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 master teacher is much more valuable than the consummate researcher. (Author)

Reports an experimental study of six Child Psychology classes that compared the effects of two types of leadership, Initiation Structure (teacher centered) and Consideration Leadership (personalized), on the educational growth of students in six areas (e.g. subject matter, attitudes toward children). Concludes that a combination of the two…

The study reported here demonstrates the differing requirements critical to teaching at the elementary, secondary, and college level. In college teaching professional factors (e.g. knowledge of subject matter and class presentation) were found to have greatest significance in overall effectiveness of teaching-learning performance as opposed to…

A Professor Emeritus of New York University reviews the practice of awarding recognition for superior college teaching (great teacher awards) concluding that they do not increase great teaching or the number of great teachers. He suggests that prospective students should seriously ask colleges what they do to insure good teaching. (JT)

At Bucknell University, a study of student preferences for faculty teaching styles indicates an overwhelming preference for professors who see themselves and are seen as teachers rather than researchers, administrators or socialites. This preference was found to exist across sex, class level, and student self-reported personality ratings (JMD)

In this essay the author questions the rationale and requirements for teacher preparation of elementary-secondary and college instructors, points out the disparity between the two, and calls for a teacher education system that recognizes that effective teaching occurs in the same way at both levels. (JMD)

Teaching and learning experiences for graduate students planning careers as college or university teachers are presented in a seminar offered to students in a variety of disciplines. Seminar format, student assignments, and student evaluations of the current catalog-listed seminar at Colorado State University are discussed. (LBH)

An encounter group formed by nine prospective teachers and their instructor at Auburn University focused on practicing, rather than just learning about, personal relations that support learning. Several "facilitating conditions" such as empathy and respect are identified along with facilitating behavior such as paraphrasing and…

Six issues are discussed: faculty reluctance to innovate; stagnation and intellectual isolation; the dichotomy between teaching and research; difficulties in assessing quality teaching; lack of adequate training of college teachers; and increasing lack of personalized instruction and attention. (LBH)

To determine how a film should be used in classroom teaching, the research of scholars in the fields of education, psychology, and communications was examined. Suggestions are offered for making the most effective use of films in social science courses. (LBH)

Parallels between selling and teaching techniques are drawn and specific behavioral suggestions are offered for improving a teacher's relationship and effectiveness with his students. Four steps are noted as significant for each class: attention, interest, presentation, and summary. (LBH)

The evaluation process as it affects teacher improvement was examined at Carleton College. Assumptions were made regarding the nature and use of student evaluation of teaching and from them a series of procedures was created for securing student evaluations in written form. (LBH)

Recent studies show that universities generally are credited with doing a good job in training graduate students in research, but not in preparing them to teach. Implications and examples of training programs are discussed. (LBH)

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)