In This Issue Current Issue Archives

May 2005

The Teaching Professor May 2005 full issue PDF
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Enter: The (Well-Designed) Lecture
By James Ricky Cox and James W. Rogers, Murray State University, KY
In his 1999 article [The Teaching Professor, 13 (1)], “Wither: The Lecture,” R. G. Driver laments the downfall of the traditional, unadorned lecture. Six years later, the traditional lecture continues to be heavily criticized in the wake of reform movements that are shifting instruction to the learning paradigm. Professor Driver points out that lectures can be interesting and inspiring. However, many more educators blame the traditional lecture for not actively involving students, not holding their attention, not promoting the retention of material, and not supporting multiple learning styles. Based on our own experiences and observations, these negative descriptions of the lecture format are a bit exaggerated. Yes, there is room for improvement, and those who currently defend the lecture format usually speak of the well-designed lecture — not the stereotypical presentations which conger up thoughts of talking heads and sages.

Doing it the Night Before: Preventing Procrastination
Procrastination isn’t just a student problem: 20 percent of all adults rate themselves as chronic procrastinators. But among undergraduates, the problem is acute: various studies document that 50 percent to 95 percent of all students are affected by procrastination. The problem is serious because when students procrastinate on their coursework, learning suffers. When a student spends an hour on an assignment that should take three, learning is proportionally diminished. For this reason, teachers have an obligation to do more than bemoan the problem.

The Power of Putting the Students at the Center of Learning
By Henry A. Johnson, Jr., Johnson & Wales University, RI
As an instructor at a career-focused university, I thought I had experienced it all: great classes and bad classes, classes that ran smoothly and those that required firm management, classes that were a breeze and those that challenged my patience. Despite these experiences, I was unprepared for what became my best class, the one that most changed my outlook on teaching.

Adjuncts: Let’s Have More of Them!
By Joe Reese
I’ve been reading a good deal in The Chronicle of Higher Education about the problem of part-time professors. Many people seem to feel that there are too many part timers. The full-time faculty are retiring and are being replaced by adjuncts that get paid poorly without benefits and who have neither office space nor time for students. And the problem grows as the number of courses taught by these part timers continues to rise.

Telling, Doing, Making Mistakes, and Learning
By Tami Mysliwiec, Berks-Lehigh Valley College, Penn State
Recently, I was vividly reminded that my responsibility as a teacher involves more than telling. Teachers also have an obligation to provide a supportive environment where students can learn by doing and by making mistakes.

We Seek a Candidate Committed to Teaching Excellence. . .
Ever see that on a job posting for an academic position? Ever served on a search committee looking for just such a candidate? Sometimes the job description calls for a “demonstrated excellence in teaching.” Around these grand phrases float clouds of vague meaning. What exactly does a candidate with a commitment to teaching excellence look like? How does a committee know it when they see it? How does a candidate demonstrate excellence in teaching?

Study Points to Shortcomings of Group Work
A study by Donald Bacon shows that group projects are now widely used in business school programs and that those using them rate improved learning outcomes as the most important reason for including them in courses. This study was precipitated by his concern with the design of group projects and how their current use violates some of the design features that have empirically linked group work and learning outcomes.