Robert Pearl Starks

Robert Pearl Starks

Location: phoenix, arizona

About me

As Vice President of Product Development, I lead cross-functional teams of designers, developers, QA testers and product stakeholders to develop, launch, and improve products customers need and love. 

Previously, I've worked in a variety of leadership roles in education / learning & professional development. Through my experience, I've become accustomed to working across departmental silos and with various stakeholders (executives, end-users, faculty, staff, students / learners, alumni, parents, regulatory agencies, partners and employers) to facilitate collaboration and advance common goals. In my previous roles, I've advocated for student needs and driven organizational change that helped educators do their best work, students thrive in their careers, and employers connect with quality talent.

Despite different contexts, a common theme in my career journey has been to do work that contributes to a mission which improves people's lives. It's also always been important for me to work with an organization whose values align with my own. I'm a listener, empathizer, customer advocate, servant leader, and lifelong learner. I'm never satisfied with status quo, I constantly strive for "better," and I'm driven by genuine curiosity to solve complex problems.

“Work to become; not to acquire.” -Elbert Hubbard

Interests

social media, career development, training, higher education, web 2.0/3.0, career services, leadership, marketing

Skills

social media, marketing, training, consulting, management, strategic planning

Activity

Discussion Comment
Melissa, That is a challenge. Where do you think this idea/attitude stems from and what are some of the ways you address this challenge? Robert Starks Jr.

What Makes Good Teachers Good? A Cross-Case Analysis of the Connection Between Teacher.  

This study examined the impact that individual teachers have on student achievement. 
In particular, the study compared the impact of effective teachers and less effective teachers on their students tests scores in reading and math. 

The authors addressed to the following research questions: 
Phase I: To what degree do teachers have a positive, measurable effect on student achievement? 
Phase II: How do instructional practices and behaviors differ between effective and less effective teachers based on student learning gains?

Hi Niyia,

To start a discussion in any group, you go to that group.  To visit a group, click on "Groups" in the top navigation.  Choose the group you'd like to join.  Once joined, when you are in the group, you will see "Group Activity" in the upper right in an orange icon.  If you hover your cursor over it, you will see a drop down menu.  If the group creator has enabled discussions, you will see "Start a Discussion" as an option.  If it isn't an option, it is because the group creator did not include this as a… >>>

3 Realities of Being a New Manager

As new managers transition to their new role, they face new challenges, responsibilities and opportunities.  There are four new realities that new managers must face to accelerate their transition and succeed:

 

Reality 1: The skills that lead to success as an individual contributor differ greatly from those needed to manage.  As a manager, the expertise that made you so good at what you did as an individual contributor will still be used to coach others but the role of manager requires you to work through others.

 

Reality 2: Power… >>>

The True Function of Managers

Agha Hasan Abedi said "The conventional definition of management is getting work done through people, but real management is developing people through work."  This is one of my favorite quotes about management because it highlights a common attitude about what management is while highlighting what it should be.  There are many managers who focus on processes and procedures vs. people.  Many of these managers want to focus on developing their people but somewhere down the line, they got bogged down with tasks so coaching their employees may seem like a daunting task.  Ironically, employee… >>>

The Cost of College Attrition at Four-Year Colleges and Universities is a report of the findings of the latest research from Dr. Neal Raisman regarding the causes of student attrition and the huge financial costs associated with student attrition. The report was published by the Educational Policy Institute in February, 2013.

Download the full report

In this episode of the Today's Campus Innovation Interview Series, Kirsten Winkler talks with Professor Anant Agarwal, President of edX.org.
 
edX, the non-profit MOOC platform launched by MIT and Harvard just recently added its first international partner universities, expanding the range of courses and languages offered to students around the globe for free.

Kirsten and Anant talk about the impact of MOOCs on society and the workplace as well as first data points indicating the success of pure online learning vs. a blended approach.

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