tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20099192.post6854001862426459700..comments2024-01-28T03:35:51.182-05:00Comments on Reassigned Time: Research and the Regional State UniversityDr. Crazyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12457967076373916629noreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20099192.post-17777280662193060522010-04-17T06:38:31.812-04:002010-04-17T06:38:31.812-04:00Thank you!
I'm at a 3-4 regional MA comprehen...Thank you!<br /><br />I'm at a 3-4 regional MA comprehensive myself, and I often find myself in similar quandaries. I'm glad you're keeping the bar appropriately high for both your students and yourself. I'm trying to do the same in my little corner, as much as possible.Notorious Ph.D.https://www.blogger.com/profile/08700875559325201086noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20099192.post-4030361703571248082010-04-11T11:17:14.339-04:002010-04-11T11:17:14.339-04:00I came over here right after reading some of the h...I came over here right after reading some of the hysterical responses to a series about U of New Mexico writing prompts on rateyourstudents, so I immediately visualized you having a candy jar labeled "C grades" on your desk ... that was empty! <br /><br />And since your discussion of different approaches to a particular course did not mention the new magic accreditation word OUTCOMES, I eagerly await your view of the UNM writing prompts that come complete with a detailed rubric. I can see your desired outcomes in your assignments; can your colleague say the same? <br /><br />PS to Karen: <br />Those kinds of questions are never annoying. <a href="http://doctorpion.blogspot.com/2007/08/physics-jobs-part-3.html" rel="nofollow">Part 3 of my jobs series</a> addressed this issue from the physics perspective, but I would imagine that the statistics (2 times as many BS as MS and PhD programs, and 2 times as many CCs as BS programs) applies to many fields where people are looking for jobs.Doctor Pionhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12513786840852469648noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20099192.post-76933928397246982622010-04-10T00:33:59.271-04:002010-04-10T00:33:59.271-04:00I have no trouble buying the idea that certain aca...I have no trouble buying the idea that certain academic types attempt to use the claim that they are 'concentrating on their teaching' in order to excuse a lack of research productivity. I also think it is great that you are able to both be engaged with your research and teach a 4-4 load. <br /><br />However, I am not convinced that an increased emphasis on research for those slackers is going to be an effective solution for bad or lacklustre teaching, which seems to be what you are advocating. Some academics are good ones who are interested in the material AND in doing a good job teaching. Some are neither. There must be similar variation at most jobs. But there is an inescapable trade-off in academia between the time you spend on research and the time you spend grading and preparing for classes, and just saying that everyone should be awesome at everything strikes me as unrealistic. <br /><br />Maybe I'm just not able to appreciate how frustrating it must be for someone who does want to spend time on their research and not being encouraged to do so. I've only ever encountered admonishments for spending too <i>little</i> time on research. So if I reframe your complaint as being that you are being disadvantaged or unappreciated because of your research activity, then I find it more comprehensible.<br /><br />PS - I also would totally fail the student who handed in a paper 5 pages too short.Joseph O'Mahoneyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10005968918962966678noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20099192.post-19816260929266145512010-04-09T14:05:45.576-04:002010-04-09T14:05:45.576-04:00Just to be clear, I didn't think your post was...Just to be clear, I didn't think your post was annoying. I thought my question was annoying. Thanks for clarifying!Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01710533669049498658noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20099192.post-13117268866797606962010-04-09T11:10:15.398-04:002010-04-09T11:10:15.398-04:00Oh, but let me make this clear, too. I'm not ...Oh, but let me make this clear, too. I'm not saying at all that just because a person is an engaged researcher that s/he will necessarily be a superior teacher or an engaged teacher. Obviously we can think of counter-examples to that claim, too. I'm just saying that commitment to research can *enhance* one's work in the classroom - that it is not true that "the best teachers don't do research or care about it."Dr. Crazyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12457967076373916629noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20099192.post-80339088972427423052010-04-09T10:30:24.034-04:002010-04-09T10:30:24.034-04:00Tallyrand, I would never argue that research requi...Tallyrand, I would never argue that research requirements should equal or even approach that at schools designated as "research universities" at a school like mine, so we're not in disagreement there. I deeply believe in my university's teaching mission, and I think that teaching is the most important part of my job (and my colleagues' jobs). Also, I don't think more stringent research requirements are really something that would solve the attitude issue that I'm talking about in the post, whether in terms of the impact on teaching or on research.<br /><br />Where I think we do disagree is about the relationship between research and teaching. I do not believe that research is the thing that takes us away from the work that we're doing in the classroom. Rather, I believe that unless we are intellectually curious and committed to research (in whatever form: whether it's research on pedagogy, service-learning related stuff, more traditional research, text books, etc.) that we can't effectively communicate the importance of intellectual curiosity and research in a meaningful way to our students. I think caring about research and being engaged with it translates into the sorts of assignments we give; I think it translates into our ability to advise our students about their potential futures. The fact is, the most engaged teachers I know at my institution *do* value scholarship and scholarly rigor. They may not be publishing books, but they are professionally engaged as scholars. Those people who treat research as a hurdle to get over before tenure and then just abandon it? They're the ones substituting quizzes for papers, multiple-choice tests for essay exams, and pre-assigned paper topics for students' own original research. They're the ones who don't meet with students individually, or who pass students through just for turning something in. I think the claim that one is a more devoted teacher if one ignores the research side of the job is an excuse and that the evidence about quality teaching doesn't support it. And further, I think it's irresponsible to have that attitude about teaching vs. research if one is teaching advanced undergraduates (whom one is mentoring toward graduate school in some cases) and graduate students (because yes, we have a graduate program). If all we were teaching were service courses in general education, I would not feel the same way at all. But we're not, and the result is that some students are being really poorly served.Dr. Crazyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12457967076373916629noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20099192.post-20244270944992369522010-04-09T10:15:29.199-04:002010-04-09T10:15:29.199-04:00Regional state universities (or, also often referr...Regional state universities (or, also often referred to as a regional comprehensive universities, or, more pejoratively "directional" universities, as many of them have a direction in their names) = Typically non-highly-selective (or just non-selective period) public universities that appeal primarily to a student population that comes from the region immediately surrounding the area. Such schools typically have 4/4 (like mine) or 3/3 teaching loads, they are often historically underfunded in comparison with other schools in the state, and they tend to have begun as teacher's colleges and have then morphed into a sort of hybrid between a research institution (they have graduate and professional programs) and an undergraduate teaching institution. Students often choose these schools based on tuition costs (which are much lower than flagship universities, typically) and proximity to home as their primary motivators, and we are the sort of school a student transfers to when they haven't done well at the state flagship or another more selective university. All of these are generalizations, and conditions vary from institution to institution. However, as a group, this is one of the sectors of higher ed that is stretched most thin in the current budget crisis because more students are choosing these schools based on cost and accessibility.Dr. Crazyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12457967076373916629noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20099192.post-12103809361599599582010-04-09T10:00:46.760-04:002010-04-09T10:00:46.760-04:00I also think this is an annoying post. It seems t...I also think this is an annoying post. It seems to me that undervaluing research is not a problem. If you can get tenure, or keep your untenured job, at an institution without having to neglect your teaching in order to fulfill stringent research requirements, lucky you I say. <br /><br />Of course, stretching students intellectually is great etc. but that seems to undercut your point about doing research, not bolster it.Joseph O'Mahoneyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10005968918962966678noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20099192.post-26823933948929944742010-04-08T23:55:27.985-04:002010-04-08T23:55:27.985-04:00I'm sure this is the most annoying post ever, ...I'm sure this is the most annoying post ever, but I was wondering how you define "regional state university"?Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01710533669049498658noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20099192.post-63896422526439363302010-04-08T09:40:43.443-04:002010-04-08T09:40:43.443-04:00Ahhh yes, I have many of these frustrations as wel...Ahhh yes, I have many of these frustrations as well!! Sometimes I wonder if this isn't the bigger disadvantage of being at a university like yours (and mine). Less than the prestige and the resources (though resources do matter, more or less or differently so in different fields, maybe) and the students, it's the complacency of many of the faculty. I may well be romanticizing top program departments, and I definitely know there are disadvantages there as well, but it seems less likely that the level of disengagement, tolerance for mediocrity, and low expectations would be as high.life_of_a_foolhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05427532203981697246noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20099192.post-10509148035557985372010-04-08T00:52:00.767-04:002010-04-08T00:52:00.767-04:00Very good that research shouldn't be a hobby f...Very good that research shouldn't be a hobby for weekends and summers ... I never thought so in graduate school and my main complaint about professordom is the expectation that one take it as a hobby. "It's not what you're paid for," I was told at my first job (not at a non research school, I might add).<br /><br />My courses are like yours, and many colleagues' are like your colleague's, but it does mean I have to work more on course design, project design, grading.<br /><br />A paradox. One colleague says the meaning of it is that many faculty do not actually like teaching or research; that is why they teach in that rote way and put research off for "vacation" time.<br /><br />I haven't gotten my head around all of this YET in all of these years, because all my examples in undergraduate and graduate school had these light teaching loads and it isn't nearly so hard then to "balance" teaching and research (I think they go together and that the very idea that they are somehow 'naturally' hard to balance is indicative of a deeper problem).Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20099192.post-4938680063561452072010-04-07T21:14:44.216-04:002010-04-07T21:14:44.216-04:00Excellent post. I've been having some conversa...Excellent post. I've been having some conversations lately about how some of our colleagues here do not seem to value intellectual inquiry for its own sake--they're intent on pushing students through the major and checking all the Gen Ed boxes, but talk them out of minors or the Honors program or anything else "extra" (why risk hurting your GPA, right?). It's a problem of institutional culture that I don't know how to address...other than by doing what you describe here. And I do think that the minimal research expectations placed upon faculty contribute to that culture: the thinking of a college education as a "job" or in highly careerist terms, rather than as a formative experience (or, to wed the ideal with the practical, a combination of the two).heu mihihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08529298049179816825noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20099192.post-61295459624206918282010-04-07T15:07:27.634-04:002010-04-07T15:07:27.634-04:00Hear hear!
Sometimes, Crazy, I daydream about you...Hear hear!<br /><br />Sometimes, Crazy, I daydream about you, me, a bunch of our blog friends, and a handful of my colleagues running off and starting our own university.<br /><br />A girl can dream, can't she?Dr. Viragohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03960384082670286328noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20099192.post-59550046557655537312010-04-07T14:32:34.769-04:002010-04-07T14:32:34.769-04:00Bravo! This is something that is ongoing at my in...Bravo! This is something that is ongoing at my institution, as well. Thank you for articulating many of the ideas raging in my head during many meetings in which research (and theory) is dismissed as an interesting hobby.Twinkle-Bothttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16645939870959180437noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20099192.post-23108920627208754882010-04-06T21:56:33.365-04:002010-04-06T21:56:33.365-04:00Sounds like you are an awesome professor! What a g...Sounds like you are an awesome professor! What a great feeling when your students excel!PhysioProfhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11046093902090839375noreply@blogger.com