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Item Id: 20070401

Journal of Faculty Development
Volume 21, Number 1 – January 2007

The Empirical Case Against Large Class Size: Adverse Effects on the Teaching, Learning, and Retention of First-Year Students
By Joe Cuseo

Budgetary constraints are creating a current climate of cost containment, within which increasing class size may be seen as a quick and convenient cost-cutting strategy. Empirical evidence suggests that there are eight deleterious outcomes associated with increasingly larger class size. This article synthesizes research relating to these eight consequences of large class size and analyzes its implications for the success of undergraduate students in general, and first-year college students in particular. The article concludes with a discussion of the implications of the reviewed research for (a) the effective education of today’s undergraduates, (b) identification of optimal class size, (c) administrative decision-making, and (d) institutional mission, priorities, and values.

Technology as a Catalyst for Senior Faculty Development
By Mei-Yau Shih & Mary Deane Sorcinelli

Can teaching technologies offer a unique avenue for senior faculty vitality and renewal? This article presents the results of an evaluation that took place during six years of a teaching technology faculty development program at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, a research-intensive institution. We present a profile of the program and its participants, the ranges of teaching technology projects undertaken, outcomes in terms of the teaching and career development of senior faculty, and lessons learned.

Teaching Assistant Training and Supervision: An Examination of Optimal Delivery Modes and Skill Emphases
By Loreto R. Prieto, Cynthia A. Yamokoski & Steven A. Meyers

We collected data from 149 graduate teaching assistants at a Midwestern university concerning their classroom duties, experiences with TA training and supervision, sense of self-efficacy toward teaching, preference for supervisory style, and feedback on those modes and skill domains in TA training they felt were most effective and best prepared them for academic careers. Results indicated that less than half of this sample of TAs received formal training for their duties and spent only approximately 40 clock hours in training. A majority of the sample indicated that they were receiving on-going supervision of their teaching duties. Findings also suggested that TA training and supervision are helpful in building TA self-efficacy toward teaching. With respect to supervisory style, TAs preferred a collegial style of interaction with their course supervisors. Finally, TAs found workshops or courses on college teaching as the preferred modality for their training, and most favored building skills in organizing their course materials, evaluating student learning, handling multicultural issues, and dealing with ethical issues in teaching. On the basis of our findings, we offer recommendations to university administrators regarding TA training.

Preparing New Psychology Instructors to Teach Undergraduates: Developing Confidence and Competence
By Steven A. Meyers, Marti Livingston Lansu, Jasdeep S. Hundal, Stacy K. Lekkos & Loreto R. Prieto

In this article, we review approaches to prepare future faculty for their teaching responsibilities and summarize best practices with regard to training topics, methods, and resources. We present longitudinal data regarding new psychology instructors’ confidence in their ability to perform teaching related tasks. We complement this quantitative data with TAs’ narratives about their first teaching experiences as they highlight perceived strengths and challenges.

Peer Teaching: Easing the Faculty Shortage
By Kenneth L. Allen & Diana M. Gabriel

As a method to deal with the growing faculty shortage in dental education, and to encourage interest in careers in teaching, NYUCD instituted a Teaching Assistant program where third-year students acted as teaching assistants in the first-year preclinical program. Students applied and were selected, based on their academic record, to participate in this program for which they received academic credit and a grade. As Teaching Assistants, the participants attended regular seminars on pedagogy and educational methodologies. A survey of the first-year students and faculty showed success in reducing the amount of time students had to wait for assistance. A vast majority of the faculty felt that having teaching assistance in the classroom improved overall student performance.

An Innovative Partnership: Preparing Future Learning-Centered Community College Faculty
By Jennifer Grant Haworth, Jill Jozwiak, Kelly Carter & Denise Wilkin

During the next five to ten years, community colleges in Illinois will retire more than half of their tenured faculty members, reflecting a similar national trend. Many masters and doctoral students seeking the professorate may consider community colleges as an attractive teaching opportunity. While community colleges often regard themselves as “teaching colleges,” several recent studies paint a different picture, raising concerns regarding the quality of learning and teaching in them. Anticipating the growing need for new community college faculty and recognizing the role that well-prepared teachers can play in enhancing the quality of student learning, Loyola University Chicago and the City Colleges of Chicago recently partnered to create the Community College Learning and Teaching (CCLT) program. As a nine-credit graduate-certificate program, CCLT is intentionally focused on providing new, tenure-track community college faculty and graduate students with the knowledge and skills to succeed as learning-centered faculty in our nation’s most diverse colleges.