Attaining an Undergraduate Certificate on Older Adults: Examining Qualitative Experiences of Students
Dawn Apgar, PhD, Seton Hall University, and Lorri Zerrusen, MSW, Peace Aging Care Experts, LLC
Suggested Citation
Apgar, D., & Zerrusen, L. (2023). Attaining an undergraduate certificate on older adults: Examining qualitative experiences of students. InSight: A Journal of Scholarly Teaching, 19. Article 1. doi: 10.46504/19202301ap
As life expectancy in the United States continues to increase, there is a need to enhance interest and competency in working with older adults. There have been efforts to do so in recent years, but research indicates that there are barriers, such as lack of awareness and negative perceptions of aging. This qualitative study examines the experiences of eight students who are pursuing or recently completed an interdisciplinary certificate focused on working with older adults. Personal experience is a strong motivator for professional interest in the older adult population. Students value interdisciplinary education on older adults, citing the opportunity to learn with those in different majors as an asset. Making students aware of course offerings on older adults is cited as a significant need. Suggestions for improving and promoting an interdisciplinary certificate on older adults have implications for strengthening the workforce to care for aging Americans, as well as faculty who want to design and implement certificate programs in higher education generally.
Enhancing Effectiveness through Faculty Development Focused on Online Adjunct Faculty: A Comprehensive Investigation
Stacy D. Yeager-Okosi, DM, Aisha I. Hall, EdD, MSW, and Nana Gyan Quaicoe, MBA, Park University
Suggested Citation
Yeager-Okosi, S. D., Hall, A. I., & Quaicoe, N. G. (2024). Enhancing effectiveness through faculty development focused on online adjunct faculty: A comprehensive investigation. InSight: A Journal of Scholarly Teaching, 19. Article 2. doi: 10.46504/19202402ye
Online teaching requires faculty development and support to effectively meet the needs of students. Universities should widely recognize that having self-assured and competent online adjunct instructors greatly influences professional sustainability, learning outcomes, and student achievement. The objective of this descriptive study was to gain insights and perspectives on confidence and instructional effectiveness of online adjunct faculty as compared to those who taught on campus or in a blended format, after they participated in an online faculty orientation course. Survey data was collected, and correlational analysis was used to identify relationships between adjunct faculty’s perceived confidence and their instructional preparedness in their respective teaching modalities. Results indicate faculty may increase their confidence and instructional effectiveness after participating in an online training course.
“I’m Afraid It’s Going to be Awkward”: Students’ Perceived Barriers to Visiting Instructors During Office Hours
Mary Stairs Vaugh, PhD, Amy Schmisseur, PhD, Christie Kleinmann, PhD, and Jason Stahl, Belmont University
Suggested Citation
Vaughn, M. S., Schmisseur, A., Kleinmann, C., & Stahl, J. (2024). “I’m afraid it’s going to be awkward”: Students’ perceived barriers to visiting instructors during office hours. InSight: A Journal of Scholarly Teaching, 19. Article 3. doi: 10.46504/19202403va
Research shows that students benefit from outside-of-class interaction with instructors (Guerrero & Rod, 2013; Pascarella & Terenzini, 2005) yet rarely take advantage of visiting faculty during office hours (Abdul-Wahab et al., 2019; Bippus et al., 2003; Griffin et al., 2014). We interviewed 39 students in six focus groups to learn more about why this is the case. Our transcribed focus group discussions revealed six barriers students experience interacting with faculty during office hours and six ways students perceive faculty mitigating the barriers. From these data, we note three implications for instructors as they understand and manage their interaction with students outside of class.
