Cultivating Practice: Ensuring Continuity, Acknowledging Change

Abstract

This article presents the results of ethnographic and survey research conducted as part of a project designed to identify barriers and affordances to the adoption of evidence-based instructional practices in higher education. It focuses particularly on the role that faculty identity plays in approaches to teaching. The mixed-methods approach used in this study facilitates an exploration of the relationship between faculty identity and instruction. This is a time of dynamic change in higher education as a whole and in the practice of anthropology. An applied approach provides guidance for anthropology departments seeking to meet the challenges of this dynamic moment. Results of this study have clear implications for anthropology degree programs and teaching goals, as well as the evolution of the field of practice in anthropology.

Evidence-Based Blended and Online Learning

“…Clinton and Hokanson (2011) described creativity as generating novel and valuable ideas, usually in response to a problem that needs to be solved. 1 Introduction Herckis (2018) conducted ethnographic survey research on the question. Why do faculty hesitate to adopt evidence-based teaching methods?…”

SOTL under STRESS: Rethinking Teaching and Learning Scholarship during a Global Pandemic

“…There are previous SoTL scholars who have advocated for the inclusion of approaches such as auto-ethnography, scholarly personal narratives (SPNs), and even what one group of scholars deems "me-search" (Bochner and Ellis 2016; Bradley and Nash 2011; Brookfield 2013; Ng and Carney 2017; O'Hara 2018). Similarly, we have seen a rise in studies that incorporate ethnographic methods to capture the lived experiences of various groups within higher education (Herckis 2018;Nathan 2006;O'Meara et al 2020). What is somewhat different now, though, is the overlap between personal narrative and various forms of social justice (McIntosh and Wright 2019).…”

Balancing Direction and Response: Four Dimensions of Transformative Facilitation in Educational Development

“…Even for faculty who have experienced few if any of such challenges, learning of these emotionally triggering realities can drive pursuit of all manner of strategies, from classroom conferencing, to virtual office hours, to connecting students with prospective internships. While seeing evidence, or even changing beliefs, does not equate to changing teaching practice, whether owing to faculty identity (Herckis, ) or other factors driving the frequent disconnect between faculty's perceptions and practices (Ebert‐May et al, ), sharing such information increases the likelihood that participants will move past impediments and toward transformation.…”