"Original research leading to peer-reviewed publication forms an essential part of academic life, and it often plays a major role in decisions about hiring and promotion. For the most part our profession has ways of assessing and thinking about research that leads to publication. Good teaching, though, also demands extensive learning and sometimes calls for innovative research in its own right. How can we think about and evaluate research of this kind? Does a scholar who spends a year or more developing an original course or rethinking a familiar classroom topic deserve the same esteem as one who spends that time producing a book or article?
This panel, sponsored by the APA Division of Education, will explore research done in support of teaching. Among the questions that prospective panelists may want to consider are
* Can we recognize research done in support of teaching when we see it? What does it look like?
* How do we assess research done in support of teaching? Can we tell excellent research from mediocre research in the absence of peer-reviewed publication?
* How do we make institutions and our profession aware of research done in support of teaching?
* How can we help each other become better scholars in support of our teaching?
* What relation exists between research done in support of teaching and research for publication?
Submit abstracts electronically to Prof. Martha Davis (madavis AT temple.edu)by Friday, February 1, 2008. The abstract proper should follow the APA guidelines (see p. 6 of the program guide in the APA Newsletter, http://www.apaclassics.org/Newsletter/2007newsletter/1007inser
t.pdf) and be anonymous. Papers will normally be no longer than 20 minutes in delivery. Please include requests for audio-visual equipment."