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Robert Woods

By on July 2, 2012 in Faculty Publications

Woods, Robert H., Diane M. Badzinski, Janie M. Harden Fritz, and Sarah E. Yeates. “The ‘Ideal Professor’ and Gender Effects in Christian Higher Education.” Christian Higher Education 11, no. 3 (July 2012): 158–176.

Abstract: A survey was administered to 451 undergraduate students at a private liberal arts Christian university to identify students’ perceptions of the ideal professor. The survey revealed that the ideal professor places great emphasis on the integration of faith and learning, is flexible (and even easy), maintains high academic standards, encourages students, and has an adaptive teaching style. Findings also highlighted gender differences in student perception of the ideal professor. Women perceived an adaptable teaching style, encouragement, and integration of faith and learning as slightly more important than men did in defining the characteristics of an ideal professor. Implications are framed in terms of student expectations for content and relationship dimensions of learning associated with Christian colleges and universities.

Mary Darling

By on July 13, 2010 in Faculty Publications

Campolo, Tony, and Mary Albert Darling. Connecting Like Jesus: practices for healing, teaching, and preaching. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2010.

Connecting Like JesusTony Campolo and Mary Albert Darling have teamed up to explore the dynamic connection that occurs when spirituality/spiritual practices are combined with effective communication practices. Churches and other religious organizations depend on the ability of their leaders and members to communicate (speak, teach, and preach) within their congregations and beyond. This important, practical guide will reveal Campolo’s preaching secrets and Darling’s wise counsel as a professor of communication.

Mary Darling

By on November 1, 2007 in Faculty Publications

Campolo, Tony, and Mary Albert Darling. The God of Intimacy and Action: Reconnecting Ancient Spiritual Practices, Evangelism, and Justice. San Franciso: Jossey-Bass, 2007.

The Stem Cell EpistlesThe God of Intimacy and Action reveals how contemplative spiritual practices can lead to greater intimacy with God and fuel passion for reaching out to others, through spreading the Good News and fostering justice for the poor and oppressed. The authors show why this combination is not only crucial but historical: it is vividly demonstrated in the lives of saints such as St Francis of Assisi, Ignatius of Loyola and Catherine of Siena.

Campolo and Darling explain mystical spirituality and its practices, and integrate them with evangelism and justice to illuminate what they call ‘holistic Christianity’. They suggest specific ways to nurture and energize one’s spirituality and show how to go beyond living a Christian life that merely emphasizes right beliefs and right behaviours.

Robert Woods & Ines Jindra

By on November 13, 2005 in Faculty Publications

Knight, David A., Robert H. Woods Jr, and Ines W. Jindra. “Gender Differences in the Communication of Christian Conversion Narratives.” Review of Religious Research (2005): 113–134.

Abstract: Scholars have long sought to find the differences in the ways men and women communicate. Also, researchers have studied the field of religious conversion. Thisfirst-of-a-kind study has sought to find if gender differences arise when men and women communicate the story of their religious conversion. Forty structured in-depth interviews with 20 male and 20 female undergraduate students at a small, private Christian liberal arts university in the Midwest were used to address the stated research question. Five male and five females were selected from each grade level. A non-probability sampling procedure was used to select subjects. The final sample consisted of two Hispanics, one Black, and 37 White non-Hispanic participants. The average age of each participant was 20. Although some authors have suggested that conversion stories of men and women would be similar due to a rhythmic narrative formula and common structural elements, this study has found that significant gender differences in the communication of such narratives do arise in certain specific areas. The majority of men used adventurous metaphors, while the majority of women used peaceful metaphors to describe their conversion experiences. It was also found that the majority of men focused on themselves as the control character while most women focused on someone else. And, men described themselves as clever whereas women described themselves as foolish in their narratives.

Robert Woods

By on December 13, 2002 in Faculty Publications

Woods, Robert H. “How Much Communication Is Enough in Online Courses?- Exploring the Relationship Between Frequency of Instructor- Initiated Personal Email and Learners’ Perceptions of and Participation in Online Learning.” International Journal of Instructional Media 29, no. 4 (December 2002): 377–394.

Abstract: The researcher, an online instructor at the graduate level, considered whether more frequent delivery of instructor-initiated personal (text-only) emails outside of required class discussion formats would result in more favorable student perceptions of the student/faculty relationship, higher student ratings of perceived sense of online community, and a higher degree of satisfaction with the overall learning experience than would less fequent delivery of such instructor-initiated personal emails. The researcher was also interested whether more frequent delivery of personal emails would result in higher levels of student participation in required group discussion formats. Results: regardless of the number of personal emails sent to students throughout the semester, a statistically significant difference between groups could not be identified along the lines of perceived sense of of community, satisfaction with the overall learning experience, or personal relationship with the instructor. More frequent delivery of personalized email did not increase the amount of student participation in required discussion formats. The same positive results were achieved whether the instructor sent two (2) or fifteen (15) personal emails. Explanations for the findings are offered along with suggestions for future research. Reprinted by permission of the publisher.