The prospects for promotion and tenure of faculty whose scholarship
is directed towards the enhancement of *student learning* may depend
on whether or not the meaning of "scholarship" has been reconsidered
by their university's administrators and committees. Unfortunately
some universities do not seem to consider student learning a high
priority.
A relevant recent article is "Has Scholarship Been Reconsidered?"
[Jaschik (2005)]. Jaschik writes [bracketed by lines "JJJJJ. . . "]:
JJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJ
Teaching vs. research. That divide - real or imagined - has shaped
many a faculty career and many a debate over priorities in higher
education. And the dichotomy continues to be discussed today.
In 1990, however, Ernest Boyer published one of the more influential
of his later works, "Scholarship Reconsidered". . .[Boyer (1990)]. .
., which contended that the dichotomy was false. Boyer, who died in
1995, argued that there were multiple forms of scholarship, not just
the form that produces new knowledge through laboratory
breakthroughs, journal articles or new books. Scholarship, Boyer
argued, also encompassed the application of knowledge, the engagement
of scholars with the broader world, and the way scholars teach.
By suggesting that there are multiple forms of scholarship, Boyer
also created a philosophical framework to apply tools traditionally
used to evaluate scholarship (such as peer review) to these other
forms of scholarship. And Boyer set off a series of projects, studies
and conferences - many from his base at the Carnegie Foundation for
the Advancement of Teaching . . .
.[<http://www.carnegiefoundation.org/>]. . . - to promote this
broader concept of scholarship. Supporters hoped that by providing
more rigor to the evaluation of multiple forms of scholarship,
Boyer's campaign could lead to real changes in how faculty members
are evaluated and promoted - and a shift away from a model common at
many institutions of rewarding only the traditional concept of
scholarship.
For many faculty members seeking tenure, of course, the question
about "Scholarship Reconsidered" is: Did it have an impact? Can one
earn tenure or win a promotion on multiple forms of scholarship? A
major effort to answer that question comes from "Faculty Priorities
Reconsidered: Rewarding Multiple Forms of Scholarship". . .[O'Meara,
K.A. & R.E. Rice (2005)]. . . , a book just published by Jossey-Bass.
The book features essays about the ideas of "Scholarship
Reconsidered", reports from nine campuses on how they have changed
tenure and promotion policies, and a national survey of chief
academic officers at four-year institutions on how their institutions
changed in the decade following the publication of "Scholarship
Reconsidered" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
JJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJ
"Inside Higher Ed" provides for the publication of reader comments at
the end of Jaschik's report
<http://insidehighered.com/news/2005/10/04/tenure>. I suspect that
Jaschik's article may attract considerable reader reaction.
Richard Hake, Emeritus Professor of Physics, Indiana University
24245 Hatteras Street, Woodland Hills, CA 91367
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
<http://www.physics.indiana.edu/~hake>
<http://www.physics.indiana.edu/~sdi>
"Faculty must assume a primary responsibility for giving scholarship
a richer, more vital meaning."
Ernest Boyer
REFERENCES
Boyer, E.L. 1990. "Scholarship Reconsidered: Priorities of the
Professoriate," Jossey-Bass. See also Glassick et al. (1997),
Hutchings et al. (2002), and Hutchings & Shulman (1999).
Glassick, C.E., M.T. Huber, and G.I. Maeroff. 1997. "Scholarship
Assessed: Evaluation of the Professoriate." Jossey-Bass.
Hutchings, P., M. Babb, & C. Bjork. 2002. "The Scholarship of
Teaching and Learning In Higher: An Annotated Bibliography," online
at <http://www.carnegiefoundation.org/elibrary/docs/bibliography.htm>.
Hutchings, P. and L.S. Shulman. 1999. "The Scholarship of Teaching:
New Elaborations, New Developments." Change 31 (5): 11-15; online at
<http://www.carnegiefoundation.org/elibrary/docs/sotl1999.htm>.
Jaschik . S. 2005. "Has Scholarship Been Reconsidered?" Inside Higher
Ed, 4 October; online at
<http://insidehighered.com/news/2005/10/04/tenure>.
O'Meara, K.A. & R.E. Rice, eds. (forward by R. Edgerton). 2005.
"Faculty Priorities Reconsidered: Rewarding Multiple Forms of
Scholarship," Jossey-Bass. For information see
<http://www.josseybass.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-0787979201.html>.
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