Rate my professor

As the new school year draws near, I'll share this little known but perhaps widely suspected point: almost none of the professors you will have in college have received any training at all in how to teach.

Probably all the teachers you've had from K-12 have been credentialed, meaning that they've been trained and certified to be teachers. Yet remarkably, college professors outside of the school of education are typically trained in their discipline only, and how to do research as well, but have no training in how to teach. And not only haven't professors been trained how to teach, only a few (probably those that have been a "TA," i.e., teaching assistant, to help pay the bills while in school) have any experience at teaching before they hit the college classroom. To top it off, if you're at a "research school," the odds are that the professor also doesn't really want to teach, as research productivity is what is rewarded.

Yet there are efforts to make this better. Some doctoral programs are including modules/courses in how to teach. Some schools hold seminars to train new professors in how to teach. Many colleges are now establishing "teaching centers." Even some "publish or perish" institutions are making attempts to better instruction. Accrediting bodies and governing bodies are now vitally interested in "assurance of learning." Schools routinely evaluate teaching via the observations of students, peers, and administrators. Further, there are many professors that are genuinely motivated to be good teachers as a way to make a contribution to the world.

Hopefully you understand that a good teacher is not one who is easy, entertaining, and has a hot pepper. Hopefully, college teaching is improving for many, and hopefully you will encounter those who may touch your lives in ways you may not yet understand.