Headshot of Deandra Little

Deandra Little

Associate Provost for Faculty Affairs and Professor of English

Department: Provost

Office and address: Alamance Building, Office 118B 2200 Campus Box Elon, NC 27244

Phone number: (336) 278-5205

News & Notes

Education

Ph.D., English Literature, Vanderbilt University

M.A., English Literature, Vanderbilt University                      

B.A., English and German, Samford University                         

Employment History

2022-present: Associate Provost of Faculty Affairs and Professor of English

2019-2022: Assistant Provost and Director, Center for the Advancement of Teaching & Learning and Professor of English

2013-19: Director, Center for the Advancement of Teaching & Learning and Associate Professor of English, Elon University

2012-13: Associate Professor and Associate Director, Teaching Resource Center, University of Virginia

2009-12: Associate Professor and Assistant Director, Teaching Resource Center, University of Virginia

2003-09: Assistant Professor and Faculty Consultant, Teaching Resource Center, University of Virginia

2001-03: Lecturer, English Department and Women's Studies Program, Vanderbilt University

Research

educational development practice and practitioners in higher education, SOTL

Grants Awarded

Teagle Foundation Grant, Sustained change in practices of engaged and active learning in humanities instruction (2014-2017) Dan Bernstein (lead PI), U of Kansas Park University, Elon University (D. Little, campus lead), and Rockhurst University, $215,000.

Bringing Theory to Practice Well-Being Initiative Grant (2013-2016) D. Little, Kimberly Q. Fath (co-PIs), Elon University $10,000.

Teagle Foundation Grant, Teaching and learning in higher education: Implementing and evaluating a pedagogy seminar for higher education (2012-14) Josipa Roksa (lead PI), D. Little

Publications

Selected Refereed Articles (double-blind peer reviewed):

Little, D. & D.A. Green, (2022) Credibility in educational development: trustworthiness, expertise, and identification, HERD (41.3), 804-819. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/07294360.2020.1871325

Little, D., Donnelli-Sallee, E. and Michael, R. (2021). SoTL and the Humanities: Navigating Tensions, Realizing Possibilities. Teaching & Learning Inquiry 9:2. http://dx.doi.org/10.20343/teachlearninqu.9.2.14

Little, D. & Green, D.A. (2021). Credibility in educational development: trustworthiness, expertise, and identification. Higher Education Research & Development. Published online 28 Jan 2021. 1-16. https://doi.org/10.1080/07294360.2020.1871325

Little, D. & Moore, J. (2021) A typology for catalyzing pedagogical change: Fostering multiple pathways through SoTL. In special issue Catalyzing pedagogical change: Exploring ‘big ideas’ that drive faculty development in international institutional contexts. Hungarian Educational Research Journal, 11(3), 262-273. https://doi.org/10.1556/063.2021.00070

Little, D., Caulkin, J. Kaldor, E. C., Wheeler, L. (2021) Fractal reflection: Cultivating community and meaning in a time of crises. In special issue, Educational Development in the Time of Crises. To Improve the Academy. 39(3), 25-38. https://doi.org/10.3998/tia.17063888.0039.302

Overman, A.A., Xu, Q. & Little, D. (2020) What do students actually pay attention to and remember from a syllabus?: An eye-tracking study of visually rich and text-based syllabi. Scholarship of Teaching and Learning in Psychology. 6(1), 285-300. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/stl0000157

Grupp, L.L. & Little, D. (2019) Finding a fulcrum: Positioning ourselves to leverage change. To Improve the Academy. 38(1), 95-110 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/tia2.20088

Little, D., Green, D.A., & Hoption, C. (2018) A lasting impression: the influence of prior disciplines on educational developers’ research. International Journal for Academic Development 23(4), 324-338. DOI: 10.1080/1360144X.2018.1458617

Green, D.A. & Little, D. (2017) On the other side of the wall: The mis-categorization of educational developers in the USA? To Improve the Academy. 36(2), 77-88. DOI: 10.1002/tia2.20060

Green, D.A. & Little, D. (2016, published online 24 Jul 2015) Family portrait: A profile of educational developers around the world. International Journal for Academic Development. 21(2),135-150.

Little, D. (2014) Reflections on the state of the scholarship of educational development. To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development, 33(1),1-13. DOI: 10.1002/tia2.20005

Refereed Articles & Book Chapters (editorial review)

Little, D. & Ruelle, J. (2020) A SoTL View of HIPs and Libraries. In Joan Ruelle (Ed) The Engaged Library: High-Impact Educational Practices. Association of College and Research Libraries. 1-12.

Little, D., Felten, P., & Green, D. A. (2019) Identity, intersectionality, and educational development. In Lindsay Bernhagen and Emily Gravett (Eds). Educational Development: Diversity and Identity, a volume of the New Directions for Teaching and Learning series. 2019(159), 11-23.

Little, D. & Overman, A.A. (2019) Designing transparent assignments in interdisciplinary contexts. In M. Winkelmas, S. Tapp & A. Boye (Eds) Transparent Design in Higher Education Teaching and Leadership. Stylus.

Wright, M., Lohe, D.R. & Little, D. (28 Nov 2018) The role of a center for teaching & learning in a de-centered educational world. Change: The Magazine of Higher Learning, 50(6), 38-44.

Duan, X., Little, D., Williams, S., Wagner, S. (student) & Moritz, K. (student) (Fall 2018) Bringing study abroad back to campus: A collaborative student project on acquiring, researching and exhibiting artifacts. Mentoring Undergraduate Research in Global Contexts, a special issue of Perspectives on Undergraduate Research and Mentoring, 7(1) (online publication).

Presentations

Recent Conference Presentations:

Green, D. & Little, D. (November 2022) Re-centering our Integrity in a Time of Instability. Presented at the 47th annual POD Network Conference, Seattle, WA

Grupp, L., Landy, K., Little, D., Tapp, S., & Hurney, C. (November 2022) Re:Claiming Our Joy through Intentional Reflection, Dialogue and Choice. Presented at the 47th annual POD Network Conference, Seattle, WA

Green, D. & Little, D. (June 2022) Integrity for educational developers: Can the centre hold? Biennial conference of the International Consortium for Educational Development. Aarhus, Denmark.

Kaldor, E., Wheeler, L., Little, D., Caulkins, J. & Grupp, L. (June 2022) Fractal Reflection: A Novel EdDev Research Methodology. Biennial conference of the International Consortium for Educational Development. Aarhus, Denmark.

Berg, J., Haras, C M.., Little, D., Mann, D., Moore, C., & Young-Brice, A. (October 2021) Getting Started: Workshop for New Educational Developers. Pre-conference session (4, 2-hour sessions) presented virtually as part of the 46th annual conference of the POD Network.

Rener, C., Wheeler, L., Little, D., Kaldor, E., Flaming, A.L., Landy, K., Tapp, S. & Grupp, L. (November 2021) Contexts For Agency: Leveraging Fractal Reflection Through And Beyond Crisis. Virtual session, presented at 46th annual, virtual conference of the POD Network.

Collins-Brown, E., Morrison, B., Little, D., Bitting, K., Abbot, S. & Pollard, T. (November 2020) Looking Inward, Thinking Forward: Models and Tools for Center Evaluation. Virtual presented at the 45th annual, virtual conference of the POD Network.

Little, D. & Fleming, C.J. (September 2020) Creating Evidence-Based Reflective Writing Assignments across Experiential Learning Opportunities. Virtual asynchronous interactive session presented at the National Society for Experiential Learning Annual Conference.

Little, D. & Green, D.A (November 2019) Credibility, ‘cultural work,’ and change: Educational development in group settings. Workshop presented at the 44th annual conference of the POD Network. Pittsburgh, PA.

Tapp, S., Lohe, D., Berg, J., Little, D., Mann, D., Ortquist-Ahrens, L., & Young-Brice, A. (November 2019)) Getting Started: Workshop for New Educational Developers. Pre-conference session (8-hour) presented at the 44th annual conference of the POD Network. Pittsburgh, PA.

Little, D. & Meinking, K. (October 2019) SoTL Among the Silos: Disciplinary Frames and Identity in the Scholarship of Teaching & Learning. Paper presented at the 15th annual conference of the International Society for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (ISSOTL) Atlanta, GA.

Bernstein, D., Little, D., Michael, R. Greenhoot, A. (October 2019) Reading within or against the SoTL grain? Close reading as a method for understanding student learning in the humanities. Workshop presented at the 15th annual conference of the International Society for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (ISSOTL) Atlanta, GA.

Barnett, B., Cao-Nguyen, V., LeDuff, K., Hernández, L., Little, D. & Royster, L.A. (January 2019) Faculty and Staff Intercultural Development: Amplifying Voices and Expanding the Table. Round table session. AAC&U annual meeting, Atlanta GA.

Little, D., Lohe, D., Ortquist-Ahrens, L., Pinder-Grover, T., Springborg, M., Watson, E., Wright, M.C. (January 2019) Developing Educational Development: Guidelines for Creating or Re-vitalizing a Center for Teaching & Learning. Day-long workshop presented at the POD/AAC&U 11th annual Organizational Development Institute, Atlanta, GA

 

Recent Invited Presentations and Workshops

The Engaged Library: High-Impact Educational Practices in Academic Libraries (October 2020), with J. Ruelle, Plenary High-Impact Practices in Academic Libraries Symposium, Orbis Cascade Alliance consortium, via Zoom.

Applying Inclusive Principles in Your Teaching (October 2020), with K. Bitting, School of Communications, Butler University

Creating Dynamic and Interactive Discussions and Other Forms of Engagement in Online and Face to Face Environments (August 2020) School of Communications, Butler University

Education Development: Where are we going? Where have we been? (July 2019) Plenary, POD Network Institute for New Faculty Developers, Greensboro, NC.

Developing Program-Level Student Learning Outcomes (November 2018), with L. Ortquist-Ahrens, a 2-day institute with representatives (council and consortium members) from member institutions of the Shepherd Higher Education Consortium on Poverty in Arlington, VA.

Inclusive education: Embracing and managing diversity (March 2018) with P. Felten, National University of Singapore.

Making the most of the 4th hour: Course design for engaged learning (March 2017) Two-day workshop, Accademia Europea di Firenze, Florence, Italy.

Course (re-)design for the active learning classroom (May 2017), with M. Palmer, a 2-day institute, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY.

Professional Activities

International Consortium for Educational Development

  • Vice President, 2016-2020
  • Associate Editor, International Journal of Academic Development, 2011-2014

POD Network in Higher Education (North American organization for educational development)

  • President and Executive Committee, POD Network for Higher Education, 2014-2017
  • Chair, Governance Committee, 2016-2017
  • Member, Finance Committee, 2015-2016
  • Member, Awards Committee, 2018-present
  • Member, Core Committee (Board of Directors), 2011-2013
  • Chair, Ad hoc committee focused on the future of the TIA journal, 2013, 2018

Faculty Facilitator, Institute for New Faculty Developers (a week-long seminar for new developers from around the world)

  • POD/UNC-G, Greensboro, NC, 2019
  • POD/NC Consortium, Asheville, NC, 2015

Service Activities

Committee Leadership

  • Co-chair, Quality Enhancement Plan Committee: Data Competency, 2022-2023
  • Co-chair, Full-time, Ongoing Faculty Track Appointments Review Committee, 2020-2023
  • Chair, Post-probationary Orientation Working Group, 2017-2018
  • Co-chair, Intellectual Climate Working Group on Faculty & Staff Professional Dev., 2016-2017
  • Co-chair, Are You Ready? Enrolled Students Initiative Committee, 2015-2016
  • Co-chair, Emerging Technologies in Teaching and Learning Advisory Group, 2014-2019

Committee membership

  • DEI in the Curriculum Working Group, 2021, spring
  • Mental Health Advisory Panel, Counseling, 2021
  • Ready & Resilient/Healthy Elon Committee (campus covid advisory committees), 2020-2022
  • President’s Advisory Council on Inclusive Excellence (PACIE), 2020-present
  • First Year Experience Advisory Committee, 2016-2022
  • Strategic Planning Committee, 2018-2019
  • Academic Council ad hoc committee - SPOTs for Study Abroad/Away, 2019-present
  • Student Life Program Review – Kernodle, 2018-2019
  • High Quality Teaching Working group (Academic Council ad hoc), 2018-present
  • Inauguration Committee (Intellectual Event sub-committee chair), 2018 (March-October)
  • Writing Excellence Initiative Advisory Committee, 2017-2019
  • Provost’s Inclusive Community Team, 2017-2019
  • First Year Experience Advisory Committee, 2016-present
  • Kernodle Center Advisory Committee, 2014-2018
  • Learning Spaces Working Group, 2014-present
  • Academic Affairs Advisory Council, 2013-present
  • Provost’s Advisory Council, 2013-present
  • Academic Service Learning Faculty Advisory Committee, 2013-2018

Search Committees

  • Co-chair, Assistant Dean & Director, Kernodle Center for Civic Life, 2021
  • Nursing Department Founding Chair/Program Director Search, 2020
  • Physician’s Assistant Chair/Program Director Search, 2019
  • Early American Literature TT Faculty Search, English, 2016-2017
  • Writing Center Director, 2015-2016

 

Awards

Awarded 2022 Higher Education Research and Development (HERD) Article of the Year for D. Little & D.A. Green, Credibility in educational development: trustworthiness, expertise, and identification, HERD (41.3), 804-819. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/07294360.2020.1871325

Awarded 2019 “Bob Pierleoni Spirit of POD award,” by the POD Network in Higher Education (the “highest honor that POD bestows on a member. […] for contributions through their service to the organization and to the field of educational development”)

Awarded 2016 International Journal of Academic Development Article of the Year for Green, D.A. & D. Little. International Journal for Academic Development, (21)2, 135-150.