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Faculty Center FDSFaculty Development Plans Recreation Management and Youth Leadership

Faculty Development Plan
Recreation Management and Youth Leadership
2005

Purpose: The following faculty development plan is the result of discussions among members of the senior faculty of the Department of Recreation Management and Youth Leadership (RMYL) and XXX concerning what he felt were his strengths and capabilities and what the Department determined were its needs and expectations of him during his candidacy for the continuing status period. This working document sets both short-term and long-term goals for XXX; it clarifies for him Departmental expectations, and provides the Department with a plan for annual evaluations of his performance.

Personal Statement:

I believe in a God that has given mankind all the resources to find answers to any question or problem we may have.  He has created order in this universe and in it lays the answers. We must be willing to search both on this earth and in the heavens to find the clues and solutions to our questions and problems. Our physical environment is the laboratory.  Some of the answers have already been discovered by those who have come before us and through secular and spiritual education we can learn of them and their discoveries.  Our physical environment is the classroom.

 I believe that if we limit our studies, our lessons, our knowledge, and our research to the halls of man-made structures, we will miss the opportunity to find critical answers to the concerns of our day and for the future.  As we haphazardly dig into the earth, pollute the skies, destroy vegetation, and exterminate species, we tear a page out of the answer key and we lose a resource that God has provided us.  Our environment is more than a playground.  It is a library of knowledge.

 I believe that education needs to embrace our environment as a major resource for information and answers.  As we look in awe, despair, or curiosity at our surroundings, we should see God’s hand in its creation and ask why it is so.  We should be brave enough to venture into this natural world and experience what lies in it.  This natural environment is not an exclusive clubhouse for a select group of people.  All should be invited to explore it, study it, and discover its secrets.

 Therefore, I believe that outdoor education is an essential part of our learning process.  It opens the door to this natural athenaeum.  Outdoor education introduces a student to the natural environment’s boundaries and rules of etiquette.  It teaches the order of the physical world and prepares a student to expect what some might think is unexpected.  Just as in a traditional educational setting, a student should become familiar with the campus and the rules of conduct therein; outdoor education can guide a student to the outdoor campus and teach the rules that have been learned from those who have experimented in this environment before us. 

 I believe that God has instilled within all of us a sense of wonderment in the natural world He has created.  I believe there is a purpose for that sense and it draws us to nature’s treasure chest of insights.  It is this sense of wonderment that motivates people to experience the outdoors and gives purpose to a student’s education.  If we recognize and appreciate the insights, then our intelligence may find solutions to our problem or question.

 I want to find and identify the factors and techniques that will allow outdoor and experiential education become a part of all pedagogy, whether in a traditional classroom setting or a school without access to nature’s playground and laboratory.  I want more educators to be aware of what outdoor education means and why it should be a part of every educational institution’s policy.  I want to identify what experiential education offers that turns a student from apathy to keen interest in learning.  I want to know what makes individuals spend hundreds and thousands of dollars a year so that they can experience the outdoors and, in many cases, under less than ideal conditions.  I want to learn what God has in store for us in the outdoors.

 The opportunity to teach, research, and associate with people here at Brigham Young University (BYU) is a unique situation for me to blend the temporal world with my spiritual beliefs.  I feel very blessed to be a faculty member at BYU and I believe the Lord has provided me this opportunity to enhance my search for the things I have previously mentioned.  I am surrounded with experienced teachers and researchers who are very willing to mentor and assist me to be successful.  This inspires me to do my best to make positive contributions to my students, my Department, the College, the University, and the community.

Part I: Self-Assessment

Teaching Strengths

I have been in the profession of teaching for over 25 years.  I have been trained as a teacher and I have practiced the art of teaching in public secondary schools.  I have taught a variety of subjects while a secondary school teacher, including biology, history, and aviation science.

I love to teach and learn from students.  I am very good at adapting to the strengths and weaknesses of my students.  I do this by using BYU’s Faculty Center resources on teacher development (such as the IDEA evaluation and SCOT).  I also keep my door open for students to come visit with me.  I focus on trying to make my courses meaningful and memorable for students. The content material of my courses is important, but I also want my students to gain more than just the knowledge.  I want them to experience relevant lessons that can be applied to other aspects of their life.

I can teach a wide variety of courses and recognize that my teaching is most successful for "process" and "experiential" classes. Real-to-life class projects and learning techniques through a variety of approaches are over-riding principles in my teaching philosophy. I classify my style of teaching as pragmatic (students see, hear, do, and say). My approach to experiential learning is a departure from lecturing, specifically since learning depends on and is yoked to both the instructor and student groups, based on the notion that learning occurs best by doing. I primarily demonstrate or teach certain specific skills, the remainder of learning occurring by the actions and out-of-class work of students within their groups. Every class I teach has at least one significant out-of-class project (group or individual) that integrates learning principles reinforced in class, but also produces skills in students that improve their ability to interact with others, and improve their future marketability and productivity.

Research/Scholarship
During my young career, I have published in peer-reviewed journals, secured external funding, presented scholarly works at professional conferences, and contributed a chapter to a professional reference book.  I am very enthusiastic to do research and it is my primary interest for being a professor.  It is new territory for me and it excites me to be an explorer on the cutting edge of new ideas.

 I enjoy the collaborative work in research that our Department emphasizes. The frequent exchange of ideas and views in collaborative teams has resulted in an accelerated pace of learning and elicited critical scrutiny of research results. An important side benefit has also been the friendships developed among the research groups.

• Primary Research Interests:

• Meaningful learning experiences in outdoor settings

• Secondary Research Interests:

• Outdoor education programs in the public school systems

Citizenship Opportunities
I am currently involved in the following service and citizenship roles for the Department and outside organizations:

Department:

• Chairman of the RMYL Outdoor Programs Committee
• Member of the RMYL Performance Evaluation Committee
• Member of the RMYL Scholarship Committee
• Faculty Advisor
• Chairman and member of Graduate Thesis Committees

Profession/Outside Service:

• Ad Hoc Reviewer, SCHOLE
• Member of editorial board of JOPERD’s Leisure Today

Part II
Professional Goals and the Plan to Accomplish These Goals

Given my stated strengths, research interests, areas needing development, and my present teaching loads and expectations, I have generated the following goals:

A. Teaching Goals

During the Continuing Status Review process, I plan to:

• Participate in one or more teaching improvement/curriculum development activities through the BYU Faculty Center.
• Utilize a course evaluation technique, in addition to the University’s online student evaluation, for one course each semester.
• Consult with other Department faculty on their perspectives of successful teaching.
• Learn the names of all my students every semester or term.
• Provide students with current information, theories/models and methods so they can accomplish their professional goals.
• Integrate Christ-like principles in group work, and integrate gospel insights when and where appropriate with secular material.

Plan to Accomplish These Goals

• Attend, as frequently as possible, seminars on teaching offered by the BYU Faculty Center.
• Continue to use the IDEA course and teacher evaluation for one course each year and the Student Consulting on Teaching (SCOT) Program for one course each year.
• Invite seasoned faculty and my mentor into my classes to observe my teaching and the learning environment.
• Incorporate materials and examples from my research in my teaching.
• Involve student learning opportunities in my research activities.
• Schedule a personal “get acquainted” interview with each of my students within the first half of each semester and term.
• Set aside one day per month to read current and relevant literature for my specific classes and research interests.
• Read Ken Bain’s What the Best College Teachers Do and Parker Palmer’s Courage to Teach.
  

Resources Needed to Accomplish These Goals

• Receive financial support to attend at least two professional conferences each year.
• Have the support of my faculty mentor.
• Supportive and collaborative environment as provided by department chair and faculty, include the following specifics:
• providing a teaching assistant and student workers for teacher support;
• keeping teaching commitments to two course preparations per semester, with significant time blocks available for teaching and research preparation time;
• maintaining appropriate and balanced advising responsibilities with other faculty; and
• providing financial and staff support for producing and delivering the community-based, experiential learning projects for my courses.

 

B. Research/Scholarship Goals

During the Continuing Status Review process, I plan to:

• Develop a research agenda for the next three years.
• Submit one or more manuscripts to national, peer-reviewed, leisure/experiential education journals, as the first-author.
• Submit one or more abstracts for presentation at professional conferences per year.
• Present at least one paper at a professional conference.
• Submit one or more grant proposals to internal or external sources.
• Have a research idea or proposal, a research project in which I am either collecting or analyzing data, and a research project I am writing or submitting an article for publication, at any given time of my university career.
   

Plan to Accomplish These Goals

• Collaborate with faculty, my mentor and other professionals who share research interests.
• Encourage good undergraduate and graduate students to consider undertaking collaborative research projects
• Initiate applications for external funding each year.
• Plan to attend at least two professional conferences per year to foster collaborative relationships/networks for research.
• Delegate and assign work to research assistant(s).

Resources Needed to Accomplish These Goals

• Graduate Research Assistant/Teaching Assistant for 10 hours per week during Fall and Winter semesters, and 15-20 hours during the Spring/Summer Terms, based on funding.
• Support for professional conference attendance, at least two conferences per year where opportunities for professional presentation are available.
• Research mentor.
• Supportive and collaborative environment as provided by department chair and faculty, to include the following specifics:
• providing significant time blocks for scholarship and creative work endeavors;
• ensuring that key journal subscriptions and library holdings are available in the library;
• college and department administrators act as resource persons for new funding avenues.

C. Citizenship Goals

Service to Church, Profession, and Community

• Serve the Lord willingly in my church calling (Bishop) and assignments (home teacher) with faith and diligence in ways that will bless me, my family, and those I steward.
• Maintain the rules and standards of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and of Brigham Young University.
• Participate and present professional skills, within appropriate limits, to local agencies and organizations.
• Participate in Department, College, and University committee assignments.
• Serve on a national professional committee.

Plan to Accomplish These Goals

• Maintain my church activity, temple recommend, and family commitment/support for fulfilling my responsibilities.
• Attend local and national professional meetings, while also participating in and volunteering for appropriate responsibilities.
• Willingly be available to be an active member of all assigned committees.
• Be available for students within designated office hours and at other times when not committed to other assignments.
• Submit my name and time to volunteer on a national professional committee.

Resources Needed to Accomplish These Goals

• Department chair, Department faculty, and College dean support for released time and revised expectations for appropriate citizenship needs.
• Support and encouragement from Department chair, fellow faculty and support staff.

Part III

Relationship Between Individual Goals and University Aspirations and Resource Needs

The mission of the university is to assist individuals in their quest for perfection and eternal life. In harmony with that mission, the emphasis of the Department of Recreation Management and Youth Leadership is to promote health and lifestyle principles and insights through learning activities designed to enhance physical, social, emotional, intellectual, and spiritual well-being. Implementing such lifestyle principles will enable people to give more freely, creatively, and completely of themselves to others through service in both ecclesiastical and secular endeavors. In keeping with the stated mission of the university and the Department of Recreation Management and Youth Leadership, I believe my goals and ideals in teaching, scholarly works and citizenship support and accentuate the lofty perspectives and expectations of BYU. My teaching goals reflect a disciple scholar approach to working with students in the learning process, while also being accentuated through my scholarly and creative endeavors. I see an integral connection between teaching and scholarly works; my teaching reflects the scholarly work I contribute to my profession; student learning can be accelerated through their participation in my scholarly activities. Thus, teaching becomes the most important contribution I make to BYU, as advanced by my deliberate and evolving involvement in scholarship and citizenship.

Part IV
Summary of Goals

Teaching:

• Participate in one or more teaching improvement/curriculum development activities through the BYU Faculty Center.
• Utilize a course evaluation technique, in addition to the University’s online student evaluation, for one course each semester.
• Consult with other Department faculty on their perspectives of successful teaching.
• Learn the names of all my students every semester or term.
• Provide students with current information, theories/models and methods so they can accomplish their professional goals.
• Integrate Christ-like principles in group work, and integrate gospel insights when and where appropriate with secular material.

Short-term Scholarship and Creative Works:

• Develop a research agenda for the next three years.
• Submit one or more manuscripts to national, peer-reviewed, leisure/experiential education journals, as the first-author.
• Submit one or more abstracts for presentation at professional conferences.
• Present at least one paper at a professional conference.
• Submit one or more grant proposals to internal or external sources.
  

Long-term Scholarship Works:

• On-time and solid rank advancement to Continuing Status and Associate Professor.
• On-time and solid rank advancement to Full Professor.
  
  Service to Church, Profession, and Community:
• Serve the Lord willingly in my church calling (Bishop) and assignments (home teacher) with faith and diligence in ways that will bless me, my family, and those I steward.
• Maintain the rules and standards of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and of Brigham Young University.
• Participate and present professional skills, within appropriate limits, to local agencies and organizations.
• Participate in Department, College, and University committee assignments.

Faculty Development Plan Resolve. The faculty member undergoing progress toward continuing-status and rank advancement, Dr. Taniguchi, and the Department concur that the goals and resources addressed within this working plan will lead the faculty candidate toward building a successful continuing-status and rank-advancement dossier.
 

________________________  _______
 Faculty Member
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 Faculty Mentor
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 Department Chair