The Daily Bulletin Archive

By Tony Astran

John Draeger, assistant professor of philosophy and humanities, will become coordinator of the Carnegie Academy for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning’s (CASTL) Campus Program, effective in August. He replaces Cheryl Albers, associate professor of sociology, who held the position since 2000.

Draeger became a CASTL fellow in 2006—just one year after joining Buffalo State—and will serve a three-year term in his new role. Albers said she is confident that he will provide a smooth transition of leadership.

“It’s time to bring in someone with new ideas and fresh perspectives,” she said. “The change will benefit the institution.”

Draeger said the appointment feels like a natural fit to him. “I’m continually impressed with the quality of work in CASTL,” he said. “It motivates me to get more and more involved with the organization.”

Draeger has accompanied Albers on a number of international CASTL conferences during the past few years and has built a strong network of contacts. Albers said his arts and humanities background will bring an added dimension to the Campus Program, which, she said, is regarded by some as a social science venture.

Draeger wants to build on Buffalo State’s international connections and maintain its leadership role at the international level as the organization transitions away from the Carnegie Foundation. The foundation will no longer fund CASTL as of the 2009–2010 academic year, but has verbally agreed to allow Buffalo State and other select colleges to use the Carnegie name for another two years because of their outstanding work.

Making existing campus work available to more people in more venues is another of Draeger’s goals. “If more faculty see the type of work that’s being produced, they can benefit in the classroom,” he said. “Anything that gets people talking about teaching and student learning is a good thing. But we need to move beyond anecdotal talk around the water cooler. CASTL projects provide empirical data to support why and how certain types of classroom instruction work. When I did research, my own data surprised me.”

“We need to move beyond intuition,” Albers added. “A teaching style that seems like it might make sense doesn’t always lead to desired results. Students may like a particular approach, but is there evidence to show that they learned something?”

Albers will remain involved with CASTL and will use her newfound time to provide direction to a subgroup of sociologists within the International Society for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (ISSOTL). The group will promote the usefulness of sociological concepts and theories for understanding classroom interaction and undertake collaborative pedagogic research.

Draeger is eager to begin his new role and looks forward to the challenges ahead. “With CASTL, I learn new techniques and perspectives,” he said. “It’s great for professional development, and I hope to get even more faculty interested in participating.”

Albers and Draeger recently mailed offer letters for the next round of CASTL Fellowships. An announcement is forthcoming.