A-HEC: Were there other approaches or ideas considered but rejected? Why?

JC: A lot of different approaches to the University Distinguished Teaching Scholar approach were considered but were progressively narrowed down to this one. It was felt that this was the best combination of rigorous standards, significant reward and clear distinction between outstanding teaching and outstanding teaching plus scholarship in a more traditional sense. Central to this idea was the concept of scholarship as original intellectual work, effectively disseminated.

A-HEC: What model for encouragement and selection of faculty has worked best?

JC: A rigorous nomination and peer review process against published standards and goals (see below). The provost then made the designation based on recommendations from the review panel.

A-HEC: How many are involved in the program? How do those designated as scholars impact the teaching practices of other faculty? What is the overall system for discovering and disseminating knowledge about the act of teaching that the program fits into?

JC: Nine Chairs for University Teaching Scholars have been appointed. The tenth will be appointed this spring. For the first year of appointment, the newest appointee is Chair for UDTS’s. From then on they carry the title University Distinguished Teaching Scholar. One goal is for the critical mass of these scholars to reach a point where they have a collective impact as well as their own individual influence as Chair. This is beginning to happen.

One of the key criteria in the annual competition is to describe how the new chair will conduct a high profile faculty development program in teaching and learning. These have been extremely effective, overall. Clearly these people have had a major influence on the prestige and reward system for teaching and the quality of the teaching and learning environment has gone up as a result of their work.

They are supported in this by the Center for the Advancement of Teaching and Learning, which allows them to leverage their time and talent effectively.

A-HEC: Is there a particular approach to pedagogy that tends to be recognized as more advanced? For instance, encouraging active versus passive learning or striving to teach students “how to think” as opposed to “what to think?”

JC: In every instance, active learning has been a centerpiece of each chair’s approach. They all have different styles and strategies in creating an active learning environment. Some have special interest and expertise in distance learning, some in teaching large classes, and so forth.