Page 291 - Crisis in Higher Education

262 • Crisis in Higher Education

On the other hand, if newly hired, contractual faculty members have the
education and experience in pedagogy and assessment, they would move
directly to the continuous improvement phase. For those with knowledge
that is between none and substantial, they would be involved in the same
three-step process as those with no education and experience. The support
system and plan would be adjusted accordingly, filling in the gaps and
avoiding duplication.

12.1.3 Coping with Part-Time Contractual Faculty

In theory, part-time, contractual faculty would be subject to the same rig-
orous standards for teaching and follow the continuous improvement phase
as full-time faculty. Part-time, tenured faculty positions are uncommon and
those that exist are usually held by senior faculty with substantial teaching
experience. Many contractual faculty members, probably most by headcount,
are part-time faculty. It may be relatively easy to convince full-time contrac-
tual faculty, who are inexperienced at teaching, to participate in the teach-
ing improvement process. But it is very challenging to convince part-time,
inexperienced, contractual faculty to participate in this extra work for the
8,9
$3,000 or so they earn for each course. The university has two options: stop
hiring part-time faculty with limited teaching experience or pay them more
for teaching the first two or three times to compensate them for the training.

12.1.4 Supporting Graduate Assistants to
Become Better Teachers

Typically, graduate students who teach classes “on their own” are in PhD
programs, although some master’s degree students have this responsibil-
ity. In either case, they would use the following process, which is described
more fully under the section on supporting full-time, tenured faculty.

1. Communication assessment: Before teaching, an assessment is made
to determine if graduate students can communicate effectively in
written and spoken English.
2. Teaching assessment: Evaluate pedagogy and assessment skills and
prepare improvement plans.
3. Mentor: Provide each graduate student with a faculty teaching mentor
who can direct the student to resources to improve their skills.
4. Teaching assignments: Teaching performance is monitored and feed-
back provided.