Psychometrics is the field of designing tests and assessments to measure certain psychological concepts. It is chiefly concerned with two fundamental properties: reliability and validity. These properties are often influenced by confounding variables: other things that can influence performance but are not what you are trying to measure. Here, I…

Based on a qualitative analysis of 38 interviews with midcareer professors at liberal arts colleges in the Midwest, this paper describes the teaching experiences of professors after 20-some years in the classroom. As a result of getting older and becoming more seasoned instructors, individuals cited an increase in their skill and efficiency in the…

This article proposes a conception of the teacher as an "Impresario with a Scenario," a multi-centric and co-constructivist model in contrast to the familiarly student-centered and constructivist ideal of the Guide on the Side. I argue that the Impresario conception is truer to the practices of many teachers inspired by the "Guide…

This study explores the responsibilities and benefits of serving as a teaching assistant (TA). Seventy participants from different parts of the United States, who had either been an undergraduate TA (UTA), graduate TA (GTA), or both (UTA/GTA), completed an online survey. Self-report results suggest that the perceived benefits of the UTA experience…

We set out to identify the benefits and drawbacks of using more than one instructor to teach single section science courses at a large research university. Nine courses were investigated involving widely differing subjects and levels. Teaching models included: sequential teaching with two to six instructors each covering only their own modules,…

This article discusses a three-step method that was used in a college calculus course. The three-step method was developed to help students understand the course material and transition to be more independent learners. In addition, the method helped students to transfer concepts from short-term to long-term memory while lowering cognitive load.…

Assuming that learning is an inherently social process, this research explores interpersonal variables that affect teaching. Specifically, does the interpersonal teaching style affect student impressions of the instructor? Eighty-five undergraduates viewed one of three ten-minute videos that portrayed either an authoritarian, authoritative, or…

When the author retired from teaching after thirty-seven years, he had taught elementary school, junior high school, and thirty years at Johns Hopkins University. He always loved being in the classroom with his students. They energized him, inspired him, humbled him, and taught him in many ways. He learned more from them than they learned from…

The authors examined how instructor attitudes relate to grading behavior using two attitude instruments (ascription of responsibility and approval motivation) and resulting data collected from general education instructors at a midwestern comprehensive university. The results of the research show that approval motivation is significantly related…

Faculty members are frequently unaware of how students perceive their teaching. They also may have misconceptions of what students perceive as good teaching. For example, research indicates that students want more equality and respect from professors, whereas faculty members frequently believe that students want them to control the classroom, to…

Questionnaires were completed by 50 college faculty who each evaluated a course they had taught which emphasized technology and another course taught more traditionally. Several correlations were found among presence or absence of technology, instructors' teaching styles, and instructors' perception of average student learning style. (DB)

The present research examines whether an interpersonal environment may exist in classrooms that are notoriously impersonal: large lecture-based freshman-level general psychology classes. The artificial categorization of teaching and learning styles, and the limits of those categories, is also addressed. Students evaluated the style of teaching in…

In this study, we investigated the use of humor in college classrooms. We examined how students perceived professors' uses of various types of humor during class and the types of humor that students and faculty recommend for use in class. We also correlated the way professors incorporated humor into their class lectures with their perceived…

Collaborative teaching is used in many college and university programs to foster student enthusiasm and inquiry and to promote interdisciplinary learning. A literature review reveals benefits and pitfalls, but it lacks sufficient information for instructing team teachers in planning collaborative courses. In this article, we outline suggestions…

The good teacher, never a force-feeder, understands that the proper relation between teacher and learner is indirect, and only in this indirect relationship is there space for respect. The teaching styles of five college professors illustrate the value of playful interaction between professor and student. (MSE)