{"id":47,"date":"2012-09-15T15:29:39","date_gmt":"2012-09-15T15:29:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sites.wofford.edu\/dinkinscs\/?page_id=47"},"modified":"2013-09-27T15:36:29","modified_gmt":"2013-09-27T15:36:29","slug":"cil-research-project","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/sites.wofford.edu\/dinkinscs\/cil-research-project\/","title":{"rendered":"CIL Research Project"},"content":{"rendered":"


\nWhat Is the Value of a Face-to-Face Education on a Liberal Arts Campus?<\/span><\/h2>\n

 <\/p>\n

A research project made possible by a fellowship from <\/span><\/h4>\n

the Wofford College Center for Innovation and Learning<\/span><\/h4>\n
\u00a0<\/strong><\/div>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 As liberal arts institutions consider offering more education online, it is vitally important that we understand and articulate the advantages of classroom and other in-person interactions for student engagement and learning outcomes so that institutions and students can make informed decisions in choosing online, on-campus, or blended education. The goal of this study is to articulate the unique in-person interactions that enrich learning in a liberal arts environment and to better understand how, when, and where the most effective and engaging interactions happen. To that end, I will employ a qualitative research method that combines direct observations of classroom, lab, and other in-person interactions with interviews of faculty, staff, and students about teaching and learning on a liberal arts campus.<\/span><\/div>\n
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Nature and goals of project<\/span><\/strong><\/div>\n
The primary goal of this study is to identify and articulate specific ways in which teaching and learning prosper through in-person interactions on a liberal arts campus. I will share my findings with: (1) Wofford faculty and staff so we can know what we are doing well and do more of it; (2) the board of trustees so that they can better understand how learning happens on our campus and make informed decisions about the growth of our campus or the offering of online content; (3) current and prospective students so they can understand the advantages of studying in-person at Wofford within the liberal arts campus experience; (4) other higher-education professionals so that other similar schools facing the same decisions as Wofford can think about what aspects, if any, of in-person teaching and learning can be preserved or translated in online education.<\/span><\/div>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 This study will employ a phenomenological method based on the early-20th<\/sup>-century works of the philosophers Edmund Husserl and Martin Heidegger. Phenomenological methods are designed to study experience itself as objectively as possible. In the practice of phenomenology, the researcher classifies, describes, interprets, and analyzes structures of experiences related to a particular phenomenon. <\/a>[1]<\/span><\/span><\/span> In the case of the present study, the phenomenon I will investigate is the lived experience of teaching and learning on a liberal arts campus. The term \u201clived experience\u201d is often used in phenomenological studies to highlight the underlying assumption that the truths and facets of a phenomenon are best known by those who directly experience them. I will explore this direct experience of the phenomenon of teaching and learning on a liberal arts campus in two ways: by recording my own direct observations of classroom, lab, and other interactions at Wofford and by interviewing Wofford faculty, staff, and students about their lived experiences of teaching and learning on our campus. I will compile the data gathered from this combined method in a way that will preserve the anonymity of those observed and interviewed.<\/span><\/div>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 For my observations of classroom and other in-person interactions, the phenomenological method requires that I make myself aware of and then set aside any presuppositions, prejudices, expectations, associations, or assumptions so that I can watch and listen from an objective perspective, looking for details that I might not notice were I in my regular role as a teacher. This kind of observation yields rich and varied details that help highlight previously overlooked aspects of a phenomenon. For the interviews, the method I will use is one I developed in 2005<\/a>[2]<\/span><\/span><\/span> that has since been cited in studies in education, social work, and action research.<\/a>[3]<\/span><\/span><\/span> It combines two kinds of approaches: First, critical incident prompts invite interview participants to recall a time that stands out for them. For instance, I might say to a student, \u201cplease think back to a time when you were really engaged while in the classroom,\u201d or to a professor, \u201ctell me about one of your best teaching moments.\u201d These kinds of prompts elicit narratives that vividly illustrate the interview participant\u2019s personal and direct experience with a phenomenon. Second, Socratic-hermeneutic questioning complements these narrative-seeking prompts by engaging the interview participant in back-and-forth dialogue that asks the participant to question and explore his or her own deeply-held beliefs on a phenomenon. Direct observations will be recorded in field notes, and interviews will be audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim to create texts for analysis.<\/p>\n

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Bibliography<\/span><\/strong><\/div>\n
Beard, Lawrence A., Cynthia Harper, and Gena Riley. \u201cOnline Versus On-Campus Instruction: Student Attitudes & Perceptions.\u201d TechTrends: Linking Research & Practice to Improve Learning<\/em> 48.6 (2004): 29\u201331.<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Beasley, Nicholas M. \u201cThe Liberal Arts at Sewanee: a History of Teaching and Learning at the University of the South.\u201d Anglican and Episcopal History<\/em> 79.3 (2010): 302\u2013304. Print.<\/span><\/div>\n
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Coates, Hamish. \u201cA Model of Online and General Campus-based Student Engagement.\u201d Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education<\/em> 32.2 (2007): 121\u2013141.<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Dinkins, Christine. \u201cShared inquiry: Socratic-hermeneutic interviewing and interpreting.\u201d In Beyond Method: Philosophical Conversations in Healthcare Research and Scholarship<\/em>. Pamela M. Ironside, ed. University of Wisconsin Press, 2005.<\/span><\/div>\n
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Flowerday, Terri and Schraw, Gregory. \u201cTeacher beliefs about instructional choice: A phenomenological study.\u201d Journal of Educational Psychology.<\/em> Vol. 92(4), Dec 2000, 634-645.<\/span><\/div>\n
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Morrel, Judith, and Michael Zimmerman. \u201cLiberal Arts Matters at Butler University: An Experiment in Institutional Transformation.\u201d Peer Review<\/em> 10.4 (2008): 12\u201315.<\/span><\/div>\n
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Pascarella, Ernest. \u201cEffects of an Institution\u2019s Liberal Arts Emphasis and Students\u2019 Liberal Arts Experiences on Intellectual and Personal Development.\u201d ASHE Higher Education Report<\/em> 31.3 (2005): 59\u201370.<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Pascarella, Ernest. \u201cImpacts of Liberal Arts Colleges and Liberal Arts Education: A Summary.\u201d ASHE Higher Education Report<\/em> 31.3 (2005): 87\u2013100.<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Seifert, Tricia A, Kathleen M Goodman, et al. \u201cThe Effects of Liberal Arts Experiences on Liberal Arts Outcomes.\u201d Research in Higher Education<\/em> 49.2 (2007): 107\u2013125.<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Yu, Pauline, and Francis Oakley. \u201cLiberal Arts Colleges in American Higher Education: Challenges and Opportunities.\u201d ACLS Occasional Paper<\/em> 59 (2005): v. Print.<\/span><\/div>\n
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\n
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<\/a>[1]<\/span><\/span><\/span> Smith, David Woodruff. \u201cPhenomenology.\u201d The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy<\/em>. Fall 2011. Ed. Edward N. Zalta. 2011. Web. 11 Mar. 2012.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
<\/a>[2]<\/span><\/span><\/span> Dinkins, Christine. \u201cShared inquiry: Socratic-hermeneutic interviewing and interpreting.\u201d In Beyond Method: Philosophical Conversations in Healthcare Research and Scholarship<\/em>. Pamela M. Ironside, ed. University of Wisconsin Press, 2005.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
<\/a>[3]<\/span><\/span><\/span> See, e.g., Brinkmann, S. \u201cInterviewing and the Production of the Conversational Self.\u201d Qualitative Inquiry and Global Crises<\/em> (2011): 56; Cole, M. \u201cHermeneutic Phenomenological Approaches in Environmental Education Research with Children.\u201d Contemporary Approaches to Research in Mathematics, Science, Health and Environmental Education <\/em>(2010); and Scheckel, M., N. Emery, and C. Nosek. \u201cAddressing Health Literacy: The Experiences of Undergraduate Nursing Students.\u201d Journal of Clinical Nursing<\/em> 19.5-6 (2010): 794\u2013802.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

What Is the Value of a Face-to-Face Education on a Liberal Arts Campus?   A research project made possible by a fellowship from the Wofford College Center for Innovation and Learning \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 As liberal arts institutions consider offering more education online, it is vitally important that we understand and articulate the advantages of classroom […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":23,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.wofford.edu\/dinkinscs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/47"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.wofford.edu\/dinkinscs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.wofford.edu\/dinkinscs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.wofford.edu\/dinkinscs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/23"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.wofford.edu\/dinkinscs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=47"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sites.wofford.edu\/dinkinscs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/47\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.wofford.edu\/dinkinscs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=47"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}