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
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
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
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,
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,
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
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
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.
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.
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)
