Browsing by Author "Colleen Aalsburg Wiessner, Committee Chair"

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Co-journeying: Fostering Student Faith Development in College
(2008-07-24) Heckman, Barbara L.; Carol Kasworm, Committee Co-Chair; Colleen Aalsburg Wiessner, Committee Chair; Deb Collins Luckadoo, Committee Member; Leila Gonzalez Sullivan, Committee Member
Within the United States, religious pluralism has given rise to a new era of spiritual renewal (Roof, 1993). In light of this renewal, many church-related colleges and student affairs professionals have raised the question regarding the purpose and mission of colleges to include spirituality as a component of college student development (Chickering, 2004; Love & Talbot, 1999, and Mahoney, Schmalzbauer, & Younis, 2001). The purpose of this study is to advance this discussion of fostering spirituality by exploring how two Protestant-affiliated colleges incorporated faith development activities into their overall program. Using a qualitative institutional case study approach, this research explored formal, informal, and non-formal organizational aspects of the colleges as well as individual activities and interactions of students within these organizational components. The conceptual framework for this study came from Argyris and Schön (1996, 1974) theories-of-action and use of organizational mapping. Through data synthesis of document and artifact analysis, organizational processes where mapped, revealing relationships and complexities for fostering student faith development. Participant interviews affirmed these relationships and complexities, further illuminating organizational strategies for fostering student faith development. A new conceptual model emerged, identifying co-journeying as the key institutional strategy for fostering student faith development. Elements of co-journeying include environment, opportunities, openness to growth, exposure, intention, engagement and exploration. These elements are interrelated, and when combined, afford students the richness of interactions and reflections necessary to foster faith development. Co-journeying is then shown within the organizational map as the key institutional strategy for fostering faith development. Student faith development advances when foundational influences of denominational ties, mission, and the programmatic structures of the college commit to creating environment and opportunities for student exploration. This study lays the foundation for further research on student faith development by exploring the relationship of these elements of co-journeying with learning communities (Tinto, 1997, Zhao & Kuh, 2004), Astin's (1999) theory of involvement, Kuh and Hu's (2001) research on faculty engagement and Bryant and Astin's (2008) research on spiritual struggles of college students.
A Picture is Worth A Thousand Negotiated Meanings: Conversations with Women Regarding Credible, Still Photographs
(2005-08-01) Daniels, Megan Quinn; Julia Storberg-Walker, Committee Member; Leila Gonzalez Sullivan, Committee Member; Colleen Aalsburg Wiessner, Committee Chair
The purpose of this qualitative study has been to determine how and why adult women make meaning of credible, still photographs without the accompaniment of text. The research question was designed whence the professional literature was reviewed and decided upon that this questioned had yet to be addressed. It was then that practical perspectives were implored from four women currently attending four different community colleges, living very different lives. While the professional literature tended to emphasize the importance of visual media (albeit mediocre), photographic material and the interview process, pedagological inferences, and storytelling strategies that adults used when interpreting photographs, none focused on how adults make meaning and learn from credible, still photographs according to their personal experiences. In this study, the women formed stories in order to draw parallels between their lives and the people's lives featured in the photographs. They made the unfamiliar, familiar. Their unconscious feelings became conscious emotions, triggered by a moment represented in a photograph. Reflection brought inquiry, which in turn brought discourse. Through constant dialogue between researcher and participants, the four women negotiated meanings of the photographs according to their souls. Unbeknownst to them, they schematized and demonstrated Paulo Freire's theory of critical consciousness. Finally, by viewing, decoding, interpreting, and discussing the photographs, they acquired new knowledge about the distant culture of midwifery and homebirth.
Understanding Teaching Experiences: Faculty Transitions from Traditional to Online Classrooms
(2008-07-22) Lari, Pooneh; Julia Storberg-Walker, Committee Member; Diane Chapman, Committee Member; Colleen Aalsburg Wiessner, Committee Chair; Duane Akroyd, Committee Member
The purpose of this study was to describe the transition of faculty members from traditional to online environments and to examine their assumptions about their teaching and learning in face-to-face and online environments. In that it describes the transition experiences of faculty members from traditional to online environments, their teaching and learning assumptions and possible changes and transformations, this study may assist those faculty members who have been resistant to transitioning from traditional to online classrooms. The questions guiding this research were (a) How do faculty members describe their transition from teaching face-to-face to teaching in an online environment? (b) What personal, professional, pedagogical or other assumptions do faculty members hold about the teaching and learning in traditional and online environments before starting their transition and how do those assumptions change after their transition? And (c) How are the changes the faculty members experience as they transition from traditional to online environments defined along a continuum in relation to change theories? This qualitative study research was conducted as multiple case studies, meaning participants at various locations were interviewed. The results of this study contribute to creating a body of knowledge useful to institutions, faculty members, and others transitioning from traditional to online classrooms. It expands the online teaching literature regarding what teaching and learning means to the faculty members and allows them to bridge technology with pedagogy. It also contributes to the literature that discusses the role of emotional intelligence as faculty members transition from traditional to online environment and how emotions affect the decision-making process in this transition. This research also adds to the different types of presence the faculty members can have online that enable the faculty members to be more effective in the way the faculty members teach, learn, and interact within their community of practice.