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ERIC Number: EJ788976
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2008-Mar-7
Pages: 1
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0009-5982
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
"Tired" Professors Can Be Rejuvenated
Seldin, Peter
Chronicle of Higher Education, v54 n26 pA36 Mar 2008
At a recent national conference, colleagues from different academic disciplines but all worked in college or university teaching-improvement programs found that the subject most frequently discussed was how to improve the teaching of "tired" faculty members. Tired faculty members are most often senior professors who have worked at their institutions for many years. They have risen through the ranks to top positions and have earned tenure. Year after year, they teach the same courses, often with the same notes, and are simply not teaching as effectively as they did in the past or could do in the future. Recognizing that no specific strategy is likely to be effective in every case, the writer notes that the most successful institutions do one or more of the following: (1) Provide opportunities for reflection; (2) Teach faculty members new skills; (3) Offer financial support; (4) Establish mentor programs; (5) Combine student ratings with constructive suggestions; (5) Facilitate classroom innovation; (6) Assign short-term, nonteaching projects; (7) Videotape classroom instruction; (8) Help professors give something back; (9) Stimulate interdisciplinary or team teaching; (10) Create individual plans for growth; (11) Encourage legacy teaching portfolios; and (12) Support faculty exchanges. While acknowledging that adopting such steps does not mean that an institution will have no more tired faculty members, the writer advocates that it is probably that at least some will be a bit less fatigued.
Chronicle of Higher Education. 1255 23rd Street NW Suite 700, Washington, DC 20037. Tel: 800-728-2803; e-mail: circulation@chronicle.com; Web site: http://chronicle.com/
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: Higher Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A