Transcript Earth Tones - Louisiana State University

Scholarship through servicelearning: tenure and promotion
and research issues
Marybeth Lima, Associate Professor
Department of Biological & Agricultural
Engineering
Introduction

How I got my start
in service-learning
as scholarship


By failing! 
Questions are
welcomed
throughout this
presentation!
The secret to P&T
 There
are three
rules for getting
tenure.
Unfortunately,
no one knows
what they are.
Overview
The rest of my story of service-learning
scholarship (“If you can’t be a good
example, then you’ll just have to be a
horrible warning”—Catherine Aird)
 Developing and executing research
projects within a service-learning
framework
 Documenting and disseminating your work
for promotion and tenure

Getting started

Is there a question(s)
about service-learning
and/or promotion and
tenure that you would
like to ask? Write it
down.


If desired, fold up, put
in box, and I’ll answer
accordingly.
“I am not getting any
guidance.”
My story




Had SL research important to
engineering in general, but not
specifically tied to my
traditional research duties and
job description
Strong support from chair level
up, no support at the
departmental level
A&M and AgCenter
discussions
I received both of my
discipline’s top national
teaching awards while being
unsure of whether I would
receive tenure
Dos and don’ts

Do

Frame your service-learning work in a research
context (within the flagship agenda, etc.).




What does it mean to be Research I?
Disseminate and present your service-learning work
in the language of researchers
Tie your service-learning research to your job
description
Don’t


Let anyone believe that your work is only “touchyfeely” service (be vigilant about language)
Let anyone believe that your work is only innovative
teaching
Developing and executing research projects
within a service-learning framework
•
•
Limitations of bean
counting: “Not
everything that counts
can be counted, and not
everything that can be
counted counts.”
The current state of
affairs: we extol the
virtues of bean counting!
•
US News & World Report rankings
• Peer assessment, student
selectivity, faculty resources,
graduation/retention rates,
financial resources, alumni
giving
You must make your service-learning work
COUNT (literally and figuratively)




What counts in your field as scholarly work?
What is your area of scholarly work (think job
description)?
What counts “up the PT line” as scholarly work?
What research-based project can you make
“countable” within your scholarly area of work?

Community partner input is critical
Example

My overall goal is to ensure that every
child in Baton Rouge has access to a safe,
fun, accessible playground
Clear: service component, teaching
component, practice component**
 Traditional research component?

 From
practice and keeping up with playground
engineering literature
Research questions

Arsenic in pressure treated wood


Sugarcane bagasse as a surfacing material


Does the arsenic present in pressure treated
wood negatively impact the health of children that
play on a playground full of such wood?
Surfacing is expensive. Any economical material that
will meet safety standards for surfacing is needed!
Sugarcane bagasse is one-third the cost of mulch.
Mulch is widely used as a surfacing material; bagasse
is used for some of the same uses that mulch is. Is
bagasse an effective playground safety surfacing
material?
EPA funding!
Another example

University of South Florida collaborative
for children, families, and communities
 http://www.usfcollab.usf.edu/
 Research
collaborative in which faculty meet with
community partners with no set agenda to explore
the research needs of the community
 Results in community-based action research that is
easily funded
 Results in fairly traditional research for faculty
Developing and executing research projects
within a service-learning framework

Write research questions
specifically tied to your
field


If possible or desirable, tie
in with the practice aspects
of your field
You should effectively
communicate your
scholarly service-learning
activities to your
colleagues, chair, PT
committee members, and
external reviewers!
Developing and executing research projects
within a service-learning framework

Along the way

Do some information gathering
 Become familiar with SL literature in your discipline
(and in general)

find gaps in the literature that correspond to the type of
work you want to do
 Plan
your project with publication in mind (goals,
measurable objectives, assessment, evaluation)
 Remember confidentiality, liability, and rights of
human subjects
 You do not have to do this alone! Collaborate with
like-minded people that have research expertise
that complement your expertise!
Activity

Can you articulate a
research question(s)
based on servicelearning work that you
are doing (or thinking
about doing)?
Documenting and disseminating your
work for promotion and tenure:
the four Ps

Publish


Procure grant funding if necessary




Internal (CCELL, travel grants, seed grants, tech fee)
LSU Foundation (work through your college rep first)
OSP Public Service Grants (directly in response to Katrina)
Present your work at regional and national conferences


Refereed journals, chapters, monograph, book, etc. Publish in your
discipline’s journals if at all possible!
International service-learning research conference,
http://www.upa.pdx.edu/SLResearch06, etc.
Promote your work


CCELL, departmental newsletters, University Relations, EBR schools
publicity office
Media training:



Never talk to a reporter without thinking about it first
Three talking points!
Use as a force for good
Two other items

1. National review board for the scholarship of
engagement (Driscoll and Sandmann)
 http://www.scholarshipofengagement.org
 “Created to review and evaluate the
scholarship of engagement of faculty who are
preparing for annual review, promotion and
tenure.”
 Provides evaluation criteria
 Evaluates portfolios
 Resources, readings, FAQs
2. Choosing external reviewers
for P&T




External letters are a critically important piece of the
P&T process
Cultivate these relationships early in your career
(sometimes people will offer)
Try to pick people who practice and/or support SL that
people in your discipline will recognize
Remember that the only people in the entire
process who know the stature of external
reviewers are people in your department!
Summary




Assistant professors can and should do servicelearning if they want to
Frame your service-learning work in a research
context
Articulate research questions and use the
resources available to you on campus to refine
the questions and properly execute the research
Have several research-based talking points
regarding your SL project and share them with
everyone regularly
References and useful websites



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Driscoll, A. and E. Lynton. 1999. Making Outreach
Visible: A Guide to Documenting Professional Service
and Outreach. Washington, DC: AAHE.
Lynton, E. 1995. Making the case for professional
service. Washington, DC: AAHE.
Lynton, E. and S. Elman. 1987. New Priorities for the
University. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
http://www.servicelearning.org
http://www.compact.org/resource/documenting.html
http://www.scholarshipofengagement.org