Successful College Teaching: Problem-Solving Strategies of Distinguished Professors

Foreword. Preface. About the Authors. 1.The Need to Improve Teaching Now: Introduction and Overview. Three Forces for Change. Traditional Academic Culture. Faculty Development-The Key. Invigorated Approach to Faculty Development. 2. Forces for Change versus Institutional Inertia. The American Student: A Lesson in Diversity. The Consumer Mentality. Technological Trends: Academics in Cyberspace. Economic Trends: The Interface between Government, Business, and Higher Education. Smiling Ted Says, "Come on Down! We've Got the School for You!" Public Assault on Academe. Institutional Inertia: Power, Status and the Medieval University. Faculty Resistance to Reform: Holding on to the Comfort Zone. 3.We're Talking About a Revolution: The Need for Reform in Faculty Preparation and Development. Overcoming Institutional Inertia. Faculty Development Failures. The Apprenticeship: The Lack of Preparation for Teaching in Higher Education. The Apprenticeship: The Lack of Preparation for Teaching in Higher Education. Junior Faculty: Baptism by Fire. Senior Faculty: Re-Lighting the Fire. A Perverted Academic Reward System. Problems in Assessing Teaching. A Call for Reform. 4.Studies in Excellence. Into the Classroom: Case Studies of Ten Award-Winning Teacher-Scholars. 5. Distinguished Teaching: A New Way of Viewing the Character of Excellence. What's the Point of Evaluation? Learning Outcomes: Higher Education Goes "Back to the Future." The Soul of Excellence: A Chronicle of the Educational Perspective on Character. Trait Theories of Personality. "Conducting the Emotions": EQ Theory. Reforming the Evaluation of Teaching. Toward a Theory of Teaching Excellence. Conclusion. 6.Scholars of Teaching. Teaching Philosophies: A Compass for Learning. Methods of Implementing the Philosophies: So What's New? Master Planners. Motivational Planning. Designing Materials. Limits and Interventions: "The Best-Laid Schemes O' Mice and Mena!" How Plans Evolve Into Policy. 7.Instructional Problem Solving: Dealing With Diverse Individuals. Individual Students: The Challenge. 8.Instructional Problem Solving: Group Dynamics. Aggregate Student Difficulties. 9.A Problem-Solving Theory of Teaching. The "Aha!" Experience: Mucking Around in the Data. The Eclectic Field of Problem Solving. Teaching as Cognitive Processing. Three Components to the Process. The Theory in Action. Teaching and Learning as Discourse. Putting the Theory to Use. 10. Application of the Problem-Solving Theory: Distinguished Teachers Advise. Apprenticeship or Serfdom? The Lack of Preparation for Teaching in Higher Education. The Contrasting Concerns of New and Experienced Faculty. Expert Advice for Typical Teaching Difficulties. Other Problems Cited by TA's 11. Futuristic Faculty Development: Toward a Comprehensive Program. Accepting Responsibility: Seeing Differently. On Human Development and Teaching. Hiring: The Search for Teaching Potential. Preparation for Teaching: A Needs Assessment for New Faculty. Evaluating Faculty: Warning Signs. Recognizing Distinguished Teaching. Assessing Faculty Development Needs. Creating a Mentoring Community. A Problem-Based Curriculum. A Proposal for a Collegiate Development Network. Appendix A: National Survey of Faculty Development Programs. Appendix B: AAUP Presidents Teaching Excellence Durvey, Respondents, and Results. Appendix C: Surveys of Faculty Teaching Award Winners. Tools for Developing Professionalism. References. Index.