Professional development is important to any organization, and sometimes quickly overlooked. The importance of professional development magnifies in institutions of higher education and the AACRAO professions, all of which are in the business of teaching and learning. This article examines how colleges and universities may improve professional…

The governments of the USA and the UK have identified similar challenges facing their higher education sectors. Both governments believe in the centrality of market forces in meeting higher education demand, with government and academia playing subordinate roles. The public purposes of higher education must be restated if the potentially negative…

The use of undergraduate liaison students in a lecture/laboratory course and in a lecture course is described. Facilitating laboratory procedures, helping students with academic material, and advocating student needs were among the activities of the liaison students who served as links between the class and instructor and/or subject matter. (JMD)

Research on the validity of student rating scales of teacher performance is inconsistent, and the issue of why the scales are used needs examination. Until their criterion validity is raised to correlations of .7 to .8 or construct validity can be established, results should not be used in making tenure decisions. (MSE)

Suggestions for improving the design and use of student evaluation forms include tailoring the forms to the class needs and format, wording statements carefully, training students to evaluate performance, allowing ample time for completion, handling the evaluation procedure without involvement of the professor, and eliminating student anonymity.…

Combining period objectives and base evaluations creates an environment of continuing education in a well-functioning college. Specific and measurable attainment can be documented under the heading of "Period Objectives" including: preparation and publication of articles, performance of research projects, and presentation of scholarly papers. (MLW)

Higher education should serve the long-term intellectual needs of the student. The only way to measure real learning is by what it does to the individual student's intellectual growth. A three-step approach to internalize, integrate, and subjectify knowledge is discussed. (MLW)

The strengths of classroom education, combined with the strengths of experiential education, can create an even more effective learning environment. The steps involved in classroom learning are contrasted with those involved in experiential learning, then realigned and implemented for a college course. (MLW)

A survey to determine why student teachers fail and what can be done to improve teacher education is discussed. Five factors of failure are identified: classroom management and discipline problems, inability to relate well with students, poor teaching methods, lack of commitment to the profession, and personal characteristics. (MLW)

Thirty-six high-achieving students at San Jose State College were surveyed on the quality of the university's instruction, with the intent of compiling a monograph of the results to stimulate campus-wide student-faculty discussion of ways to improve teaching. The questionnaire is included. (MSE)

The role of faculty colleagues in the evaluation of college teaching is not defined adequately. A distinction needs to be made between summative evaluation conducted for administrative decisions such as pay increases, promotion, and tenure, and formative evaluations designed to improve teaching. (MLW)

A study of student assessment of teaching assistants in physical education activity courses is described. The purpose of the study was to compare student ratings of instructional effectiveness with teaching assistants' traits of sex, age, degree, undergraduate major, and teaching experience. (MLW)

The criteria and methods for evaluating faculty who teach undergraduates only are discussed with special emphasis on those teaching at lower-division campuses. It is suggested that there would be more effort expended to teach well if faculty knew that effort and performance as teachers were respected and rewarded. (MLW)

A study is discussed that examined: the instructional weaknesses and strengths of a teacher education curriculum course, the specific teaching behaviors that students liked and disliked, and specific recommendations which students felt would promote greater teacher effectiveness and improve learning. (Author/MLW)

An orientation workshop for graduate teaching assistants is described. Held prior to the first day of teaching, the workshop seeks to reduce anxiety, introduce the teaching assistants to educational problems they will face and to methods and resources for coping, and to acquaint them with available university resources. (JMD)