Brigham Young University
Faculty Center


Faculty Development Plan
Physiology and Developmental Biology
Spring 2004

My Position
Because I am the first and only professional faculty member in the PDBIO department, I feel it is appropriate for me to begin my faculty development plan with a description of my position and how I will be evaluated, as outlined by the PDBIO Department Chair, Neuroscience Center Director, and Academic Vice President at the time of my hire (original document dated Feb 7, 2003).

Specific description of my position:

How I will be evaluated:

The following sections of this development plan contain self assessments and goals in each of the three major areas of my responsibility: teaching, professional development, and citizenship. It also contains a discussion of specific needs that I have as a new faculty member.

Teaching
Self Assessment
This last year, I taught three different neuroscience courses (Neuro 205, 480, and 481). Because all of these classes were new for me, considerable effort was invested in developing effective chapter study objectives, presentations, handouts, and activities for each class. It has been rewarding to use a variety of methods in class (power point, blackboard, student literature paper discussions, white board drawings, dissection labs, etc). Student and peer feedback from all classes has been positive.

Student evaluations of my courses have averaged 6.9 (out of 8; excellent) for the overall course and 7.6 (out of 8; exceptional) for the overall instructor. Positive comments from students have noted that the courses are well organized, handouts and study objectives are very helpful, students feel that I am an approachable and caring instructor, my enthusiasm for the subject is contagious, class activities are helpful to student learning, and that each course is challenging, yet fair. Students have also given helpful suggestions that I intend to address in future semesters. They have proposed slight adjustments class calendars and grading procedures, use of more application-based questions in class to better prepare students for exams, slight adjustments to some class handouts, and starting class with prayer.

My teaching and course materials have also been evaluated by Dr. Lephart, Director of the Neuroscience Center. Although this type of peer evaluation has been limited, the feedback I have received has been positive.

Teaching Goals
O verall goal: Provide students an outstanding learning experience in each neuroscience course that I teach. Each neuroscience course will reflect the most current knowledge and utilize the most effective teaching styles and techniques.

Specific goals:
  1. Develop a quality Neuroanatomy (Neuro 360) course to be taught beginning Fall 2004. This will entail doing the following during Summer and Fall 2004:
    • Evaluating and choosing a textbook and atlas
    • Writing learning objectives and expectations for each lecture/chapter
    • Purchasing or developing resources for the class, including brain and spinal cord models, interactive learning activities for class, MRI/CT films, interactive neuroanatomy CD-ROMS and Internet sites
    • Developing lecture presentations and class handouts
    • Establishing an exam question test bank
    • Receiving evaluations of the course by students and faculty peers.
  2. Develop new labs to enhance students’ experiences in Neuro 481 (Neuroscience Laboratory). New labs will be implemented beginning Fall 2004. Students will use state-of-the-art equipment to learn nervous system histology and practice the following techniques: light microscopy, digital image capturing, quantitative image analysis, brain sectioning and tissue staining, and scientific writing and reporting.
  3. Continue to carefully read student comments on course evaluations. I will make course adjustments as appropriate to improve student learning.
  4. Include more active learning activities in classes. Students will be more active in class by working as individuals and in small groups to complete worksheets, solve application problems, discuss and analyze clinical case studies, use interactive CD-ROMs and Internet sites, manipulate models, give class presentations, discuss current research methods and results, etc.
  5. More persuasively relate the subject of neuroscience to gospel principles.
  6. Attend the week-long Teaching Portfolio Workshop that will occur during August 2004 in the BIOAG College. This workshop will help me develop a teaching portfolio and use it to assess and improve my classes.
  7. Regularly read books on teaching. I received several books at the Faculty Center’s Spring Seminar for new faculty. I plant to consistently read these books to sharpen my teaching skills and motivate me to be a better teacher.
  8. Solicit more feedback about my teaching from faculty peers. I intend to ask Drs. Rhees, Lephart, and Porter to attend my classes and evaluate my course organization and materials. I hope their feedback will lead to improvements in my courses.

Note: Although my current assignment is to teach Neuroscience courses, I feel that I am also qualified to teach other classes if the needs of the Neuroscience Center, PDBIO Department, BIOAG College, and/or university change. I feel I could effectively teach PDBIO 205, 220, 225, 305, 362/363, 365 and BIOL 100 and 120.

Professional Development
Self Assessment
Keeping current in my field is an important priority to me. It is also a central area upon which I will be evaluated as a professional-tract faculty member. This last year, I feel I was successful at keeping abreast of the most up-to-date knowledge in my field of neuroscience. This has been considerably easier for me at BYU than it was in my previous position at Yakima Valley Community College. This is primarily because of the resources and opportunities that have been afforded to me at BYU.

I am currently a member of the Society for Neuroscience, the largest group of neuroscientists in the world. This last year, I attended the Society for Neuroscience Annual Meeting in New Orleans. Not only did this allow me to keep up with the current methods, trends, and knowledge in my field, but it allowed me to share ideas with other faculty who teach undergraduate neuroscience and with textbook companies that are developing textbooks for undergraduate classes.

I am also a member of “Faculty for Undergraduate Neuroscience”. Through this membership, I have contact with other neuroscience instructors that work with undergraduate students. This provides me the opportunity of sharing teaching ideas and methods with faculty and programs from around the country.

In addition, I spend considerable time reading scientific journals. In Neuro 480, nine lectures were devoted entirely to exposing students to recently published papers that push forward the field of neuroscience in important ways. I also have reviewed several textbooks, lab books, and CD-ROMs for Neuro 205, 360, 480, and 481, and have developed new, original labs for Neuro 481. I also participate in departmental and neuroscience seminars and interact with other Neuroscience faculty at BYU and around the country.

Professional Development Goals
Overall goal: I will stay current in my field of neuroscience. This includes acquiring knowledge of the most up-to-date research techniques, experiments, results, and ideas. It also includes identifying and developing new and effective methods and formats for teaching neuroscience.

Specific goals:
  1. Attend at least one national or international neuroscience meeting each year. This year I plan to attend the Society for Neuroscience Meeting in October, 2004.
  2. Maintain membership and be active in the Society for Neuroscience and Faculty for Undergraduate Neuroscience. I will also join other societies or groups that have a prime goal of improving undergraduate teaching of neuroscience.
  3. Continue to read scientific journals weekly. I will use current and interesting articles in Neuro 480 for student-driven discussion in class several times each semester. I will also mention new and innovative experiments, ideas, and results in all other neuroscience courses.
  4. Continue to evaluate new teaching materials as they are published. This includes neuroscience textbooks, lab books, CD-ROMs, interactive websites, and other materials.
  5. Continue to attend weekly research seminars sponsored by the PDBIO department and Neuroscience Center. I will be familiar with current research being conducted at BYU and outside BYU.

Citizenship
Self Assessment
Currently, I am involved in the following citizenship activities:

I have also been involved in Neuroscience Center activities. I helped redesign and furnish the Neuro lab room (360 WIDB) and I currently coordinate scheduling of that room. I worked with Dr. Lephart in getting the new Neuro 360 Neuroanatomy course and Neuroscience degree requirement revisions approved. I have also helped host Neuroscience Center seminar speakers.

Citizenship Goals
Overall goal: Serve my students, department, college, university, community, and fellow scientific colleagues with competence and selflessness.

Specific goals:
  1. Continue to serve on current committees and as a faculty advisor to neuroscience students
  2. Continue to attend university devotionals and forums
  3. Continue to write letters of recommendation as requested
  4. Serve on department, college, and university committees when asked
  5. Develop relationships with other undergraduate neuroscience programs around the nation
  6. Work with Dr. Edwin Lephart (Director of the Neuroscience Center at BYU) and Dr. Eric Chudler (Chairman of the Society for Neuroscience Literacy Committee) in developing a neuroscience outreach program to improve K-12 neuroscience education in Utah Valley. I will initially focus on gathering information about successful outreach programs that are currently being implemented around the country. After gathering this information, Dr. Lephart and I will determine what type of outreach program best matches the goals and resources of BYU’s Neuroscience Center and with the help of Dr. Chudler, will develop and implement such a program.


Needs
I have been well taken care of since moving to BYU. I have had sufficient resources for course development and professional development. I have been provided a wonderful office and computer resources. Classroom accommodations have been more than adequate. Support from the Neuroscience Center and its director, my department chair, and other faculty has been well beyond my expectations.

I would like to address a few of my thoughts concerning specific needs that I have in becoming the best that I can be for BYU and for my students.

  1. Continued resources and time for professional development are essential. This includes money for travel to national and international neuroscience meetings and other meetings relating to teaching. This also includes a teaching load that will not preclude time for activities necessary for keeping current in my field.

    Although teaching is my primary responsibility, it was made abundantly clear at the Faculty Center’s Spring Seminar for new faculty that professional-tract faculty need to invest considerable time in keeping current in their field. For me, this includes spending time in the library reading scientific journals and other books, evaluating new textbooks and other teaching materials, and learning about new research and teaching techniques. I hope my supervisors will continue to recognize the importance of these activities and will provide me with the time necessary to do them regularly.

    This next semester (Fall 2004), I will be teaching 5 classes (2 sections of Neuro 360, and one section each of Neuro 205, 480, and 481). Although this schedule is enjoyable for me because of the variety of courses (4 different courses), it takes a great deal of time to properly prepare for each class (compare teaching 4 sections of the same course to teaching 4 different courses). It is my opinion that if my teaching load becomes any heavier in the future, the time available for professional development will be severely compromised.
  2. Because of my unique position as a professional-tract faculty member, it is important that those evaluating my performance understand the different nature of my position. All other faculty in the PDBIO department and most other faculty in the BIOAG College are professorial-tract and have expectations to perform in scholarship as well as teaching and citizenship. Because of this, evaluators of new faculty often place heavy emphasis on research productivity and publication records. When evaluating me during my annual reviews and for continuing status and promotion, I feel that it is important for evaluators to clearly understand my professional-tract position and to evaluate my performance according to the specific expectations put forth at the time of my hire.
  3. Another important matter relates to my appointment in the Neuroscience Center. This last year, the Neuroscience Center was reviewed by both internal and external reviewers. One of the outcomes of the review process has been a reevaluation of the Center’s administrative structure. The structure of the center is likely to change in the near future. The current director, Dr. Lephart, is a member of the PDBIO department (BIOAG college). In all likelihood, next summer (2005), the Center’s administration will switch over to the Psychology department (FHSS college). Although I don’t anticipate any problems with the change-over, I would like my department chair to be aware of the upcoming change so he can help in the transition and effectively represent both my interests and the department’s interests when interacting with the future director of the Center.

Commitment to BYU
In summary, I am thrilled to be at BYU. I have had a very enjoyable first year and hope to serve for many more productive years to come. I fully support BYU’s unique mission as a religious university. I am excited and humbled to be a faculty member at BYU and I pray that I might effectively contribute to BYU’s success. It is my hope that I will be an example of both an outstanding scientist and dedicated disciple. I pray that the Light of Christ will shine through me to my students, that they will feel not only my love of science, but also my love of the restored gospel. I hope that they, in turn, may be motivated to become the best scientists and disciples they can become.

Signatures: __________________________________________ (faculty member)

__________________________________________ (mentor)

__________________________________________ (department chair)