Editorial: Educators as Architects of Engagement and Community

Since our last issue, we have welcomed two new esteemed members to our editorial board, Dr. Jamie Els and Dr. Aimee Whiteside. Their extensive experience and dedication to the field of scholarly engagement have already proven invaluable as they join us in shaping the direction of the journal. Their fresh perspectives and insights will undoubtedly enrich our discussions and broaden our horizons in the pursuit of scholarly excellence. We are excited as they join an already elite team of scholars, Dr. Laura Cruz, Dr. Jean Mandernach, and Dr. Dalia Sherif.

Editorial 

Reflective Practice: Effective Strategies for Combatting Challenges with Grading Policies

This reflective practice aims to identify and evaluate possible strategies to overcome certain limitations of the world language departmental grading policies in the high school where I teach. As a French teacher at a large public suburban high school in the northeastern United States, I sought to examine the problem of not knowing which strategies were most effective in overcoming my challenges with specific grading policies. John Dewey’s theories of reflection and experience provided the theoretical lens with which I explored the problem. I identified strategies associated with four categories of challenges and engaged in reflective evaluation and decision-making based on my experiences and the expertise of other scholars. The reflective process was stimulating, complex, and contemplative. Engaging in reflective practice was critical to evaluating the merits of my practices and identifying effective strategies to overcome certain limitations. I hope other educators, administrators, and policymakers can benefit from this reflection when considering best practices for grading students. 

 Keywords: class participation, teaching French, grading, grading policies, reflective practice, rubrics, strategies, test retakes

Charismatic Teaching: Cultivating Motivation in Community College Classrooms

There are over six million community college students in the United States. Many non-traditional students face unique obstacles as they balance work, school, and familial responsibilities. As a result, community college students can become unmotivated in their classes, and this lack of internal drive can negatively impact their success and longevity in school. Therefore, college faculty must learn new strategies to cultivate motivation in their classrooms, whether in person or online. One technique instructors can utilize is charismatic teaching, which includes teachers’ professional knowledge, positive character traits, sense of humor, and quality teaching techniques. This quantitative predictive correlational study examined if, and to what extent, a predictive relationship existed between charismatic teaching and students’ intrinsic and extrinsic motivation in community colleges in the Northwest United States. The results indicated that the global score of charismatic teaching (professional knowledge, positive character traits, sense of humor, and quality instruction techniques) was the highest predictor of intrinsic motivation (R2=.51). Educators can cultivate intrinsic motivation in community college classes, whether in person or online, through charismatic teaching techniques. However, charismatic teaching did not significantly predict students’ extrinsic motivation. College faculty may consider employing charismatic teaching techniques to improve community college students’ intrinsic motivation in their classes. 

 Keywords: charismatic teaching, community colleges, motivation

Abstract and Paper

Elementary through twelve grade (K-12) teacher knowledge has changed significantly over the past 100 years. The pendulum has swung from focusing mainly on content-area knowledge to mainly on pedagogical strategies (Shulman, 1987). This dichotomy between these two distinct knowledge constructs influenced Shulman’s (1986) research on pedagogical content-area knowledge (PCK). Shulman’s PCK framework describes the intersection of both pedagogy and content area knowledge as a unique knowledge to the teaching profession. At the same time PCK was established, the Carnegie Forum on Education and Economy recommended creating a National Board of Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) to demonstrate Shulman’s PCK framework. Furthermore, these new standards embraced Mezirow’s (1991) transformative learning theory. They predicted that the 21st-century teacher would “not come to the school knowing all they have to know but knowing how to figure out what they need to know” (Carnegie Task Force, 1986, p. 25). Consequently, it was determined that what the 21st-century teacher needed to know was technology integration (Gentry et al., 2014; Ismaeel & Al Mulhim, 2022).

 Abstract and Paper

Beyond the Classroom: Enhancing Career Clarity and Preparedness Through Volunteer Psychoeducational Group Facilitation for Behavioral Health Undergraduates

This article provides an example of a university faculty member’s reflective practice on how a sense of community was developed within undergraduate college forensic science classrooms. Through reflective practice, I describe a heartwarming situation I experienced and compare it to the literature to help me better understand my contribution to developing a sense of community amongst my students. After identifying and evaluating possible explanations, I decide a positive learning environment is the main contributing factor and provide recommendations for future practice to help other faculty who are interested in creating a similar environment within their own courses. 

 Keywords: community, community development, science, forensic science, reflective practice, student engagement, sense of community 

Abstract and Paper

This article provides an example of a university faculty member’s reflective practice on how a sense of community was developed within undergraduate college forensic science classrooms. Through reflective practice, I describe a heartwarming situation I experienced and compare it to the literature to help me better understand my contribution to developing a sense of community amongst my students. After identifying and evaluating possible explanations, I decide a positive learning environment is the main contributing factor and provide recommendations for future practice to help other faculty who are interested in creating a similar environment within their own courses. 

Keywords: community, community development, science, forensic science, reflective practice, student engagement, sense of community 

Abstract and Paper

Reflecting on Creating Community Within an Undergraduate Forensic Science Course

Keywords: community, community development, science, forensic science, reflective practice, student engagement, sense of community 

 Abstract and Paper