Service Learning at Cedarville University

John Wallace, in his writing about the impetus for service learning says, “Students want their education experiences to form an arc that aligns what they learn with their interests and passions, talents, ideals and values, and their role as agents in the world.”  Cedarville University aims to be that kind of educational bridge. It’s goal is  that every student discover what she was created to do in order that she best reflect the image of God to the world and help others in the world to do the same.  And it hopes to equip every student with the knowledge and skills to do good in the world and bring about reconciliation.  In the past Cedarville University has used venues like Christian Ministries and MIS to provide students with service experiences.  It is exciting to learn that professors at CU are now embracing service learning pedagogies that directly connect academic learning with civic responsibility. http://etextb.ohiolink.edu/bin/gate.exe?f=doc&state=6v655i.3.1

Letters of Recommendation: The Controversy and the Cultural Connection.

With the Holidays upon us, it is hard to believe that spring semester is just around the corner. This is the time of year that students are beginning to apply for graduate school admission, summer internships, and their first “real grown-up” jobs. Faculty members must ready themselves for the multitude of requests for letters of recommendation.

Letters of recommendation are an indispensable component of many selection procedures. They are required for almost all undergraduate and graduate school applications, academic award and fellowship applications, and job applications. The purpose of these letters is to provide information about an applicant that helps decision makers ascertain whether the candidate’s background fits an available position and whether the candidate is likely to be successful in fulfilling the expectations of the role. Letters of recommendation allow consideration of personal, relevant information that may otherwise be difficult to acquire (McCarthy & Goffin, 2001).

Liu, O., Minsky, J., Guangming, L., & Kyllonen, P. (2009) Found 11/17/10 http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=39760624&site=ehost-live&scope=site

It is difficult to believe that there could be controversy surrounding letters of recommendation. On the other hand, tasks such as writing letters of recommendation were destined to be the subject of analysis sooner or later. With the growing popularity of academic assessment and SoTL (the scholarship of teaching and learning) on college campuses, professors are encouraged to analyze what they do, why they do it, and what affect it has on student success. These practices have transformed the higher education profession. Consequently, questions are being raised regarding letters of recommendation and student success. The questions the academy is asking are these: Are traditional letters of recommendation valid, fair, or even helpful? In a global society, how can admissions officers accommodate for cultural communication differences in letters of recommendation? Can faculty members maintain a sense of freedom in the recommendation process? Are computer generated, standardized letters of recommendation the best solution to current challenges?

Are They Valid, Fair, or Helpful?

According to some of the literature, traditional letters of recommendation have not been valid or helpful. Validity is compromised because the typical letters are not standardized. (Bruland, 2009, Liu, et al. 2009, and Lui, 2007) Traditional letters of recommendation provide qualitative data rather than quantitative data. Often-used vocabulary such as “good student” cannot be measured in terms of specificity. Therefore, it is difficult to compare one student with another. Also, readers tend to misread and misinterpret what is written.

Traditional letters of recommendation are not always fair and accurate. Close relationships between students and faculty sometimes causes “leniency” (Liu, O., Minsky, J., Guangming, L., & Kyllonen, P. (2009) Literature review Found 11/17/10). Professors who have a personal relationship with students feel pressured to give good recommendations in spite of glaring weaknesses. Most often, it is the case that students will ask professors for recommendations with whom they have a good relationship. Consequently, each letter submitted is written so positively, highlighting each student’s strengths, it is impossible for readers and processor to distinguish fairly between applicants.

Additionally, fairness is complicated because the student has the right to view or waive their right to view the letter prior to it being sent. Studies indicate that students who do not waive the right to view the letter received better recommendations than those who agree to keep it confidential. (Liu, O., Minsky, J., Guangming, L., & Kyllonen, P. (2009) Literature review: Ceci and Peters (1984) Found 11/17/10).

Another issue affecting fairness is the recommending professor’s writing ability. Research shows that admissions officers often favor certain types of letters, particular language, etc. making the process more about the ability of the letter writer rather than the competence of the applicant.

Finally, traditional letters of recommendation are not always authentic. Fraud is a problem because students can easily impersonate professors. Letterhead is easy to get on campus. Students can create email accounts for professors. Nothing can prevent them from writing their own letters of recommendation and sending them to graduate schools and potential employers.

Cultural Communication and Bias

As higher education becomes more global, many students will apply for graduate school and employment in foreign countries. Therefore, cultural communication within letters of recommendation is an issue worth discussing.

The literature shows that the language used in a letter of recommendation influenced students’ success here in America. Students were most likely to be accepted or offered a position in America if their letters of recommendation had the following characteristics:

• An appealing layout and style
• A lengthy and thorough description of the applicant
• An introduction containing “speech acts and appeals to ethos”
• Some mention of scholarship and service
• A “stylistic and pathetic” closing
• “Capitalistic economic metaphors”

It is very likely that this list would look very different in a non-western culture. In certain cultures, China-for example, letters of recommendation are not even used. In many “collectivist” cultures, it is not acceptable to speak about someone or his or her qualities in a negative way. It is culturally more acceptable to be vague or imply a weakness, but not to overtly reveal negative characteristics. In cultures like the US, communication tends to be more frank. There are, therefore, implications for students from other nations applying for school or jobs in the U.S. The reverse is also true. If reader and writer have different values, speech patterns, nuances, subtleties in letters, conventions, etc., decisions will be based on cultural misunderstanding or biases instead of the applicant’s competence.

… what we say and do has meaning only within a framework of cultural knowledge. The ways that we organize and conduct our lives through language are thus ways of being and doing that are not only relative to other possibilities for communicating, but also deeply embedded within the particular framework by which we — as members of our own specific communities — make sense out of experience” (Schiffrin 1994:185).

Bruland, H. (2009) and Liu, J. (2007) Found 11/17/2010 http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=44170227&site=ehost-live&scope=site

http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=24947723&site=ehost-live&scope=site

Academic Freedom or Discrimination?

Speaking of bias, should a faculty member have the right to refuse students letters of recommendation? The Chronicle of Higher Education ran a story of controversy about a biology professor named Michael L. Dini from Texas Tech University. Dini maintains a very clear policy about student recommendations. On his Web site he clearly states that students who request a recommendation for graduate school will have to “truthfully and forthrightly affirm a scientific answer” to the question: How do you think the human species originated? This was a problem for a student who needed a recommendation from a biology professor to be admitted to medical school. The student did not believe in evolution and could not, in good conscience, answer professor Dini’s question in the way Dini wanted it to be answered. To obtain the biology recommendation, the student had to take a biology course from another institution.

“It’s religious discrimination, and it’s the very antithesis of academic freedom. Universities should teach many theories and challenge their students to consider all the sides to an issue.” -Shackelford

Professor Dini and Cindy Rugeley, a spokeswoman at Texas Tech, argue that Dini’s recommendation policy is not religious discrimination. They say, ultimately, professors have the freedom to choose who they write recommendations for. Secondly, they say that the issue here is not the student’s religion, but his science. Mr. Dini does not believe that the student is using scientific thinking to answer scientific questions. He could not write a letter of recommendation for someone seeking a profession in the sciences if they are not able to set aside personal expectations or beliefs when engaging in scientific inquiry (Rooney, M. (2003) ).

Is Technology the Answer?

Some believe that technology has solved many of the problems surrounding letters of recommendation. There are now many options for computer generated standardized letters of recommendation. Companies such as ApplyYourself, Princeton Review, Xap Corportation are providing recommendation systems in business and higher education. Educational Testing Service produced an online “Standardized Letter of Recommendation” in 2004 that many university’s systems are based on. Below are some advantages and disadvantages:

The Advantages:

• Makes for more time efficient submission and processing
• Informs students immediately about recommendations that have been submitted
• Provides “specific and contextualized items” making levels of specificity and accuracy increase validity (Aamont et al., 1993)
• Translates qualitative data into quantitative data decreasing misinterpretation, political incorrectness and bias.
• Makes the recommendations uniform increasing comparability, reducing leniency, and helps address cultural communication issues by asking direct questions
• Reduces a previously multi-step process to one step
• Tracks internet addresses decreasing fraud and increasing authenticity

The Disadvantages:

• Time consuming for those who previously used a standard letter for most students
• Questions are “crude” and impersonal at times, but often provide alternative spaces for clarification.
• Computer systems crash or are not user friendly (but many argue that technology issues are typically due to user error).

Kiernan, V. 2004 http://rave.ohiolink.edu/databases/record/edua/BEDI04114800

Conclusion and Implication for CTL

It seems that the advantages of submitting Web-based standardized letters of recommendation out-way the disadvantages. And many of the reported disadvantages appear to be easily addressed with appropriate training. Centers for teaching and learning on college campuses may want to provide their faculty members technology support and training in this area.

Greece and the Bologna Process – Not Fully Invested Yet!

When I visited Greece this summer I had the opportunity to talk with Harris Geronicola, president of City University in Athens.  After my limited research on the Bologna Process last year, I was very interested in getting a “globally connected” educator’s perspective on this higher education coalition. The Bologna Process is an agreement between many European Universities to develop quality academic standards in an effort to create compatible systems of higher education. Since Greek universities have higher academic standards than mandated by the Bologna Process, they are not fully invested in the Process. Geronicola said that they have joined the coalition because they believe in the ideals, but they have had to find creative ways to continue holding their students to traditional standards.

Experiential Learning = True Praxis

This summer I had the opportunity to visit Athens, Greece as part of a travel studies program.  I had a wonderful experience.  The Greek people are gracious and ardent. Not only was my life enriched personally, but I gained something professionally as well.  I went on this trip, in part, hoping to learn more about how to help professors train students to be more globally competent.  I knew travel studies would be an excellent component to a strong global curriculum.  I wanted to learn more about travel studies and the pedagogies that made them effective.  I was not disappointed.  One professor in particular used experiential  methods that were extremely effective for student learning.

Global Education Like 50 First Dates

It seems to me that any education reform here in America -global, international, or local-is similar to the movie 50 First Dates. (Not a film I recommend.  It is crass and on level with 5th grade locker room humor.) In the film, a young woman named Lucy has suffered a brain injury, leaving her with no connection between short-term and long-term memory.  It is as if her brain hits rewind each night while she sleeps.  Every day she relives the day before with only small variations dependent on people she encounters.  Lucy lives in the present, and her family tries to protect her from knowing and understanding her past and her present.  She approaches life with an optimistic, child-like perspective.  While this makes her an endearing character, it also makes her unable to form a lasting relationship with anyone she has met since the accident.  Lucy does meet a young man named Henry and Henry, in very unconventional ways, begins to “date” Lucy.  But due to Lucy’s lack of memory, every date is for her a first date- thus the title.  Henry continues to woo Lucy any way he can, but the depth of their relationship is limited, as you can imagine. Commitment to the relationship is seemingly impossible for Lucy and depends on Henry alone.

Do American core values such as individualism, self-reliance, and competition keep us from joining collective education groups like the Bologna Process?

The Background Story

My maternal grandmother’s family came to America on the first Mayflower voyage.  I first heard the term “American rugged individualism” from her husband, my grandfather.   He would have such an “atta boy” look of pride on his face when he heard about young men who, like he and his Scottish brothers, had moved away from home and independently settled a piece of land, started a family and made their way in the world.  At family reunions the Yeaton boys would recount fishing and farming stories and compare their big and shiny American-made vehicles.  Even my own father’s humble story is a classic -”pulled himself up by the bootstraps despite all odds”- kind of tale.  His story is one of a boy from a Portuguese immigrant family in poverty and desperation who ultimately became a successful member of the middle class.  He claims the catalyst for change was competitive sports and education.

Going Global: Will Higher Education in America Ever Catch Up? Should It? by rebecca mills

This will be the first in a series of discussions I will post as I work to educate myself about the future of higher education and the push for it to become more global. My desire is to invite others to join me as I consider where I, as a Christian educator in America, stand on the issue of global education. I have much to learn and welcome any input you might have that will help me in my journey of discovery and evaluation. I am not an expert, so these segments will simply present questions that I am thinking through and provide information that might be helpful to the discussion.

On Becoming a Culturally Responsive Teacher-Help from Geneva Gay and Others by Rebecca Mills

This fall I and a number of Cedarville University faculty and students attended a lecture at Wittenberg University titled “Improving Minority Student Achievement through Culturally Responsive Teaching” by Dr. Geneva Gay. Dr. Gay is a well-respected author and education specialist from the University of Washington’s Center for Multicultural Education. Gay teaches in the education department at Washington. Her reputation as an instructor is excellent, but she is best known for her multicultural education publications in the fields of curriculum design, instructional techniques, and professional development.

Lisa McMinn-An Introduction by Susan Warner

Some say a Christian sociologist is an oxymoron – after all, we do claim Karl Marx as one of our founding fathers. However, I found a small group of Christian sociologists in an organization called Association of Christians Teaching Sociology (ACTS). It was there that I met some of the most interesting and committed Christians in the academic world. My first meeting with ACTS was the summer of 2000 at Wheaton College. Lisa McMinn was one of the faculty at Wheaton, teaching sociology, and also the treasurer of ACTS. Her graciousness to me during that first meeting was an indication of the authentic character that makes Lisa so special.

Rubrics Clues, Not Rubik’s Cube

One day I googled “rubrics +video”. My objective was to find some well-crafted, clever yet compelling, evidence that rubrics are valuable tools for university professors. I also hoped to gather some relatively simple “how to’s” for designing and using them at the college level. I had already provided faculty members with research articles on the subject, but wanted to find more than formal academic studies, which can be long and tedious to extrapolate from at times. I wanted something motivating and practical to share with the faculty I serve. After narrowing the search a few times I found there was really nothing out there that met my needs. What I did find, amusingly, was many “how to” pieces for solving “rubrics cubes”. It is funny what radically different things can be so quickly associated by a simple misspelling. There were about 484,000 “how to” videos or short pieces for solving Rubik’s cube, but almost nothing worth noting for educational rubrics. Curious, I watched a few videos of individuals, young and old, solving the multi-colored and multi-sided plastic cube puzzle with amazing speed and accuracy. Entertained but virtually empty handed, I changed my approach and made a note to myself that I should shoot an amazing rubric video someday soon.