Each Faculty Member Should Know About the Degree Qualifications Profile! Do You?

Over the past year, I've been fortunate to serve a LEAP Texas Faculty Fellow. This has truly been one of the best experiences in higher education that I have had in a long time. Our LEAP Texas groups was selected to present at the National Institute for Learning Outcomes Assessment's Charrette experience. 

All five of the LEAP Texas Fellows collaborated together to form a collection of five similar assignments focused on the first-year seminar (our common link). During the charrette, we shared these assignments and received feedback focused on our assignment design. We incorporated this feedback and then we resubmitted our assignment for the Degree Qualifications Profile (DQP) library.

Check out my submission to the assignment library - Incorporating the Diversity of Academic Disciplines in a College-Wide First-Year Seminar Course to Address University Problems

When you have a chance, please check out the DQP library. It is very extensive and it definitely helps all faculty (new and seasoned) create assignments focused on the following DQP proficiencies:

Analytic inquiry

Broad and Integrative Knowledge

Communicative fluency

Ethical reasoning

Quantitative fluency

Use of information resources

Applied and Collaborative Learning

Civic and Global Learning

Engaging diverse perspectives

Intellectual Skills

Specialized Knowledge

Have a great week! Thanks for visiting the Millennial Professor Blog!

Dr. Jennifer T. Edwards
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Searching for a Long-Term Academic Relationship (LTAR)

Relationships change, friendships evolve, and values are reaffirmed. The past sentence defines my life for the past six years. When I began my academic career, I had a core group  of academic friends at the institution. However, when lives changed and mindsets evolved, our academic lives drifted apart.

Thinking Back to the Sorority Days

I have to remember that this was a similar experience that I encountered with some of my sorority sisters after college. We had a lot in common when we saw each other each day and were completing college together, but when we began our career paths we discovered how different we truly were.

Focusing on Today

So, the differences. Yes, they are definitely evident now. I am no longer on the tenure track, I am almost an associate professor and my academic value systems changed from a faculty research focus to a student research focus. Everything that I do now focuses on helping our students navigate college while integrating high impact educational practices from their first-year to their senior year. 

Thinking Beyond Your Department

Just because you share an academic discipline and work on project together does not guarantee a long-term academic relationship (LTAR). A LTAR is strengthened when we participate in those high-impact relationship building activities like study abroad, text messages sent to encourage one another, a spontaneous coffee/tea invitation for a 30 minute walk around campus, and a telephone call just to let the other academic know that you are thinking of them.

Encourage Others by Thinking Positively

My past academic relationships have been VERY transactional and research and project-based. Now, I can say that these relationships are based on common experiences (away from the university) and shared (encouraging) conversations. We also encourage one another by discouraging any negative conversations about other people. These conversations can taint your views of others and the time that you spend gossiping can be allocated to conversations about family or classroom innovation ideas.

I am much happier since I realized that relationships in my 30s need to be long-lasting and based on common experiences and common mindsets, not purely transactional. Sometimes you just have to let friendships wither away, this can make you open to new (and better friendships).

Have a great day and keep thinking positively! Thanks for visiting the Millennial Professor Blog!

Sincerely,

Dr. Jennifer T. Edwards
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Did I Hold It Together During the Graduation Ceremony? You Decide!

Last night was one of the best experiences that I've had in academia. I've worked at the same university for the past ten years and by far, this has been my proudest moment so far.

The Tarleton State University Communication Studies Department celebrated its first two communication studies graduates at the master's level. Mr. Winston Dawson and Ms. Becca Long have always been trend setters for their peers, but last night they proved that they mastered their academic discipline. 

When Becca asked me to "hood" in the December graduation ceremony a few weeks ago, I was so excited to add this important event to my calendar! I told her that I would not miss it for the world!

Becca
I've known Becca for the past six (almost seven) years! She was one of the first undergraduate students involved with the Texas Social Media Research Institute (@TSMRI) and we have been proud of her since that point. We also keep up with all of our graduates and their career progression!

Winston
I met Winston six years ago and he is the funniest person that I know. He always has a smile on his face and he impacts all individuals around him! He actually attended my secret baby shower planned by the first class of @TSMRI interns. I've always admired him for attending and supporting my journey as a parent. 

Traivohn, Torri, and Lizzie
We also had three undergraduate students accomplish the first part of their academic journey as well. These students have been some of the most creative and most motivational students I've ever encountered. I immediately think of these students when I think about the student learning outcomes from the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB). These students served as trendsetters for their peers and I was excited to see them cross the stage!

I also told them that they had to keep in contact with me through our Friday check-in meetings on Twitter group messages. I have a recurring meeting in my schedule to remind me to initiate the communication if I do not hear from them.

This experience marks the end of their bachelor's level or master's level graduate journey, but it does not represent the end of their academic journey! I look forward to hearing about their next accomplishments!

Sincerely,

J. Edwards


Have a great week! Thanks for visiting the Millennial Professor Blog!

Dr. Jennifer T. Edwards
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4 Easy Ways to Incorporate Research in University Courses!

While planning for the upcoming semester, I incorporate a large assignment on my syllabus. This large assignment was an important assignment for the undergraduate students as well as the graduate students in my courses in the Communication Studies Department at Tarleton State University. 

When Periscope became a new technology utilized by many companies last summer, I decided to incorporate the technology in my course to expose the graduate students to a potential technology that can be implemented for a company or organization.

Step 1 - Creating the Assignment

Then, I created the following assignment description on my syllabus:

Group Research Paper - Topic: Internal Communication and Businesses/Corporations/Organizations and Public Social Media Spaces

Brief Description – This semester’s research study will focus on internal communication occurring in public social media spaces among organizations (companies, associations, corporations, non-profit orgs., etc.) and their employees/members.

A - Each component of this paper will be due on specific dates (as indicated on the syllabus calendar).

B - Each group member (groups of 3-4 individuals) is required to significantly contribute to the production of the paper. Each group member is responsible for contributing significant comments on the Google Document each week to sections for which their name is not assigned. Group members who do not contribute each week will receive a grade reduction for that particular week.

C - Please remember to submit questions by 4pm on Friday. Questions submitted after 4pm will not be answered until Monday morning.
Each component of this paper will be due on specific dates (as indicated on the syllabus calendar). 

D - At the end of the semester, each group will submit their research paper to a scholarly research journal and conference.

The Dilemma

Sometimes, students have a difficult time selecting companies or organizations that coincide with the requirements of the assignment. This is a dilemma for me, because I am function as the consultant for the research groups and I like to provide options. 

The Solution

On a whim, I decided to provide the lists of the top Texas companies, universities, colleges, state agencies, etc. to the graduate student groups to see if they would be interested in utilizing these lists as the selected organizations for their research study. They did! Each group selected a different list and it was a great combination between my undergraduate student researchers and my graduate student researchers!

2 - The Structure

Each week, the assignment focused on a different aspect of the research paper:

RESEARCH PAPER	Total:150
Part 1 – Purpose Statement, Problem Statement, Research Questions (10%)	15
Part 2 - Review of the Literature (15%)	22.5
Part 3 - Theoretical Framework (10%)	15
Part 4 – Research Methodology/Survey (15%)	22.5
Part 5 – Results (15%)	22.5
Part 6 - Conclusion & Implications (15%)	22.5
Part 7 – Suggestions for Further Research (10%)	15
Final Submiss. – Abstract & Journal Submission/Letter (5%)	7.5
Final Submiss. – References (5%)	7.5

3 - The Foundation

The students ROCKED their presentations and I was very proud of their progress and their research. The student presented their research on Periscope. In fact, we had a night of research presentations at Periscope.

4 - So, what? Implications...

The presentations were uploaded on YouTube and the students also plan to submit their research for publication as a well. More to come! If you know of a great publication outlet for social media research, please let me know!.

Have a great week! Thanks for visiting the Millennial Professor Blog!

Dr. Jennifer T. Edwards
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