Serving to Lead: The Transformative Role of Servant Leadership in Higher Education
Students learn just as much from who we are as educators as they do from what we teach. While content is important, the way faculty
Carlee Norris August 29, 2025
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faculty-student relationships
Intentionally Nurturing Relationships in the College Classroom
The College of Education at my institution recently held a professional development day for pre-service teachers preparing to start clinical field placements. One of the
Marlene Correia March 15, 2024
CORE Principles of Effective Teaching: Emerging from the Pandemic as Better Educators
Throughout the COVID-19 crisis, many have wondered whether education will ever be the same again. Here, at the Catholic University of America Center for Teaching
Christiane Gannon, Aránzazu Ascunce, Hannah Jardine, Angela McRae, Helen Smetheram, and Marissa Stewart September 17, 2021
Course Crafting: Strategies to Enhance Students’ Appreciation of Course Value
On every campus, there is a course or set of courses that students automatically dismiss in their minds, perhaps a math course, a writing course,
Sarah Forbes May 10, 2021
The Value of Chit-Chat in Higher Education
Remember the “good ol’ days?” How often did you walk down a hallway of your academic unit and pass a student, faculty or staff member,
Stefanie T. Baier, PhD, and Henry (Rique) Campa III, PhD February 19, 2021
A Memo to Students: College and the Real World
To: My Students From: Your Teacher Re: What’s happening in college—is it real? I just read about a senior engineering student who was presenting a
Maryellen Weimer, PhD August 30, 2019
Whose Classroom is It Anyway?
Most would agree the classroom is a place for discourse, reflection, and learning. But, whose class is it? Who’s doing the learning—the teacher or the
Candice Dowd Barnes, EdD, and Patricia Kohler-Evans, EdD August 2, 2019
Untangling the Web of Student-Teacher Communication
When I tell people that I study the role of communication in teaching and learning, the most common response is: “Isn’t communication just common sense? I’m an expert in what I teach; why do I need to worry about how I communicate?” In reality, communication is a learned verbal and nonverbal skill that all of us must continually refine. When we interact with our students purposefully, we maximize the chances that our content expertise will make a positive difference in terms of their learning.
Jennifer H. Waldeck, PhD May 9, 2016
Practical Tips for Cultivating a Learning Relationship with Students
Take a moment right now to ask yourself who your best teachers were growing up. Now list the qualities that made them your best teachers.
Looking at your list, you will probably notice something interesting. When I have faculty do this, they invariably list qualities such as “cared for my learning” or “cared for me as a person.” They do not list qualities such as “the most knowledgeable person in their field.” In other words, they list relationship qualities as the factors that make for a great teacher, not knowledge qualities.
John Orlando, PhD March 27, 2015
Are Student-Professor Relationships More Important in Hard Courses?
A bevy of research establishes that student-faculty relationships are important on a number of fronts. For example, they predict persistence and completion in college. They impact the amount of effort students make in courses. They affect the development of students’ academic self-concepts. The authors of this analysis write: “There is evidence in the literature to suggest that the way students feel about their relationship to the professor may play an even larger role than many faculty know, or—perhaps—care to admit.” (p. 41)
Maryellen Weimer, PhD September 12, 2013