I am not the most innovative of college professors, but I want to be, if only I had the time. I rarely adjust the syllabus in my U.S. survey course (to 1865) because I am comfortable with the readings (all primary sources) and the course seems to “work.” I regularly tinker with my upper-division courses, especially in relation to readings and assignments.
According to a recent study by the Association of American Colleges and Universities, professors see “curriculum innovation” as part of their jobs and they do it quite regularly. On the other hand, most professors do not believe that their efforts at keeping their classes up-to-date are rewarded by college administrators. Inside Higher Ed reports:
The survey — of faculty members at all ranks at 20 four-year colleges and universities, including both public and private institutions — found that 86.6 percent make some revision to courses at least once a year. Revisions could be relatively minor, with changes in the syllabus, readings or assignments qualifying. But about 37 percent reported adopting a significant new pedagogy in at least one of their courses at least once a year — with new pedagogies being defined as such approaches as experiential learning, service learning and learning communities…
Likewise, she said that the survey results point to a failure of higher education to communicate to the faculty the value placed on curricular innovation. The faculty members were asked a series of questions about how curricular and teaching innovation are valued and rewarded, and the results were mixed. Whereas a solid majority believe that such efforts are valued at the institutional level, only a minority believe this is the case within their disciplines, and as a result, most faculty members don’t appear to believe that these efforts will be rewarded in higher education as a whole.
College profs: How often do you make changes to your courses?
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