Paul Russo, Ph.D.
Vice Provost and Dean, The Katz School of Science and Health,
Yeshiva University
“Good teaching is a distance race, not a sprint. Good teaching is also not ad lib, but like on Broadway, the best performances require method and rehearsal. Being natural isn’t a coincidence.”
Gregory P. Lampe, Ph.D.
Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Emeritus,
Professor Emeritus, Department of Communication and
Theatre Arts, University of Wisconsin Colleges
“First, and foremost, stay tuned into what students are thinking, worried about, and following. To keep a discipline relevant to learners, one needs to be aware of their thinking and feelings.
Second, remain current in your discipline. That goes without saying; however, it’s a challenge to keep up with the latest trend in one’s discipline and then, to match the trends with one’s teaching style/philosophy.
Third, remain current in learning strategies and skills. There’s a great deal of research on how students learn and how to teach students. As a professor, I always thought about how best to teach my discipline so that it is useful and relevant to students.”
David Hawkins, PharmD
President and CEO of The Higher Learning Company
(http://thehigherlearningcompany.com/consulting-team/)
and Editor of A Team-Based Learning Guide for Faculty in the Health Professions.
“Why is it, in spite of the fact that teaching by pouring in, learning by passive absorption, are universally condemned, that they are still so entrenched in practice?” (John Dewey, Democracy in Education, 1916, page 46)
“There is a critical need to transform a boring, passive learning pedagogy into a vibrant, active learning environment. We have known for more than a hundred years that lecturing to students leads to bulimic learning. Students are able to memorize lecture notes, regurgitate what they have memorized on an exam, pass the exam, but then soon forget most of what they have memorized. This type of learning is shallow and ineffective and should be condemned by all instructors. And, yet, it is still as prevalent in the hallowed lecture halls today as it was back in the time of John Dewey.
If you are committed to enhancing student learning, then you will abandon the lecture that leads to passive learning and create ways to engage students into active learning. Team-based learning is one of the best methods for maintaining an active learning environment that stimulates thinking and makes learning passionate, relevant, and fun.”
Keith Smith, Ed.D.
Vice President & Dean, Purdue University Global
“Faculty development must be a high priority for all universities. Without it, quality of instruction suffers along with faculty engagement itself.
The very nomenclature of ‘teaching-learning’ assumes dual, integrated processes, where both teacher and learners are engaged and focused on relevant, significant outcomes.”
Anthony Tricoli, Ed.D.
President Emeritus, Georgia Perimeter College
(Formerly DeKalb College)
“I am a huge proponent of civic engagement and service learning. Faculty members who choose development in the areas of service learning and civic engagement can provide our students with a state of the art education in a field of work that is pertinent for today and tomorrow. Thus, the economic development impact of a college or university on its community is directly linked to faculty development.”
