% responded that the DC network helped them complete their doctoral program of study

58% responded that the DC network helped them feel connected to other learners

56% responded that the DC network helped them feel connected to faculty

Results

What resources are graduating doctoral students using on the DC Network?

92% indicated that they used the scholarly network to find doctoral resources (templates, IRB, course sequence, sample dissertations…)

63% indicated that they use the scholarly network to communicate with others (share research ideas, discover new content, help one another, . . . )

62% private messages

54% read blog

54% read forum

Results

Are there differences in graduate doctoral student DC usage when comparing digital natives vs. digital immigrants?

60% of digital natives and 78% of digital immigrants reported logging on to the DC network at least once per week 

10% of digital natives and 64% of the digital immigrants logon at least twice a week

20% of digital natives and 50% of digital immigrants reported that they somewhat agreed or agreed that the DC network help them feel less isolated 

Summary Promising results (so far) reduce

isolation and build community

Next Steps

What factors enable persistence?

Doctoral Community, faculty, curriculum, academic counselors, residency

What factors affect isolation?

Doctoral Community, faculty, curriculum, academic counselors, residency

GCU Scholarly Engagement

Discovery

Application

Teaching

Integration

Discovery

Application

Teaching

Integration

Scholarship of discovery includes original research to advance

knowledge.

Scholarship of Discovery

Encompasses those scholarly activities that extend the stock of human knowledge through the research or collection of new information

Emphasis on the creation of knowledge; aligns with the traditional view of “research”

Includes empirical (quantitative/qualitative), theoretical or applied investigations

Evidenced through peer-reviewed publications, presentations and grant funding

Discovery

Application

Teaching

Integration

Scholarship of integration includes synthesis of information across disciplines, topics or time.

Scholarship of Integration

Involves interdisciplinary or interpretive activities or writing, and research across disciplines into a larger context

Emphasis on making information meaningful in a broader context

Includes writing books or review papers, collections or interpretations of multisource work, or creation of an integrated website

Evidenced through products that exhibit disciplinary rigor and have substantial intellectual implications

Discovery

Application

Teaching

Integration

Scholarship of teaching includes the systematic study of teaching

and learning processes

Scholarship of Teaching

Includes activities that improve the teaching and advising of students, the development and publication of materials to use in teaching, and theoretical and practical works that extend the range of knowledge about the pedagogical process

Emphasis on intentional inquiry and systematic reflection about one's teaching

Includes empirical investigations of pedagogy, systematic reflections on teaching, engagement in a teaching community

Evidenced through teaching portfolio, publications, presentations, and creation of pedagogical resources

Discovery

Application

Teaching

Integration

Scholarship of application (engagement) includes the application of disciplinary

expertise.

Scholarship of Application

Includes scholarly activities, which apply one’s content expertise and knowledge to the betterment and service of the academy and society

Emphasis on service activities and applied work tied directly to one's special field of knowledge

Includes application of theoretical models to address social issues, client-centered investigations, and service to the profession

Evidenced through service portfolio, publications, presentations, contributions to advance the professional community

Discovery

Application

Teaching

Integration

Essential to the definition of scholarship is that scholarly activities are publicly disseminated in a manner that allows review, critique, application and recognition by one’s academic peers

Public Dissemination

Center for Innovation in Research and Teaching (CIRT)

Mission:Foster a culture of critical reflection to promote innovation in teaching, learning and research.

Vision:Faculty at Grand Canyon University will be renowned leaders in teaching, research and innovation.

Goals:

Facilitate dissemination of evidence-based teaching principles, strategies, and educational policy

Create opportunities for scholarly reflection, dialogue and exchange

Promote a scholarly approach to teaching, learning and assessment

Foster innovative instructional and assessment strategies in the classroom

Scholarly Engagement and Research Grants

Support participation at scholarly conferences via funding for:

Research Grant funding helps promote research activities via funding for:

• Acquisition of research materials

• Research assistance, including graduate or undergraduate assistants or independent contractors

• Editorial support and/or publication subvention

Key Indicators:• $60,000 funding budgeted for 2012• 4 grants awarded in 2011

Journal of Instructional ResearchAnnual publication by the Center for Innovation in Research and Teaching at Grand Canyon University that highlights faculty research relevant to best practices in post-secondary instruction. Unique to JIR is the use of a two-stage evaluation process with public peer review, interactive discussion and peer review.

Key Indicators:• 10 manuscript submissions for 2011 volume• 44 public reviewers from GCU • External editorial review board• 2000+ views of discussion papers

Collaborative Research CirclesDesigned to facilitate research centered on similar topics or shared interests. Each collaborative research circle is led by an expert faculty with relevant research interests.

Key Indicators:• 2 active research circles• Participation of faculty and doctoral students• 5 active research studies

Canyon Journal of Interdisciplinary StudiesAn annual online publication coordinated by the Center for Innovation in Research and Teaching at Grand Canyon University (GCU) that highlights exemplary student and faculty research completed at GCU.

Key Indicators:• Interdisciplinary editorial and peer review board• 6 manuscripts accepted for publication in 2011

Research Library

The research library contains a range of resources to help support both novice and experienced researchers. The materials provide generalized information applicable to a range of disciplines and research styles.

Key Indicators:• 21 resources with 4000+ views

Research Tips

Provide the latest information, resources and conference information to support the conducting research and disseminating the findings.

Key Indicators:• 15 articles with 400+ views

Research Seminars

Provide multimedia presentations concerning “how to” information for planning, conducting and implementing research. In addition, seminars highlight strategies to enhance public dissemination of research.

Key Indicators:• 122 views of initial seminar

Research Spotlight

Highlights faculty scholarly activities that have been recently published or presented at an academic outlet.

Key Indicators:• 17 faculty contributors with 324 views

Scholarship of Teaching and LearningEnhance student learning by approaching the process of teaching with the same empirical rigor that is applied to traditional research endeavors.  This improves the effectiveness of their own teaching while contributing to the larger body of knowledge on best practices in post-secondary teaching. 

Key Indicators:• 32 articles with 1200+ views

Online Teaching ShowcaseProvides a forum for the scholarly exchange of best practices in virtual education. Designed to foster instructional effectiveness, OTS features experienced online faculty sharing strategies that optimize learning and engagement in the online classroom.

Key Indicators:• 6 faculty presentations with 2500+

views

Teaching Webinars

In collaboration with the Faculty Training & Development department, CIRT offers an interactive webinar series focusing on Multimedia Instructional Strategies for Teaching (MIST).

Key Indicators:• 11 webinars with 202 faculty attending

Teaching Tips

Online, asynchronous resources (15 minutes to 1 hour in duration) providing theoretical and pedagogical information to promote best practices in instruction. Teaching Tips are designed to be completed at the convenience and discretion of each faculty member.

Key Indicators:• 6 presentations with 3000+ views

Technology ToolsShort, online, asynchronous modules highlighting a technology teaching tool along with relevant pedagogical implementation strategies.  Each tool is designed to provide a quick snapshot of the technology, a demonstration of how to use the resource and ideas for implementing the tool in a pedagogically sound manner.

Key Indicators:• 17 presentations with 2500+ views

Teaching Resources

Designed to be used by instructors to provide additional assistance to students on common academic issues; students can be directed to this site for information, activities and resources.

Key Indicators:• 35 resources with 3500+ views

Teaching Circles

Teaching circles are designed to provide faculty an opportunity to discuss, collaborate and share best practices relevant to the specific assignments and activities of each target course.

Key Indicators:• 9 participants in pilot program of initial

course

Classroom Spotlight

The classroom spotlight features best practices and innovative instructional strategies as demonstrated by GCU faculty.

Key Indicators:• 25 faculty contributors with 2700+

views

Questions?