Teaching Professors’ Seasons of Change

Madison, Wis.—Mar. 3 — At midcareer with tenure no longer a concern, faculty often have the opportunity to explore ways to improve student learning—a process of change in which faculty become learners themselves, says Barbara Licklider, professor of educational leadership and policy studies at Iowa State University. From her experience working with faculty as part of Project LEA/RN (Learning Enhancement Action/Research Network), a staff development effort, Licklider has observed that in the process of improving their teaching, faculty go through the following stages or seasons of change:

• Challenge—Faculty recognize a need for developing ways to improve student learning.
• Experimentation— Faculty try doing things differently in their classes and observe the results of these changes.
• Intentionality—After trying different techniques, faculty know enough about learning and about their students that they can plan specific strategies to improve learning in their classes.
• Community—Faculty start to value the encouragement, affirmation, and the perspectives offered by their peers on common issues they face. They also value the same sense of community among their students and help students understand and internalize that they also have obligations to their peers.
• Worthiness—Faculty figure out what content in their disciplines students should understand at a deep level. Faculty also come to realize what is worthy of their time and investment whether or not it’s rewarded. “The typical faculty member who moves through this stage sees a different kind of satisfaction in faculty life and gets real rewards from working with students in the classroom,” Licklider says.

One key aspect of Project LEA/RN that has contributed to the learning experience for faculty has been the diversity of the faculty members who have participated. “It’s been wonderful for us to be able to have colleagues across so many colleges and disciplines starting to value each other’s work. The other thing that happens is that faculty come to understand that across our disciplines, there’s an underlying sameness about human learning. There are particular pieces in different content areas that you might have to approach differently, but there are some underlying things that we can do in all classrooms that can enhance student learning,” Licklider says.

Join Barbara Licklider for her 2007 Teaching Professor Conference session titled “Seasons of Change in Becoming an Educator (Rather than an Information Disseminator)” to share experiences with colleagues across disciplines and institutions. “One thing [participants] will get is affirmation about some of the stages that they have gone through. For example, when you try to do things differently in classrooms and really put responsibility for learning on the students, they don’t always like it. When you ask students to interact, it’s not unusual for teaching evaluations to go down. So the things participants might get is the affirmation that that’s normal and some hints and strategies on what to do to persevere and get through that and bring students along,” Licklider says.

About The Teaching Professor Conference

When: May 18-20, 2007
Where: Atlanta, GA

The Teaching Professor Conference is a three-day professional development program for college faculty that helps faculty sharpen existing skills, generate new ideas, and provides the tips and tools needed to transform collegiate teaching. The presenters—all experts in their fields—will share cutting-edge information and research on topics of vital importance to higher education today.

The benefits gained from attending include:

• Attain new ideas, energy and enthusiasm for teaching
• Join with fellow teaching professors for enlightening (sometimes noisy!) debates
• Gather fresh ideas to share with your colleagues
• Learn new ways to advocate for betting learning strategies in your institution
• Enhance your classroom leadership
• Create a stronger learning environment for your students
• Advance the cause of learning nationwide
• Promote more meaningful dialogue about the profession of teaching

To register or for complete conference details, visit www.teachingprofessor.com.