Claire Major

Associate Professor, Higher Education
Department of Educational Leadership, Policy, and Technology Studies
328-C Graves Hall
(205)-348-1152
cmajor@bamaed.ua.edu
Appointed in 2000

Recent Courses Taught:

AHE 603: College and University Teaching
AHE 601: Professional Seminar in Higher Education

Areas of Research:

Faculty Knowledge
Faculty Identity
Faculty Work in Technologically Mediated Environments

Academic Degrees:

Ph.D. Higher Education, The University of Georgia, 1998
M.A. English, The University of Alabama at Birmingham, 1993
B.A. English, University of South Alabama, 1989

Professional Experiences:

Associate Professor, 2000-present, Higher Education Program, The University of Alabama.

Assistant Professor, 2000-2004, Higher Education Program, The University of Alabama.

Director, Executive Ed.D. in Higher Education, The University of Alabama, 2005-Present.

Program Coordinator, Higher Education Program, The University of Alabama, 2004-present.

Special Assistant to the Provost, Academic Affairs, The University of Alabama, 2004.

Director, Problem-Based Learning Grant Project, Samford University, 1998-2000.

Instructor, 1994-1996, English Department, The University of Georgia.

Instructor, 1991-1994, English Department, The University of Alabama at Birmingham.

Selected Publications:

Major, C., & Bray, N. (in press). Exam scams and classroom flimflams: Urban legends as an alternative lens for viewing the college classroom experience. Innovative Higher Education, 32(5).

Savin Baden, M., & Major, C. H. (2007). Using interpretive meta-ethnography to explore the relationship between innovative approaches to learning and innovative methods of pedagogical research. Higher Education, 54(6).

Bray, N., Harris, M., & Major, C. (2007). New verse or the same old chorus? Lessons from distance education efforts in higher education. Research in Higher Education. 48(7), 889-908.

Major, C. H; & Palmer, B. (2006). Reshaping teaching and learning: Changing faculty pedagogical content knowledge. Higher Education, 51(4), 619-647.

Barkley, E. F., Cross, K. P., & Major, C. H. (2005). Collaborative learning techniques: A resource for college faculty. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Savin-Badden, M., & Major, C. H. (2004). Foundations of problem-based learning. Buckingham: Open University Press/SRHE

Major, C. H., & Dolly, J. (2003). The importance of graduate program experiences to faculty self-efficacy for academic tasks. Journal of Faculty Development, 19(2), 89-100.

Major, C. H; & Palmer, B. (2002). Faculty knowledge of influences on student learning. The Peabody Journal of Education, 77(3), 137-161.

Selected Presentations:

Major, C., (2007, April). Using interpretive meta-ethnography to explore faculty perceptions of changes that occur when adopting Web-based instructional technology. Paper presented at the meeting of the American Educational Research Association. Chicago, Illinois.

Major, C., & Bray, N. (2006, April). Exam scams and classroom flimflams: Urban legends as An alternative lens for viewing the college classroom experience, Paper presented at the meeting of the American Education Research Association. San Francisco, California.

Savin-Baden, M., & Major, C. (2005, October). Fractured pedagogies and shattered worlds: Exploring the relationship between innovative approaches to learning and alternative methods of pedagogical research. Paper presented at the meeting of the International Society of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

Palmer, B., & Major, C. (2004, April). Leadership in problem-based learning cooperative groups. Paper presented at the annual meeting for American Education Research Association, San Diego, California.

Major, C., & Barkley, E. (2004, February). Making groupwork work: Collaborative learning techniques for the college classroom. Paper presented at the League for Innovation in the Community College. San Francisco, California.

Palmer, B. & Major, C. (2003, November). Reciprocal peer review to help students develop integrative knowledge and scholarly attitudes and skills. Paper presented at the Association for the Study of Higher Education. Portland, Oregon.

Palmer, B. & Major, C. (2003, April). The scholarship of problem-based learning. Paper presented at the American Educational Research Association. Chicago, Illinois.

Savin-Baden, M., & Major, C. (2003, December). Fractured worlds and shattered pedagogies exploring the relationship between innovative approaches to learning and pedagogical research. Paper presented at the Society for Research into Higher Education Annual Conference, Royal Holloway, University of London, Egham, Surrey, United Kingdom.

Major, C; & Palmer, B. (2002, November). Faculty knowledge of influences on student learning. Symposium with Hearn, J., Holdsworth, J.M., Berger, J., Del Favero, M., Hirschy, A., Braxton, J., Bayer, A.E., Wilson, M., Caboni, T., Deusterhaus, M., & Munday, M. in Multiple influences on student learning. Symposium presented at the Association for the Study of Higher Education Annual Meeting. Sacramento, California.

Major, C., & Palmer, B. (2002, April). Influences of implementing problem-based learning on faculty pedagogical content knowledge. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association. New Orleans, Louisiana.