Dr. Jim Vander Putten
Dr. Jim Vander Putten has crystallized his teaching practice to focus on teaching leadership, developing student authors, discovering instructional innovation, and mentoring doctoral students. One example includes his collaboration with University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences to spearhead an innovative master’s degree program in Higher Education with a concentration in Health Professions Teaching and Learning. Of special significance is Dr. Vander Putten’s interdisciplinary focus in teaching that includes courses of value to masters-level students outside his department (e.g., Internet Research in Education). The course draws teachers in K-12 settings who learn to think critically with data.
Another example includes his collaboration with the Emerging Analytics Center at UA Little Rock to develop a course for secondary education students with a sharp focus on data visualization and learning. He demands quality writing among students who in turn meet these demands with unwavering guidance and feedback. Students appreciate his instructional designs grounded in the learning sciences and how he remains on
the cusp of technology and novel ideas applied to the classroom (e.g., data analytics) in varied settings. It is no surprise that many graduating doctoral students obtain grants and publish or present findings based on their dissertation work that Dr. Vander Putten supervised.
Dr. Vander Putten’s degrees include a Ph.D. in higher education from the University of Michigan, a M.S. in higher education from Indiana University, a B.S. in education from the University of Wisconsin-Stout, and an A. A. in business from Northeast Wisconsin Technical College.