This article describes a learning community for early-career faculty in the sciences aimed at course redesign and active-learning. Through findings from surveys, interviews, and observations, program outcomes regarding faculty teaching skills and confidence, understanding of how students learn, and use of assessment are explored. Finally, the…

The preparation of graduate students for faculty careers is not a new discussion in academe. The debate over teaching versus research preparation stretches back to the inception of graduate education in this country (Atwell, 1996; Berelson, 1960). However, the lingering concerns about the preparation for the faculty role and all its components…

The experiences of a chemistry professor and a physics professor at a regional branch campus of Penn State University are described. In both instances, the faculty members had previously served as teaching assistants at a research intensive institution, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The unique pedagogical struggles involved in…

This study seeks to determine the level of acceptance of the Constructive Engagement Method (CEM) as a teaching, learning, and leadership skills development model. Employing a modified debate format, constructive engagement requires active student participation, even among the most introverted of students, and it fosters a learning environment…

The UMass Lilly Teaching Fellows early career faculty development program was rated a success at its 10-year mark by fellows who were asked in a survey to assess the program and its effects on their careers. In order not only to continue the program's success but improve upon it, the UMass Center for Teaching, guided by the survey, significantly…

Results of a qualitative study conducted at four diverse higher education institutions revealed that adult learning principles that describe how programs should be offered, as opposed to what is offered, are of primary importance. Faculty development programs should foster new friends, conversations, and connections outside of individuals'…

As the current trend in healthcare education moves towards interdisciplinary curriculum, the University of New England has initiated an integrated interdisciplinary health and healing approach to training future practitioners. As part of the process, a committee of representatives from seven healthcare disciplines has endeavored to provide…

This paper will discuss the results of a project that enabled three faculty members from disparate disciplines: Social Work, Interpersonal Communication and Software Engineering, to enhance writing and critical thinking in their courses. The paper will address the Faculty-in-Residence project model, the activities taken on as a result of it, the…

Following a comparison of two approaches to mentoring--the traditional model and a relatively new "synergistic" or co-mentoring model--a new formal mentoring program for faculty in the School of Education at the University of Colorado at Denver, based on the synergistic approach, is described. First-year program evaluation data revealed a number…

New professors need to be aware of their institution's tenure and promotion policies, departmental and college climate, scholarly requirements, and professional responsibilities for publication, scholarly presentations, teaching, and service. Vignettes reflect some of the pitfalls and recommendations to consider when seeking tenure. Applications…

Despite a growing recognition of the need for learning-centered curricula in undergraduate education, very little has been documented about course design in a graduate studies context. This article provides a flexible framework and practical strategies for developing a learning-centered graduate course in Epidemiology. Concepts, principles and…

This initiative attempted to promote university faculties' use of technology in their teaching practice by equipping them with the latest techniques and instructional strategies. Faculty participants were given an initial workshop with a noted educational technology expert and then subsequently paired with a student partner with whom they were to…

Seven current approaches to faculty development in instructional technology, reduced to their basic assumptions, are discussed in terms of their match with what is known about faculty learning and their work environment. These approaches include: modeling, idea seeding, incentivizing, troubling/alleviating, commanding, comparing, and persuading.…

The number of international faculty members in the United States is steadily increasing. However, few of these instructors have formal training in pedagogy and many experience at least some communication difficulties. To address the needs of nonnative-speaking instructors at an urban college in New York, an international faculty program was…

As a result of recent changes to U.S. undergraduate mathematics instruction, graduate student teaching assistants (TAs) may now be asked to teach in ways that they did not themselves experience as students. One such example is the use of collaborative group learning. The preparation TAs receive to teach in these new ways has the potential to shape…