Entering the Academy: The Art & Science of Being a Faculty Member

Entering the Academy: The Art & Science of Being a Faculty Member Edwin D. Bell Department of Educational Leadership, Counseling, and Professional Services

The Big Three • Teaching • Research • Service

Teaching • Many of you have not had formal training in Malcolm Knowles’ concept of andragogy, i.e., the art and science of educating adult learners.

Andragogy Principles • 1. Adults need to be involved in the planning and evaluation of their instruction.

Principles (continued) • 2. Experience (including mistakes) provides the basis for learning activities. (Opportunities to revise academic work are important.)

Principles (continued) • 3. Adults are most interested in learning subjects that have immediate relevance to their job or personal life. (You need to know your students, their prior experiences and goals.)

Principles (continued) • 4. Adult learning is problem-centered rather than content-oriented. (Andragogy (M. Knowles), n.d.)

Teaching - Continued • Each profession has journals and conferences that discuss the best practices of teaching in the field. For Example, see the Teaching Professor

Teaching - Continued • Join a community of learners to reflect and discuss effective teaching. • Contact the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CETL) at WSSU

Teaching - Continued • Work with your subject librarian from O’Kelly Library to utilize the libraries instructional resources

Research • Research can be an area of contention at institutions that are in transition • The faculty are expected to not only be effective teachers, but also scholars, and service providers.

Research - continued • In 1990 Ernest Boyer published a book through the Carnegie Foundation called Scholarship Reconsidered. • The concepts of the book are still being debated today. See this article

Boyer’s View • Boyer, who died in 1995, saw the traditional definition of scholarship -- new knowledge through laboratory breakthroughs, journal articles or new books -- as too narrow.

Boyer’s View (continued) • Scholarship, Boyer argued, also encompassed the application of knowledge, the engagement of scholars with the broader world, and the way scholars teach. (Inside Higher Education, 2007)

Research - continued • The central issue for many is that if the department/school faculty develop appropriate guidelines and rubrics, individuals can conduct theory-based, peer-reviewed research on their teaching and their service.

Service • UNC Tomorrow – has indentified important roles for the university system in service to the citizens of the state of North Carolina. • Read the report, read the WSSU’s response.

Service (continued) • Read WSSU’s Strategic Plan

Service - continued • Let them influence your plans for service. • Read the relevant literature to guide your service • Evaluate the impact of your service and write about it.

Balance

Balance • Develop a 3-year plan for your teaching, scholarship, and service. • Get advice and feedback, from administrators, senior faculty, and professional peers outside of WSSU on your progress.

Balance • How are you supposed to balance all of this and still have a life? • Collaborate with your colleagues locally, state-wide, nationally, and internationally.

Balance - continued • Make a continual commitment to your professional growth and development (there is always something new to learn) • Make a continual commitment to have fun

Questions • What can you do next?

References • Andragogy (M. Knowles) (n.d.) Retrieved on March 5, 2011 from http://tip.psychology.org/knowles.html

References (Continued) • Insider Higher Education (October 2, 2007). “Scholarship reconsidered” as tenure policy. Retrieved March 5, 20011 from http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2007/10/02/wcu

Entering the Academy: The Art & Science of Being a Faculty Member