For those professors still wondering about how strong teaching impacts the university’s bottom line, please head immediately over to the  Chronicle of Higher Education and read Frank Heppner’s “On the Bottom Line, Good Teaching Tops Good Research.”  Really. You’ll thank us. Go ahead and thank us right now.

by the anonymous author of “The Raised Hand”

Question:  I’m in the midst of a mid-life teaching crisis. I’ve taught a large introductory course (175 students) for 13 years and am growing increasingly dissatisfied with lecturing day in and day out. My teaching has become lackluster; I’m in a rut. I have established myself as a productive researcher in my discipline, but I don’t think I’m viewed by colleagues or students as an accomplished instructor. My student evaluations have begun to slip during the past year, to boot.  I’ve heard some noise about “active learning” and would like to incorporate some of these strategies into my classes, but I’m really not sure where to begin.

Signed,

Chained to the Lectern