Action research is a powerful tool that can be used by teaching centers to improve teaching and learning. This article describes an action research project conducted at the Center for Research on Learning and Teaching (CRLT) at the University of Michigan. The project concerns retention and attrition in science gateway courses, with particular attention given to the role of the Teaching Assistant. The article concludes with a discussion of six principles for teaching center staff who wish to conduct their own action research projects.

“Defining and Evaluating College Teaching,” William E. Cashin, Kansas State University. (IDEA Paper #21, September 1989). Adobe Acrobat/PDF. Reviews the various kinds of data used to evaluate college teaching, presents an expanded definition of college teaching based on seven areas of teaching responsibility, and suggests that multiple sources of data be used to evaluate college teaching. http://ideaedu.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/Idea_Paper_21.pdf [2]

Written by the director and staff of the first, and one of the largest, teaching centers in American higher education - the University of Michigan's Center for Research on Learning and Teaching (CRLT) - this book offers a unique perspective on the strategies for making a teaching center integral to an institution's educational mission. It presents a comprehensive vision for running a wide range of related programs, and provides faculty developers elsewhere with ideas and material to prompt reflection on the management and practices of their centers - whatever their size - and on how best to create a culture of teaching on their campuses. Given that only about a fifth of all U.S. postsecondary institutions have a teaching center, this book also offers a wealth of ideas and models for those administrators who are considering the development of new centers on their campuses. Topics covered include: - The role of the director, budgetary strategies, and operational principles - Strategies for using evaluation to enhance and grow a teaching center - Relationships with center constituencies: faculty, provost, deans, and department chairs - Engagement with curricular reform and assessment - Strengthening diversity through faculty development - Engaging faculty in effective use of instructional technology - Using student feedback for instructional improvement - Using action research to improve teaching and learning - Incorporating role play and theatre in faculty development - Developing graduate students as consultants - Preparing future faculty for teaching - The challenges of faculty development at a research university In the concluding chapter, to provide additional context about the issues that teaching centers face today, twenty experienced center directors who operate in similar environments share their main challenges, and the strategies they have developed to overcome them through innovative programming and careful management of their resources. Their contributions fall into four broad categories: institutional-level challenges, engaging faculty and students and supporting engaged pedagogy, discipline-specific programming, and programming to address specific instructor career stages.

Most faculty development centers offer limited resources for leadership development, and most existing programs focus on training the new chair. The key questions we address are: What role do teaching centers play in administrative professional development? How can we develop programs that assist new chairs with their immediate questions, while also promoting continued growth in institutional leadership? We present one model at the University of Michigan, initiated by the provost and organized by the Center for Research on Learning and Teaching, which involves an extensive needs assessment process, a developmentally oriented leadership training program, and an evaluation.

Action research is a powerful tool that can be used by teaching centers to improve teaching and learning. This chapter describes an action research project conducted at the Center for Research on Learning and Teaching at the University of Michigan. The project concerns retention and attrition in science gateway courses, with particular attention given to the role of the teaching assistant. This chapter concludes with a discussion of six principles for teaching center staff who wish to conduct their own action research projects.

Attrition from the sciences remains a national problem. We present results from a survey of over 2,100 undergraduates that, contrary to previous research, suggests that teaching assistants (TAs) influence student retention in the sciences in multiple ways. Multiple linear regression (MLR) and student comments suggest that TAs influence lab climate, course grades, and students' knowledge of science careers, all of which have an effect on students' decisions to stay in or leave the sciences. We close with recommendations for TA training, mentoring, and management to positively impact student retention.

(2002). Discussing the Unfathomable Classroom-Based Responses to Tragedy. Change: The Magazine of Higher Learning: Vol. 34, No. 1, pp. 18-22.