Working as a Scholar-Teacher: Crafting Lectures and Activities from Research

• In Event: 20461 - Teaching and Learning Symposium Roundtable Session
  In Refereed Roundtable (90 minute): Table 12: Teaching Matters

Abstract

In our presentation, we will share tips for preparing course materials from one’s own research, working from the perspective of a Scholar-Teacher. Scholar-Teachers “embrace the use of research… to continuously improve our teaching and enhance student learning” (Indiana University Kokomo, n.d.).

As part this effort, we will share a lecture and activity in preparation for TRAILS about gender, different sex married couples, and fertility decision-making developed from our recent research, “Who can refuse? Attitudes About the Fertility Decisions of Wives and Husbands” (Oslawski-Lopez & Tabor, 2024). The TRAILS resource begins with a think-pair-share activity. Students record their responses to closed- and open-ended survey questions asked in the original research, discuss their perspectives in small groups, and then report on the themes of their groups’ collective responses. Next, the instructor describes the original research using the provided PowerPoint slides. After reviewing the findings, the instructor once again asks students to return to their small groups to compare their class results to those from the research. If the instructor wants to push the conversation further, students might also consider what the findings mean for gender in intimate relationships, especially as it relates to fertility decisions.

In summary, the TRAILS resource includes a think-pair-share activity, small- and large-group discussions, a short lecture, and an option for a theoretical discussion of gender in intimate relationships. In reviewing this resource, we will demonstrate one example of how course materials might be developed from research. We will end our presentation by asking the audience to brainstorm other ways research might be converted into course materials.


REFERENCES
Indiana University Kokomo. (n.d.). Teacher-scholar definition. Indiana University Kokomo. Retrieved February 26, 2025, from https://kokomo.iu.edu/academic-affairs/academic-resources/teacher-scholar-definition.html

Oslawski-Lopez, J., & Tabor, J. A. (2024). Who can refuse? Attitudes About the Fertility Decisions of Wives and Husbands. Journal of Family Issues, 0(0). https://doi.org/10.1177/0192513X241299421

Authors

• Jamie L. Oslawski-Lopez, Indiana University-Kokomo

• Jaclyn Ann Tabor, Illinois College