The CEDA Meta-Profession Project
ITEM:

Course Management Skills

and SoTL

Definition or Description:

Those organizational, administrative, and bureaucratic skills in involved in maintaining and operating course.

Comment:

SoTL studies infrequently explore course management as we have described it. However, there may be connections between certain aspects of management and SoTL studies. For example, in collaborative learning, the assignment of grades must consider both individual and group efforts. The creation of grade interdependence requires a careful balance that will motivate students to generate individual effort aimed at group success. For example, an SoTL study could explore how different assessment or grading strategies can be used in collaborative learning situations to provide maximum intrinsic motivation. In a similar vein, the use of commerical course management systems such as "BlackBoard", or "WebCT", or open source or free systems such as "CHEF" or "Yahoo Groups" presents unlimited opportunities to investigate the effectiveness, efficiency, or outcomes of using such systems. The entire arena of computer-based and distance learning is filled with unanswered questions which can requently be best addressed by small studies of the SoTL variety. There is an extremely limited body of good research in these areas and much remains to be done. (see Other section below).

Faculty Evaluation Implications:
  
Faculty Development Implications:
  
Research Implications:
  
Policy Implications:
  

References and/or Links:

Publications

Resource Links
Other:
 Intrinsic motivation refers to motivation to engage in an activity for its own sake. People who are intrinsically motivated work on tasks because they find them enjoyable." --Paul R Pintrich & Dale H. Schunk, Motivation in Education


"Intrinsic motivation is the innate propensity to engage one’s interests and exercise one’s capacities, and, in doing so, to seek out and master optimal challenges." --Johnmarshall Reeve, Motivating Others


"Intrinsic motivation is choosing to do an activity for no compelling reason, beyond the satisfaction derived from the activity itself--it’s what motivates us to do something when we don’t have to do anything." --James P Raffini, 150 Ways to Increase Intrinsic Motivation in the Classroom


"Intrinsically motivated action is that which occurs for its own sake, action for which the only rewards are the spontaneous affects and cognitions that accompany it. Intrinsically motivated behaviors require no external supports or reinforcements for their sustenance." --Raymond J. Wlodkowski, Enhancing Adult Motivation to Learn