Twenty-sixth International Conference on Learning

Abstract

In his “A Courage to Teach,” Palmer offered a powerful idea for teachers: “For better or worse, we teach who we are.” Palmer challenges teachers to understand that we don’t just bring content expertise to class- we bring our own humanity. “Who is the self that teaches? How does the quality of my selfhood form—or deform – the way I relate to my students, my subject, my colleagues, my world?” Faculty are aware of course evaluations provided by students that provide feedback on our teaching. But the assessment forms themselves make many assumptions about what excellent teaching is, how it is carried out, and what categories ought to be included in the evaluations. The feedback is important, but we might also consider what faculty themselves, with valuable experiences in the world of higher education might find important in their own craft of teaching and learning. This study will evaluate data received from research on what characteristics faculty themselves consider to be central in teaching excellence. We will gather data across all disciplines from a medium size teaching university and evaluate the qualities faculty report being the most important in order to see how faculty themselves view excellence in teaching and learning. The paper will gather data from participants using a technological survey to assess the group vision of excellence in teaching, and then share the findings from our research in an interactive manner that will allow for discussion surrounding this important topic.