(Bluefield)—By directing in-service sessions designed to help faculty analyze and improve their teaching methods, Dr. Tamara Meade gained a deeper appreciation for the teaching/learning dynamic in the process.
(Bluefield)—By directing in-service sessions designed to help faculty analyze and improve their teaching methods, Dr. Tamara Meade gained a deeper appreciation for the teaching/learning dynamic in the process.
Meade, Assistant Professor of English and Speech at Bluefield State College, conducted the sessions and worked as a consultant for Paul D. Camp Community College (Franklin, VA) earlier this month. “Several studies have identified a tendency in some colleges to produce doctorate-holding faculty who excelled in research, but were not prepared to teach,” she explained. The participants in her sessions completed a questionnaire based on the Faculty Inventory: Seven Principles for Good Practice in Undergraduate Education—a tool developed with support from the American Association for Higher Education, the Education Commission of the States, and the Johnson Foundation, Inc.
“The surveys asked faculty to reflect on strengths and weaknesses in seven important areas,” she continued. Those points of scrutiny and self-evaluation included student-faculty contact, cooperation among students, active learning, prompt feed back, time on task, effectively communicating high expectations, and recognizing diverse talents and ways of learning. “Many faculty participating in the sessions identified active learning and student-faculty contact as areas needing improvement.” “One of the most pleasant surprises to emerge from the questionnaire and discussion involved the willingness of part-time faculty to arrive at the College one-to-two hours before class, so they could expand the opportunity for student-faculty contact,” Meade observed. “The commitment of these participants encouraged other faculty to improve their performance in the classroom, as well. Excellence was contagious.”
Meade cited additional benefits from the sessions. “The experience was a wonderful learning opportunity for me as well, and I gained several ideas to improve my own teaching style,” she concluded.
January 24, 2005
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