Brigham Young University
Faculty Center


Faculty Development Plan
School of Family Life
2008

“Your light must have a special glow. You must do many things here that are done elsewhere, but you must do them better” — Spencer W. Kimball, 1980

It is an honor and a privilege to work at Brigham Young University. I take the words of President Kimball above very seriously and am trying to be that special glow in the dark that will light the fire and ignite the passion of students here. President Kimball gives us a particular challenge: to do what has been done elsewhere, but to do them better. As I reflect on how I will meet this challenge, I have set forth a faculty development plan to help guide my efforts.

Part 1: Teaching
"The aim of education should be to teach us rather how to think, than what to think--rather to improve our minds, so as to enable us to think for ourselves, than to load the memory with thoughts of other men."
---Bill Beattie

The above quote accurately represents how I feel about education. My whole purpose as an educator is to help students think for themselves: to examine a problem and to come up with their own solution; to look at a piece of research and to assess for themselves whether it is valuable or not; to take a certain fact and to judge whether it is true or not.

I personally feel that education is one of the most important things a person can obtain in their lives. Many of my heroes are my own teachers that I have had throughout the years. Although it can be challenging and tiring at times, I feel that teaching is one of the greatest callings a person can have and feel very committed to teaching the youth of today. Although teaching can be a very thankless job, it is all worth it when you see that one student’s eyes light up and realize that you’ve changed the way they think about the world forever.

I believe that students learn best when they actively engage with the subject material. Accordingly, I try to help my students to personally interact with the material. I ask them to apply the material to their own lives and I get them to question what they previously may have believed. I use a variety of techniques to encourage students to take an active role in their learning. For example, in my classes students can expect to run around the room, play children’s games, watch movies, play video games, eat sour gummy worms, punch a punching bag, and more. I encourage active participation and surprisingly our often shy students are willing and happy to participate in this way. My teaching evaluations are consistently high, and students say that they learn more effectively when such an interactive approach is taken.

I also try to view each student as an individual. I take the time to talk to them, to listen to their hopes, their dreams, their fears. Being a professor is not only about standing at a podium and producing a fantastic lecture. It is about being a mentor, one who cares for and encourages their students.

I have now taught at BYU for one year. I was able to teach one section of Adolescent Development (SFL 333) before going on maternity leave. It has been a wonderful experience. However, I feel that I can improve on many aspects of my teaching. Below are some of the short and long term goals for teaching that I have while working at BYU.

Short term goals

  1. Focus on assessment: My students remark that my tests are too difficult. While assessment should be rigorous, upon reflection I agree that my tests were very difficult this year.
    PLAN: I plan on restructuring my assessment to include better study guides, more opportunity for questions prior to the exam, and better feedback from previous exams. I also plan on meeting with a faculty member from the center for teaching and learning to get some insight and feedback.
  2. Focus on timing: One consistent comment this year was that most of the assignments for the course tended to be due at the end of the year.
    PLAN: I plan on restructuring the course to make deadlines more realistic.
  3. Focus on spirituality: Although my ratings for bringing the spirit into class were good, I struggled with this aspect of teaching.
    PLAN: I am going to bear my testimony more in class. I will also try to integrate gospel principles better into my course materials.
  4. Create an active learning component to my contraception lecture (Teaching development project): I currently teach a lecture on contraception in my adolescent development class. Currently, students read several articles, complete a worksheet, and then bring this worksheet to class. Then, during class time, we discuss their answers to the worksheet and the articles they read. In practice, this was a good lecture, and I felt students got a lot out of it; however, I think integrating some active component into this lecture may be beneficial to student learning and application.
    PLAN: After reading through several teaching books, I have decided to structure this session as a mock court case. Students will be assigned to research one of the two sides of the issue. They will also be assigned roles in the case (i.e. attorneys, jury members, witnesses, expert witnesses, etc.) and will need to use research in the case. I plan on acting as judge (in full costume) and will facilitate the proceedings.

    To assess the effectiveness of this learning activity, I will gather student feedback asking how much they felt they learned and could apply the material. I will also ask the same exam question asked on last year’s exam regarding contraception and will compare answers and scores. This will hopefully allow me to make a direct assessment on whether this active learning component had an effect on student comprehension.

    I will be applying for a teaching grant for this activity and will use it to buy a judge costume, gavel, etc. to get students in the mindset of a real court trial.
  5. Improve the quality of the research project, yet shorten the time taken to grade (faculty development project): Currently, students conduct a semester long research project on an area of adolescent development of their choice. They create a research question, hypothesis, collect data, analyze that data and then write up the project in an 8-10 page paper. Whilst I feel this project is meaningful, I was disappointed with the quality of the finished product as well the many, many hours it took to grade. After this spring seminar, I have decided to focus on this project: to improve the quality of the finished product, yet decrease the time it takes to grade it. To accomplish this, I have decided to change three things.
    PLAN: First, students will be required to go to the FHSS writing center to get help with their project. Second, I am going to devote one class period to peer evaluations of the written work. Students will exchange their assignment with 2-3 peers who will fully read the project, and then evaluate according to the grading rubric I have set out. I am also going to change two aspects of the assignment, which will hopefully shorten the time taken to grade the projects. First, I am going to set clear grading rubric, and create a grading sheet where I can tick common responses that I seem to write multiple times (i.e. make sure references are in APA format, etc). I am also going to require that the project is in the form of a brief report, as if it were written for a major journal, such as Science, or Nature, and they only have around 3 pages to present the entire project. As well as decrease my grading time, this will have the added bonus of encouraging conciseness in writing, something that I feel most students could work on.

Long term goals  

Part 2: Scholarship
Scholarship is extremely important at BYU. My ultimate goal is simple: conduct meaningful research and publish consistently in top tier journals. To date, I have had some success in publishing in respectable and high impact journals. I feel I am able to work to a schedule to consistently produce results.

My research encompasses three main areas: media violence, relational aggression, family issues related to the above.

Below I have listed more specific goals relevant to my research area.

Short term goals  

General and long term goals

  1. Go for quality and quantity in scholarship
    PLAN: Be involved in several research teams, collaborate actively with colleagues, and plan high quality, meaningful studies.
  2. Start major media study in the school of family life. The proposed study will examine the realities, challenges, and triumphs of contemporary families associated with adapting to and living with the pervasive influence of electronic media.
    The major aims of the study are to:
    1. Describe current normative media patterns in families
    2. Assess how these practices influence family dynamics and family life
    3. Investigate how parenting practices influence media use (and associated consequences such as increased aggression, obesity, etc)
    4. Develop and assess a micro-intervention to help families incorporate good media in their lives
    5. Determine successful techniques used by families to moderate media us
    PLAN: Discussion for this project is already occurring. We are currently developing the project team and searching for sources of funding. Though I would like to devote a significant portion of my time to this project, I want to get through my 3 rd year review first. We have factored this into our project timeline.
  3. Engage in additional smaller-scale studies. Long term plans include:

Part 3: Citizenship
Being a good citizen is a pivotal part of the BYU culture. I have only worked here for a short time, but already I feel the spirit and collegiality of the place. I would like to be a part of this spirit and aim to be a good colleague in all aspects.

In an annual University Conference Address in 1988 Jeffrey R. Holland spoke of his feelings for the BYU community as a whole. He called it “A place for connectedness, for true community. A place for “even balanced souls.” However, he also expressed his fear regarding faculty relationships in that “I fear that we often can hardly help ourselves toward such wholeness and integration…we find it very hard to transcend our departments and specialties. I do worry about faculty, staff, and administrative segmentation that keeps us from being a full-fledged “school in Zion”. I was moved by Elder Holland’s vision of a BYU community and have decided upon several projects to help achieve this vision.

My short and long term goals are listed below.

Short term goals.

  1. Attend weekly Human Development lunches.
    PLAN:     Every week the human development faculty meets for lunch. In my year at BYU I have only rarely attended these lunches because of busy schedules, deadlines, perceived time constraints, etc. However, I now understand that these collegial relationships are a large part of citizenship at BYU. Therefore, one major goal I have this year is to consistently attend the HD lunches to get to know my colleagues better and to form a consistent, professional relationship with each. 
  2. Form collaborative projects with colleagues outside my discipline.
    PLAN:     In the School of Family Life (and especially amongst the Human Development faculty) we are often accused of being cliquish and unwelcoming towards those outside our group. I have found two research groups outside the School of Family Life that I plan on forming a relationship with and hopefully completing scholarly research with this year. This first is with XXXX and XXXX in the Communications Department. I have had an initial conversation with these men and think that our research goals overlap in many ways. The second collaboration I hope to develop is with XXXX in the Psychology department. Dr. XXXX has previously done research with media and I hope to collaborate with him on several projects.
  3. Form friendships with those colleagues in the School of Family Life who are NOT in the human development faculty.
    PLAN:     Currently, in our school, we have some bad feelings between departments. My goal this year is to form a friendship with the other two new hires, XXXX from Home and Family Living, and XXXX from Marriage and Family. We plan on having monthly lunches together to discuss how things are going and to be a support to one another during these formative years. It is my hope that the rest of the School will notice our friendship and see how it transcends department boundaries. With time, this spirit of friendship and collegiately will grow and will hopefully encompass the School as a whole.  
  4. Serve on committees where requested. I am currently serving on the school of family life student committee and I plan on taking a more active role next year (I’ve been on maternity leave most of this year).
    PLAN: Accept assignments. Actively attend relevant meetings and activities. Work closely with the committee chair to be effective.
  5. Review at least 4 journal articles a year. Actively reviewing articles for journals is one way to participate and support the research community as a whole.
    PLAN: Accept assignment to review a minimum of four journal articles a year. However, this should not conflict with research activity, so I will review a maximum of eight articles a year.
  6. Participate in outreach activities such as the School of Family Life Conference.
    PLAN: Accept outreach requests when possible.
  7. Attend international conferences to cement relationships with outside faculty.
    PLAN: Attend at least two conferences a year. One should be international where funding permits. Key conferences are ISRA and ISSBD which are held biannually.

Long term goals

  1. Head up one committee after I reach CFS
    PLAN: Be active in committees now so I will feel confident in taking more responsibility at a later date.
  2. Be on the editorial board of at least one journal after I reach CFS
    PLAN: Actively review for journals in a timely fashion. Get to know editors through this process. Hopefully more responsibility will come at a later date.


Part 4: Relationship between goals and University regulations
With its focus on scholarship, teaching, and citizenship, I feel the above plan is consistent with and supports the University’s ultimate goal: to assist individuals in their quest for perfection and eternal life. My greatest hope is that my students will leave my classes with an increased sense of spirituality and passion for human development. I hope this has a direct impact on their family relationships and the way they will eventually parent their own children.

Part 5: Resources needed
The School of Family Life and the College of FHSS has been very generous in supporting my research and teaching activities. To achieve the above goals the resources I will continue to require are:

  1. Financial support to attend conferences (some international)
  2. Equipment specific to research projects
  3. Research assistants
  4. Teaching assistants
  5. Continued support of mentor

Part 6: Summary
As my Uncle XXXX, who is a tenured professor in the Marriot School of Business, says, to achieve success at BYU you need to do three things:

  1. Be a great teacher
  2. Publish great research
  3. Don’t be a jerk

It may be simplistic, but in a nutshell, my plan is to do just that.