December 2007

Simple Commitment but Long-Term Challenge: P&T and SoTL
By David Sill
For well over 20 years we have heard that higher education does not reward teaching. We have also heard that research accomplishments come first in determining tenure and promotion decisions, and teaching second. At the same time, the imperative to increase our valuing of teaching continues.

Conceptions of Teaching: The Specifics
Since the early ’90s, researchers (mostly outside the U.S.) have been exploring different conceptions of teaching. At this point a number of different researchers, using different faculty cohorts and different methods to analyze findings, have identified a continuum of conceptions. Not all of them agree as to the points along the continuum, but they do agree about what anchors each endpoint.

Blogs or Discussion Boards?
Blogs and discussion boards both provide opportunities for interaction in online courses, but there are instances when one is more appropriate than the other, says Matt Crosslin, instructional designer at the University of Texas at Arlington’s Center for Distance Education.

Take the Poll!
Last month's question was "How high a priority is improving teaching in your department?"