Taking Flight

“Taking Flight is an amazing resource for everyone involved in educational development. Written in a friendly and supportive tone, the authors of this valuable resource have summarized the literature on educational development, provided examples of well-respected centers, created worksheets to help you develop your efforts, and infused their own decades of experience in this field. This book skillfully guides; it does not push. I am recommending this book to so many people.”

Todd D. Zakrajsek, Associate Professor, School of Medicine - University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Foreword
Acknowledgments

1)     Introduction: What Is Taking Flight?
2)     Establishing a Baseline: Where Are You Now?
3)     Needs Assessment: What Do They Need?
4)     The Big Ask: What Will You Ask For?
5)     Strategic Planning: How Will You Define Your Path
6)     Prioritization: What Will You Do First?
7)     Communication: How Will You Tell Your Story?
8)     Assessment: How Will You Know When You Get There?
9)     Networking: Who Will You Work With?
10)   Conclusion: Where Are You Going To Go?

References
About the Authors
Index

Laura Cruz

Laura Cruz is an Associate Research Professor for Teaching & Learning Scholarship with the Schreyer Institute for Teaching Excellence at Penn State. She previously served as the director of two Centers for Teaching and Learning; as editor-in-chief of three teaching-related journals, as elected member of the national board for faculty developers in the United States, and as principle investigator for four externally funded grants.  

Her publications and invited presentations include work in her first discipline (history) as well as the areas of instructional design, educational development, the scholarship of teaching and learning, organizational change, and educational innovation.

Michele A. Parker

Michele Parker is from Brooklyn, NY. She was a non-traditional college student at SUNY Stonybrook. Encouraged by the excellent mentoring received in college, Parker pursued a Master’s degree in Higher Education and Student Affairs Administration. Later she earned a Ph.D. in Research, Statistics, and Evaluation at the University of Virginia and then joined the faculty at UNC Wilmington (UNCW). In the Educational Leadership department, Parker teaches inquiry courses. Also, she teaches for the college teaching certificate and the coaching and mentoring certificate programs. At the University, she serves on University-wide Task Forces. In educational development, Parker previously worked in a Center for Teaching and Learning. Currently, she leads faculty development initiatives transnationally.

Brian Smentkowski

Brian Smentkowski is the Founding Director of the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning, Director of Service Learning, and Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Idaho. He is the past editor of To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development and has published and presented extensively in the fields of educational development and political science. He has led faculty and educational development programs and initiatives at four universities, with an emphasis on institutional culture change, SoTL, and supporting student success through faculty and educational development.

Marina Smitherman

Marina Smitherman is Chair of the Department of Life Sciences and Professor of Biology at Dalton State College. With two decades of college teaching experience, Smitherman has specialized in Educational and Organizational Development; serving as Director of the Center for Academic Excellence leading faculty development in Teaching and Learning, leading High Impact Practice curriculum innovations, chairing the Georgia Consortium of Teaching and Learning Directors, and working collaborative on scholarship with POD, CUR, and AAC&U colleagues. She won the University System of Georgia Felton Jenkins Jr. Faculty Hall of Fame Teaching Excellence Award in 2020.