In this chapter we describe the Decoding the Disciplines Faculty Learning Community at Mount Royal University and how Decoding has been used in new and multidisciplinary ways in the various teaching, curriculum, and research projects that are presented in detail in subsequent chapters.

The field of school psychology has undergone a significant paradigm shift in service delivery philosophy over the past decade. As part of this paradigm shift, practitioners typically are encouraged to target context-specific skills and processes that facilitate or enhance students' achievement in school rather than traditional traitlike abilities,…

In 2006, Miami University (Oxford, Ohio) launched a major initiative, the Top 25 Project, to embed inquiry-guided learning (IGL) into its largest-enrollment courses across the university. These are generally entry-level classes and thus affect many students: 75 percent of incoming students on its main campus in 2010 were in at least one Top 25…

The term "assessment" sends shivers down academic spines. For faculty, it signals marching orders from external parties who may or may not appreciate the subtle and not always quantifiable value of faculty efforts. For administrators, it means the dual challenge of recalibrating internal measures to meet external mandates but also…

Improving teaching and learning in higher education became an important international endeavor in the 1960s and 1970s, corresponding to an influx of students coming in greater numbers than ever seen before, from a broader range of backgrounds, and with diverse expectations for attending colleges and universities. These same students were also more…

This chapter explains how to plan a faculty learning community that engages a disciplinary inquiry of teaching and learning. It concludes with a five-level assessment of the Indiana University Faculty Learning Community.

Innovative educational practice reveals the secrets to enabling complex learning and self-authorship.

Suggests that service learning, as an innovative practice in college teaching, challenges faculty in complex ways and proposes a matrix to help conceptualize different focus areas in service learning (student, expertise, sponsor, or common good) and instructional concerns (values development, pedagogical strategies, academic culture, and community…

A review of existing training programs for international teaching assistants indicates that trainers generally use one of four approaches: orientation, precession, concurrent-term, or preterm programs. The key to success to any of these approaches is the staff members who conduct the programs. (MLW)

Instructional technology, seen broadly, includes teaching methods, classrooms, and the training of faculty in addition to traditional considerations of instructional equipment and materials. In the near future, societal pressures will force college faculty to overcome resistance to instructional use of technology. (Author/MSE)

Four primary factors are relevant to social and cultural diversity in the college classroom: students, teachers, course content, and teaching methods. Faculty can use understanding of these factors and their interrelationships to facilitate learning in an increasingly multicultural environment. (MSE)