Spring 2013
Faculty Research Seminars

Donna Maurer:
Contemplative Pedagogy: Teaching and Learning Techniques to Enhance Student Awareness and Attention

Date: Thursday, March 28, 2013
Time: Noon–1 pm (ET)
Location: WebEx Presentation

Abstract: Contemplative pedagogy is a relatively new, student-centered approach to teaching and learning that helps students focus their attention, explore and identify personal meanings from external circumstances, and creatively reflect on these meanings as they relate to the broader social context.  In line with the UMUC Learning Model Principle #3 -- students' active learning -- this study supported the creation of a teaching/learning module in the Online Social Science Toolkit that both instructors and students at UMUC can use to enhance learning.  This presentation will (1) provide background on the contemplative pedagogy approach, (2) explain how the Module for social-science students was created and how it can be used, and (3) provide some specific examples of exercises that can be used in online classrooms across a variety of disciplines.

Donna Maurer, Ph.D. has been teaching online Sociology courses for UMUC since April 2001.  She received her doctorate from Southern Illinois University-Carbondale in 1997 and then completed a post-doctoral fellowship in Writing Across the Curriculum from the John S. Knight Writing Center at Cornell University in 1999.  Dr. Maurer is the author of Vegetarianism: Movement or Moment?, published by Temple University Press in 2002, as well as the co-editor of three books on the sociology of food and body weight issues.  In addition to teaching for UMUC, she works as a freelance academic editor for social scientists. She is a member of the American Sociological Association and the Association for Contemplative Mind in Society.

Liliana Meneses:
Developing Intercultural Competence through Online Undergraduate Instruction: A Pre and Post Test Study

Date: Thursday, April 11, 2013
Time: Noon–1 pm (ET)
Location: Largo Auditorium and WebEx (Desserts and drinks will be provided.)

Abstract: With the advent of globalization, researchers in higher education have been increasingly interested in the idea of the “internationalization” of education, a concept which encompasses two dimensions: international knowledge and intercultural competence (Stone, 2006). While study abroad programs have emerged as one effort to provide cultural experiences and incorporate intercultural competencies into undergraduate and graduate academic programs, this study investigates distance education as a platform which lends itself to developing global competencies and knowledge. In this study we employed a quasi-experimental research strategy to determine to what extent exposure to the theories, models, research, and practices of intercultural competence, as well as different methods of instruction, change undergraduate students’ levels of intercultural competence. We compared pre and post intervention levels of intercultural competency by using The INCA (Intercultural Competence Assessment) instrument. We also compared the group that used journaling versus the group that did not use journaling as part of their intervention. Initial results will be shared in this seminar.

Dr. Liliana Meneses is the Academic Director for the Human Resource Management in the Undergraduate program at UMUC.  Liliana has worked in Education for more than 20 years, as a teacher, a school administrator, and a trainer, and for the past ten years she has worked specifically with higher education and consulting/training in various places such as Singapore, Hong Kong, Brazil, Hungary and Prague. She has a Master's in International Education from Framingham State University, a Certificate as an International School Principal, and a doctorate in Human Resource Development from the George Washington University.  Liliana has published and presented in various conferences all around the world, and has also written a chapter for a book on Global Citizens published in 2011. Her research interests are around measuring and developing global competencies.

Anna Andriasova:
Winning through Conflict: Successful Management of Multiple Goals in the Online Education Environment

Date: Thursday, May 9, 2013 
Time: Noon-1pm ET
Location: Largo Classroom 1390 and WebEx (Desserts and drinks will be provided.)

Abstract: People often have multiple goals, and pursuing them at the same time creates a sense of inter-goal conflict, which is detrimental for successful goal pursuit. For example, majority of adult learners balance multiple important goals (such as successful career, family), while simultaneously trying to achieve their academic goals (getting a degree). In this project, the researcher assesses the impact of multiple goal conflict on behavior of online students, such as decisions about course load, difficulty of course taken, self-reported level of goal conflict, progress towards the online degree and success in goal pursuit (GPA and graduation). The research discusses the implications of multiple goal conflict management as it relates to online education, students’ academic success and retention.

Dr. Anna Andriasova is an Associate Professor in the Graduate School and is currently serving as the Acting Chair of Business and Executive Programs Department at University of Maryland University College (UMUC).  Anna has taught various courses in the MBA, Executive, One Year and Dual MBA programs as well as Doctoral program at  UMUC. She has also taught at the University of Texas at Austin and the American University of Armenia.

Anna has worked as marketing manager in several large companies in Armenia where she was developing and implementing marketing strategies for the country-wide operations. She also worked as a consultant for several other local businesses. Her research interests are in the area of non-traditional marketing communications and online education. Anna holds a PhD in Advertising from the University of Texas at Austin.  She also holds an MBA from the American University of Armenia and a B.Sc. in International Economics from Yerevan State University.