This paper presents the results of a quantitative study that comprehensively assessed the level and extent to which the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) was being conducted amongst faculty and staff at the University of Saskatchewan, and identifies the barriers and challenges faced by SoTL practitioners.

The views of a group of college faculty within five years of retirement are presented concerning the perceived gains and losses in retirement, the role of values in retirement planning, and factors perceived to be important to their futures. The development of preretirement programs is also discussed. (MSE)

An in-depth study of the problems and achievements of 100 new college teachers is reported and discussed, covering teacher training and experience; situational factors found to affect their teaching; the varying quality of performance; and recommendations for the teachers, departments hiring them, graduate students, and graduate departments. (MSE)

A survey of 346 academic officers at 2-year colleges investigated the ways in which they honor faculty, selection methods, and perceived institutional benefits of teaching award programs. Suggestions for assessing an institution's methods of honoring exemplary teaching are outlined, using illustrations from the experiences of survey respondents.…

Observation of 401 college teachers indicates that teachers of different academic disciplines (arts/humanities, social sciences, natural sciences/mathematics) differ in the frequency of specific classroom teaching behaviors, but that what makes an effective teacher, in the perception of students, is consistent regardless of discipline.…

Presents a case study of two classes that created a community of learners across the expanse of the North American continent and the Pacific Ocean. Participants in the Russell Scholars Program of the University of Southern Maine and the Rainbow Advantage Program of the University of Hawaii at Manoa collaborated on a traveling art exhibit entitled…

A study is outlined that evaluates the effectiveness of a program to train prospective college geography teachers by comparing those trainees with untrained teachers after one year of teaching experience. The study gathered information on teacher intentions, situations, feelings, and judgments about their profession. (MSE)

A study of 97 new college geography teachers revealed several problems in their preparation, situation, and performance. The teachers' recommendations at the end of their first teaching year are combined with the study's findings to suggest helpful actions by new teachers, their departments, graduate students, and graduate departments preparing…

Drawing on a number of studies of college student learning, this review concludes that students in different disciplines develop characteristic ways of learning based on their perceptions of what is required in their academic work. Within a discipline, effective learning involves an interplay between the characteristics of the student and the…

As concern about the role and performance of teaching assistants grows, universities find themselves initiating training programs. Issues to be considered include: who should provide training, relationships between the different providers, program requirements and curricula, length of the program, follow-up activities, preparation for…

Colleges using the Seven Principles for Good Practice in Undergraduate Education were surveyed concerning the usefulness of the principles and the faculty and institutional inventories designed for measuring their application. Respondents indicated a need for clearer information about potential and actual uses. (Author/MSE)

Two lessons from comparable undergraduate courses in physics and engineering are analyzed to identify content, issues emphasized, and concepts used. Differences reflecting the pure nature of one field (physics) in contrast to the applied nature of the other are identified. Implications for classroom instruction and for research on college teaching…

Students' perceptions of instruction in large classes are summarized, based on standardized questionnaires administered in lower-division large classes. Students' ratings of classes and responses to open-ended questions are discussed in terms of content and amount learned, specific instructional dimensions, and evaluation processes. (MLW)

In a study using student rating data from over 8,000 course sections in a large university, disciplinary differences and the value students placed on the time they spent preparing for class are correlated with students' evaluations of teaching. Implications for faculty promotion and tenure policy, instructional improvement, and further research…

A study of the role of subject matter in shaping high school teachers' beliefs, curricular concerns, and instructional practices complements studies of the disciplines in higher education. Factors discussed include the "hard/soft" distinction between disciplines, curriculum sequencing, range of classroom techniques, breadth of course content, and…