Discussion: View Thread

Robert L. Minter, Ph.D.

Executive Vice President and Chief Academic Officer

Walsh College

Jim

From: Organizational Behavior Division Listserv on behalf of E. Kevin Kelloway
Sent: Wed 11/18/2009 11:47 PM
To: OB@AOMLISTS.PACE.EDU
Subject: Re: [OB-LIST] relationship between teaching & research?

Hi Denise
  This is pure mythology in my view. The most comprehensive source I am
aware of is the Hattie and Marsh (1996) meta-analysis that essentially
suggests a zero correlation between research and teaching.  We have
looked at some original data collection (which we did not pursue to
publication) only to find essentially the same result.  Hope this helps
kevin

The Relationship Between Research and Teaching: A Meta-Analysis
John Hattie
University of North Carolina at Greensboro
H. W. Marsh
University of Western Sydney
Review of Educational Research, Vol. 66, No. 4, 507-542 (1996)
DOI: 10.3102/00346543066004507

A review of various models of the relationship between research and
teaching in universities is presented, and the evidence necessary to
assess each model is outlined. A meta-analysis of 58 studies
demonstrates that the relationship is zero. Suggestions for future
directions are provided, and it is argued that a major goal could be to
adopt strategies that enhance the relationship between research and
teaching.









>I remember as a graduate student hearing from someone (?!) that there was a positive correlation between a faculty member's research productivity and their teaching effectiveness (presumably as measured by student evaluations).  However, I'm not familiar
with any studies that demonstrate this link.  Do any of you know of such
research?  If so, would you mind sending me the cite(s)?
>
>Thanks,
>Denise
>
>Denise Daniels, Ph.D.
>Professor of Management
>Associate Dean, School of Business & Economics
>Seattle Pacific University
>Phone: (206) 281-2243
>Fax: (206) 281-2733
>Email: ddaniels@spu.edu
>

Jim,

There have been a number of studies within the past decade that have researched this topic. I don't keep track of them, but they do come across my desk via newsletter reports, etc. In my opinion the research literature indicates a mixed bag at this point in time. Some research reports a strong positive relationship, some a modest relationship and others  report a low to  zero correlation. Much of this depends on the research design, sample size, etc. 

One of the key points is that research not having anything to do with  the subject matter  one teaches will probably not enhance teaching

Effectiveness  to any significant level. Research on pedagogy tends to show a more positive correlation to teaching effectiveness. My recommendation is for  Denise to categorize the research studies into at least two categories: Pedagogical research relevant to one's subject area being taught vs. unrelated research to subject matter being taught. 

A vast amount of research in this area has been done by NCRIPTAL (National Center for Research to Improve Post Secondary Teaching and Learning at Univ. of Michigan. Also Dr. Patricia Cross, Graduate School of Education, University of California @ Berkley has researched this topic  over the years  along with Dr. Angelo to show there is a correlation between scholarly research and instructor effectiveness. She should also contact U of M's College of  Education-both are experts in this area. Denise should also contact the Univ. of Michigan's Education Department to see what dissertation research or bibliographies they can share with her – some of the College's research on this is probably connected with NCRIPTAL.

I get the feeling that she has  established the hypothesis that there is no correlation and then obtained research publications to support it.  There is a vast amount of research out there on this subject.  Also, she needs to demonstrate how this topic relates to executive/management business leadership. My major concern is that her topic of interest is more appropriate for an Ed.D. dissertation and does not seem to fit a business model.  Let's keep in mind that the trustees will be asking tough questions of us regarding dissertation relevance to our degree model .  I think that Denise's interests may be focusing more on what may be relevant research for instructional education and not for business related leadership.

Hope this helps.

                Bob

rminter@walshcollege.edu