Comments on: Research Statement http://blog.drscottfranklin.net/2006/01/31/research-statement/ Ramblings of a Christian Mathematician and Bioinformaticist Tue, 06 Jan 2009 22:46:22 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.7 hourly 1 By: Robert http://blog.drscottfranklin.net/2006/01/31/research-statement/comment-page-1/#comment-178 Robert Wed, 01 Feb 2006 13:53:01 +0000 http://blog.drscottfranklin.net/2006/01/31/research-statement/#comment-178 I'd really encourage everybody at your institution, especially your top-level admins, to read Boyer's book. Large universities are too entrenched in the publish/perish definition of "research" to really change, but smaller schools like yours and mine are in a good position to adopt Boyer's view, which is a much more balanced, student-centered, and doable model for scholarship within the setup of the school. It's admittedly hard for an institution to get behind faculty research when said research involves tens of hours each week of immersion in a high-level field of study (remember I'm an algebraic topologist here...). If you broaden the view of scholarship to include teaching- and application-oriented scholarship, then it becomes much more feasible and easily integrated with teaching, and then your college can realistically get behind your doing it (and make it one of the criteria for contract renewal). I’d really encourage everybody at your institution, especially your top-level admins, to read Boyer’s book. Large universities are too entrenched in the publish/perish definition of “research” to really change, but smaller schools like yours and mine are in a good position to adopt Boyer’s view, which is a much more balanced, student-centered, and doable model for scholarship within the setup of the school.

It’s admittedly hard for an institution to get behind faculty research when said research involves tens of hours each week of immersion in a high-level field of study (remember I’m an algebraic topologist here…). If you broaden the view of scholarship to include teaching- and application-oriented scholarship, then it becomes much more feasible and easily integrated with teaching, and then your college can realistically get behind your doing it (and make it one of the criteria for contract renewal).

]]> By: SplineGuy http://blog.drscottfranklin.net/2006/01/31/research-statement/comment-page-1/#comment-177 SplineGuy Wed, 01 Feb 2006 02:30:25 +0000 http://blog.drscottfranklin.net/2006/01/31/research-statement/#comment-177 That is a good point and I have not considered including my explorations in mathematics education and pedagogy as part of my research. I should note that, at my school, there is little or no emphasis on faculty research in the narrow sense of the term. Oh sure, they say they encourage it, but they provide little to back up that claim. And all faculty are on contract, no tenure. That is a good point and I have not considered including my explorations in mathematics education and pedagogy as part of my research. I should note that, at my school, there is little or no emphasis on faculty research in the narrow sense of the term. Oh sure, they say they encourage it, but they provide little to back up that claim. And all faculty are on contract, no tenure.

]]> By: Robert http://blog.drscottfranklin.net/2006/01/31/research-statement/comment-page-1/#comment-176 Robert Wed, 01 Feb 2006 00:58:26 +0000 http://blog.drscottfranklin.net/2006/01/31/research-statement/#comment-176 Scott - Does your school think of research in the broader sense of "scholarship", as defined by Ernest Boyer in "Scholarship Reconsidered"? That is, scholarship with four dimensions -- scholarship of teaching, of discovery (which is what your statement is mainly getting at), of application, and of integration? Just wondering if your statement could be more broadly presented to include pedagogical stuff you might do or collaborative stuff with other departments. Scott - Does your school think of research in the broader sense of “scholarship”, as defined by Ernest Boyer in “Scholarship Reconsidered”? That is, scholarship with four dimensions — scholarship of teaching, of discovery (which is what your statement is mainly getting at), of application, and of integration? Just wondering if your statement could be more broadly presented to include pedagogical stuff you might do or collaborative stuff with other departments.

]]>