[7 —— = : — — — —_— = = — =< i (
i i f
| =

SNE WT

 

 
  
 

 

 

Published by itie: Nasional ey for Staff and Organizational Develonment
With support from the WK. Kellogg Foundation and Sid W_ Richaravon Foundation:

 

 

 

 

| INNOVATION ABSTRACTS: CONTINUING 7 THE PURSUIT OF TEACHING EXCELLENCE >

NISOD evaluations of Innovation Abstracts attempt to measure the effectiveness of this publication—whether or |
_ not the topics are useful and if the dissemination strategy is working. In that regard, two questions in the |
evaluation survey are of particular importance: how are Abstracts distributed and how are they used by faculty
and staff?

Distribution Strategies

From our last survey, we confirmed that distribution practices around the Innovation Abstracts are as diverse as

the NISOD colleges themselves. The following are representative responses:
1. The most common practice is that of putting each issue of Abstracts in faculty mailboxes, usually by way of |
| ___ the secretary of each department/division. The NISOD contact at each college assumes: responsibility for |
| distributing the appropriate number to each or to the appropriate dean who ec atte a the issue to
department/division chairs at the regularly-scheduled weekly meetings.
Abstracts are mailed to those faculty and staff requesting to be placed on the distribution list.
Abstracts are compiled i in department/division notebooks and are available to all faculty and staff.
Bulletin boards in the faculty lounges and department/division offices display the most current issue.
The Faculty Association distributes the latest issue(s) along with its newsletter. et
Least common was the practice, by the dean or the NISOD contact, of mailing, only to those faculty who, in |
their estimation, would most likely be interested in the topic of the current issue.
Distribution frequently included part-time faculty and classified staff. Only one complaint was reported —
around distribution: that of insufficient numbers of copies for circulation to every full- and part-time faculty |
member, as well as classified personnel. While duplication of the Abstracts i is permitted in member institutions, a.
growing number of colleges are electing to purchase epogh copies weekly (for a very modest fee) to provide |
everyone an original.
Using Innovation Abstracts
We were interested in how faculty and staff used the Abstracts. These were the most frequent responses:

i. Regularly-scheduled brown bag sessions—informal gatherings around the noon hour—attract faculty. and
staff who wish to discuss the current issue. Discussions generated by the topic help identify current and
potential implementation of similar innovations and spark innovation spin-offs.
Popular Abstracts help identify topics for formal staff development workshops, seminars, and programs.
Faculty share topics of potential student interest with their classes. [For example, many survey
respondents reported seeing copies of "Attendance and Achievement" (Vol. VI, No. 30) taped to classroom:
doors.

4. Many Tioga assessment/placement policies, writing-across-the-curriculum programs, and effective
teaching strategies can be traced to especially popular Abstracts’ issues.
In Summary

We learned that Abstracts is a useful and popular publication with faculty and staff in NISOD colleges.
Furthermore, we discovered that colleges providing strong institutional commitment to regular and personal contact with
faculty and staff around Abstracts’ topics reported high levels and broad acceptance of improved classroom strategies and
teacher/administrator mutual support for teaching excellence. |

From the survey results, we identified several topics that readers hope to see in future issues; consequently, |
we have expanded the topical diversity—e.g., issues around the administration and instruction of —
technical/vocational courses and programs. We identified personnel whose needs and interests are infrequently
addressed—e.g., classified staff; special attention has been focused on locating potential authors to address this
© | 8roup. (One such issue is in press—-a successful staff development program for classitied staff.)

Obviously, we look for quality material to share with our readers. We can only do that with help from those —
who recognize and engage in quality work. In that regard, we sound again the standing call for papers: call
Suanne Roueche at 512/471-7545 to talk over any topic(s) around which you would consider Preparing a

wn DWN

 

 

 

te OSE iii Lesebisi Program, The University of Texas at Austin, EDB 348, Austin, Texas 78712