Tbers,

First, I want to thank the members of the Teaching Breakfast list for their
many thoughtful replies to postings. These are more influential than you
might think at fostering an environment for improving teaching and learning
on campus.

Below is a question and reply recently posted to a listserv (my apologies
for having lost the authors info on these postings) that asks us as faculty
to become more active in making decisions concerning standards in
curriculum, grading, admissions, and professional issues. I believe there
are important issues here worth discussing. Please read this over and bring
your thoughts to the next meeting of the TB on April 6 at 8 am in Morris
Hall.

*******
"In terms of defining core, shared values: What would you say might be some
of the most important, basic issues that faculty ought to make decisions
about (e.g., where they ought to decide:  Do I stand for X, or do I instead
stand for Y, or where they ought to decide: Do I think that X is more or
instead less important than Y)?  I really would like to get a better sense
of what are basic points of contention concerning roles of higher
education."

To this posting came this response:

As one example, I think that we need to address the matter of standards,
particularly with respect to issues like curriculum, admissions, grading, &
professional issues.  As long as we are all over the map on these issues, we
will be accused of not knowing what we are doing which of course, opens the
door to those who want to impose their own standards (the Kansas Board of
Education, for example).  We (educators) should stand up against curricular
intrusions (e.g., in this case even if we have strong religious beliefs).
The issue is not faith. The issue is appropriate placement of content within
appropriate disciplines.

A second example. While we (i.e., higher ed. institutions) can choose to
have differing standards for admission, we must also do two other
things:  1) have adequate resources for, and strong commitment to student
academic support if we admit those who are under-prepared; and
2) stop worrying about comparing institutions to each other [i.e. Stanford's
or Evergreen's or MIT's performance are stupid bases for comparison to a
mid-sized state institution with limited resources and essentially open
enrollment].

Third, we should stand up against excesses in grading such as found in the
"flunk 40%" killer intro courses or at the other extreme, unjustified, 100%
'A' distributions.  I think it is possible for all students to achieve 'A'
status, but there should be evidence of performance to back up those grades.
Concurrently, we should insist on careful multi-faceted assessment that can
provide a better basis for measuring student performance than the
traditional grading system, loosely applied to the results of a 50-item
multiple choice final exam.

Finally, we should be more professional about the professoriate, demanding
that if a person is hired to teach, that that person be trained in pedagogy
as well as content.  We should also be more precise about the skills faculty
need to be effective & successful in the variety of roles they are expected
to play, and we should insure that we provide the support necessary to
promote that success.  Along with this, the professoriate should be more
unified in its definition and understanding of its professional (I prefer
"meta-professional" status as discussed at: http://www.cedanet.com/meta).

True professions have certain characteristics such as being:

.Self-defined:  the members of the profession determine its
boundaries and scope

.Self-directed:  the members of the profession influence its
mission and direction

.Self-regulated: the members of the profession establish and
maintain its rules

.Self-evaluated:  the members of the profession review its, and
their performance

.Self-corrective:  the members of the profession take corrective
actions when necessary

.Self-governing:  the members of the profession exercise willing
control over their professional behaviors

.Self-maintained:  the members of the profession provide for its
support

.Self-protective:  the members of the profession stand up and
argue for its principles and practices

While no profession is totally autonomous or free from appropriate
oversight, the overarching characteristic of true professions is their
members' willingness to take part in a unified effort to establish and
maintain the quality and distinctiveness of their shared roles and
responsibilities.  Taking a stand in favor of this professionalism can only
have positive effects.

Mr. James B. Greenberg
Director Teaching, Learning and Technology Center
Milne Library
SUNY College at Oneonta
Oneonta, New York 13820

email: [log in to unmask]
phone: 607-436-2701
fax:   607-436-3081
IM:  oneontatltc

"Ignorance is curable, stupidity lasts forever"