This sourcebook is intended to help college administrators develop a strong peer review component for their faculty evaluation and development system. Part 1, an overview of peer review, provides arguments for peer review and briefly describes the process of establishing a peer review system. Chapter 1 reviews the tenets of effective evaluation of…

This paper offers eight steps institutions of higher education can take to improve teaching through the use of student evaluations. They are: (1) situate the evaluation system firmly within the academic context; (2) strive for quick processing and return of forms; (3) help faculty interpret the evaluation results; (4) create opportunities for peer…

Higher education throughout the 1990s and into the early 21st century will be characterized by an increasing concern for serving the educational needs of non-traditional as well as traditional students in the most cost-effective manner. Student retention will continue to be one of the major targets of campus strategic plans. Faculty development…

The first part of this paper presents the findings of a study of the leadership needs of five practicing teacher leaders. Findings identified an expressed need for specific teacher development and training, which led to the creation of a Leadership Institute for the Future of Teaching (LIFT). The second part of the paper describes the LIFT…

All proposals for education reform include professional development as a significant element in promoting change. Questions have been raised about the effectiveness of professional development and its role in educational reform. Consequently, evaluation of professional development programs is increasing and expanding to include student…

While the objectives of linking-across-the-curriculum may be laudable, the program as it has evolved only serves to perpetuate every existing stereotype about the place of composition in the curriculum and the role of the composition instructor in the academic setting. Instead of providing an arena in which students encounter shared knowledge…

This paper describes the efforts of a host community generally referred to as a "Collaborative Community" and comprised of the Biology and Math departments of the University of Wisconsin-Stout (UW-Stout), the Math and Biology Departments of the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire (UW-EC), and the Departments of Math, Biology, and Chemistry of the…

Suggestions are offered for developing teaching and learning centers or faculty support programs to improve college teaching. Suggestions include: develop a faculty partnership, be discipline specific, allow time for divergence, offer variety, provide a smorgasbord, focus on both planning and teaching, translate research findings into classroom…

The purposes of this study were to: (1) establish existing computer literacy levels among faculty members at El Camino College, California; (2) determine the principal obstacles to self-directed computer training, along with strategies designed to overcome these obstacles; and (3) develop recommendations concerning the structure of self-directed,…

This paper presents materials from a workshop which explored the application of oral communication across the curriculum (OCXC) to enhance the learning of course content and the improvement of oral communication skills. Specifically, the paper aims to prepare participants to articulate the need for oral communication across the curriculum,…

The concept of growth contracting in higher education and the applications and limitations of growth plans are examined. In addition, critical steps in the process of developing contracts with faculty are identified. A professional growth plan is a binding agreement, which helps faculty and institutional representatives clarify specific goals.…

The views of a professor of social work about her sabbatical leave overseas as a point of transition in her academic career, and as an occasion for challenge and reflection in her life and work, are presented. She left to escape the pressures of duties, obligations, strictures, and expectations that surround a relatively successful academic…

This practicum was designed to initiate the use of databases in an elementary setting. The primary goal was to establish a workable method to incorporate the use of databases and instruct teachers on how to use a sophisticated computer application. The peripheral goal was to transmit the newly-learned skills of the teacher to the students. A…

"Peer mentoring,""peer coaching," and "colleagueship supervision" describe a process of professional improvement in which teachers assist other teachers in becoming more competent and innovative in the use of pedagogical skills. Recent evidence suggests that teachers feel the individuals most qualified to assist them…

The study examined instructional consultation in terms of Argyrian theory by carrying out three specific tasks: (1) operationalizing the key Argyrian concepts of collaboration and bilateral control; (2) classifying and coding consultation behaviors on videotapes; and (3) drawing implications from the data for researchers and practitioners. The…