Academic Portfolio
This version of my portfolio is represents a major change from earlier versions, as a result of what I've learned about scholarship over the past year. One of the strongest influences on my thoughts about representing myself as a scholar has been Ernest Boyer's Scholarship Reconsidered: Priorities of the Professoriate. Boyer notes that the "traditional" view of a scholar is that of an academic who conducts research, publishes results, then possibly (but not necessarily) teaches students or applies the new knowledge to real-world problems. Boyer advocates moving beyond the "teaching vs. research" view of the professoriate towards the broader perspective of "scholarship" that encompases not only original research, but also bridging theory and practice, connections between disciplines, and effective communication to others. He calls these separate but interconnected functions the scholarship of discovery, the scholarship of integration, the scholarship of application, and the scholarship of teaching.
Inspired by Boyer's work and those who have followed him, I have chosen to organize my portfolio around these four domains of scholarship. This presentation represents what I have come to believe about the relationship between the scholar and the world he or she lives in, the balance that is necessary to function in modern society. The medium of hypertext is also well-suited to this presentation, since it allows me to expose the connections that I am learning to see between my research, teaching, and service. For the reader who may not be familiar with Boyer's work, I offer a brief summary of each of the domains of scholarship and what it means to me as an introduction to that area of my portfolio.
Scholarship of Teaching
Aristotle said "Teaching is the highest form of understanding." As an undergraduate teaching assistant for CSC210, the motto I shared with my fellow TAs was "You do not understand something until you can explain it to your grandmother." Boyer discounts the idea that teaching is routine and something that almost anyone can do, arguing that teaching is "not only transmitting knowledge, but transforming and extending it as well." Great teachers not only educate, but inspire others to scholarship.
My first experience as an instructor of record was humbling and sometimes painful. It made me keenly aware of how much I did not know about teaching and learning. I thought that because I had a deep understanding of the material and could clearly communicate that to my class, they would learn it. After all, I wouldn't have been given the responsibility if I was not prepared, right? It was a sobering experience, and one that inspired me to learn more about the art of teaching well, a quest that has occupied a close second place to my research activities. In the 2006-07 acaemic year, I had the opportunity to take my research into the classroom, developing and teaching a course on software system design as the central focus of my work as a NCSU Preparing the Professoriate Fellow.
Scholarship of Discovery
Disciplined investigation and the search for new knowledge for its own sake is central to higher education, and in Boyer's words, "is at the very heart of academic life." The contribution of scholarly discovery is not only to the sum of human knowledge, but is also the excitement, vitality, and passion that result from the process of research as well as the outcomes.
This part of my portfolio provides an overview of my research work in different areas, including both research towards my Master's and Doctoral degrees as well as other avenues of investigation that I have been priveledged to participate in.
Scholarship of Integration
According to Boyer, the scholarship of integration gives meaning to knowledge by making connections across disciplinary boundarys and fitting facts into larger patterns and contexts. Recent years have seen a significant rise in cross- and multi-disciplinary research efforts. National Science Foundation grant proposals must incorporate a discussion of the broader impacts of the proposed research.
As I mentioned in my thoughts on the scholarship of discovery, I naturally make connections between ideas and processes in seemingly unrelated areas. But my inquisitiveness does not end there - I am interested in why these similarities exist at all. At this point in my development, this part of my portfolio is primarliy reflective. However, the ideas that are gestating as I make these mental connections may be the foundations of new avenues of research in my (or my students') future.
Scholarship of Application
The application of knowledge is embodied in land grant institutions like NC State, whose mission, according to the original Morrill Act of 1862, is to teach agriculture, military tactics, the mechanic arts, and home economics, tempered with classical (liberal arts) studies, allowing members of the working classes to receive a practical higher education. Later legislation expanded the role of land grant institutions to include the establishment and operation of agricultural research stations and outreach programs to bring research to the farm. But Boyer goes beyond simply service and outreach in his definition of the scholarship of application, asking questions like "Can social problems themselves define an agenda for scholarly investigation?" He is careful to note that application is not a one-way street: scholarly service is the place where theory and practice meet, interact, and are refined and redefined, and where everyone involved (including the scholars) experience new insights and learning as a result of collaboration.
I have been fortunate to have had opportunities to apply what I have learned in my discipline (Computer Science) to situations and problems outside that field. Most recently, I have been able to apply process patterns that are emerging from my doctoral research on software design decision making to the problems of visioning programs for helping graduate students with teaching responsibilites develop and enhance their teaching skills. What I have learned about teaching and learning as a result of this work has helped me to better understand these basic patterns of design decision making.
