My philosophy of teaching can better be described as a philosophy of learning. In order to be an effective instructor, I must focus on student learning and adjust my teaching strategies in response to the pace and depth of student understanding. I view teaching as an interaction between an instructor and a student; thus, the impact of this interaction on learning, rather than my activities as an instructor, is of primary importance.

Our students seem to be masters at multitasking—they regularly do more than one thing at once, or break from one task to work on another and then move on to a third. Even those of us not so adept at managing more than one task at once can “walk and chew gum,” which makes us all multitaskers to some degree. But our students combine so many disparate tasks: biology book open on their knees, they text a friend while listening to rap in the background. Many of them tell us they can’t study when everything is quiet.

The Association of American Colleges and Universities released findings last month from a survey of its members that revealed trends in undergraduate education and documenting the widespread use of a variety of approaches to assessing learning outcomes. Completed by chief academic officers at 433 colleges and universities of all sorts (public and private, 2-year and 4-year, large and small), the survey shows that campus leaders are focused both on providing students a broad set of learning outcomes and assessing students’ achievement of these outcomes across the curriculum.

When done correctly, a strategic plan provides an academic department with a definitive blueprint. When done incorrectly, it’s an unpopular waste of time. Dr. Anne Massaro of Ohio State University shares strategies for making strategic planning more relevant for faculty, and for ensuring that once the plan is complete, it doesn’t sit on a shelf collecting dust.

Ron Berk has a nice “Tribute to Teaching” in the most recent issue of College Teaching. He uses the term “professosaurus” to describe senior faculty—I think he qualifies having recently retired after 37 years of teaching, most of it at Johns Hopkins University.

Some students tell us they hate groups—as in really hate groups. Why do faculty love groups so much, they ask. I work hard, I’m smart, I can get good grades by myself, these students insist. Other students are a waste. I end up doing all the work and they get the good grade I earned for the group. Why do you, Professor Byrnes, make me work in a group. I hate groups!

In 2005, Appalachian State University established three-quarter- and full-time non-tenure-track contracts with benefits for non-tenure-track faculty members who had been teaching at least three-quarter time for three years. The move was intended to provide fair compensation and promote loyalty that might pay off in improved quality of instruction.

Humanities and social sciences instructors have long borrowed from media communications to drive home concepts. For example, a business instructor might clip a magazine article pointing out how inappropriate attire can negatively influence the outcome of an interview with a company. Philosophy professors might motivate a classroom discussion on hedonism by discussing the antics of popular young superstars as reported in the tabloids.

It’s been a while since I’ve gently prodded you about pedagogical scholarship. It’s the beginning of the summer and although I know that some of you do teach for all or part of the summer, there are others who don’t teach during the summer or teach a lighter load. Many of us use the summer time to pursue research and other scholarly projects. That’s fine … but some summer (preferably this one), let there be some time for writing on teaching and learning.

There are many reasons for doing so. First, you have ideas and experiences from which others can learn. Research continues to verify that colleagues are the most important source of ideas and information on teaching—whether we learn from them in face-to-face conversations or we read what they have written.

Second, we need more faculty contributing to practitioner knowledge base. Look how research has expanded the knowledge base in our disciplines. Think of what could happen in the pedagogical realm if more faculty shared what they know about teaching.

Third, what teachers learn (often the hard way) deserves to be preserved and passed on so that others don’t make the same mistakes. And, the act of writing down and preserving what we have discovered and come to believe is a way of valuing what we have learned and thereby valuing what we do.

The benefits of doing pedagogical scholarship outnumber and may well outweigh reasons for not doing it. Pedagogical scholarship provides the opportunity to reflect deeply, thoughtfully, and critically about an aspect of practice. It can provide the opportunity to answer a perplexing question about practice. Writing for publication necessitates a review of what others have written, thereby providing an opportunity for new learning. Pedagogical scholarship can renew and energize teaching that has gotten a bit tired. It reaffirms the importance, relevance, and value of what teachers try to do in the classroom. It can motivate change and encourage risk taking.

No, it’s not as easy to get pedagogical pieces published as it once was, but getting published is a bit of a game. Persistence pays off. And even if the piece is not published, the benefits listed above still accrue.

This blog and the newsletter demonstrate how diverse pedagogical scholarship is. The range of possibilities is enormous. There is room for creativity. You can start with something short, like an article for The Teaching Professor, Faculty Focus, or some other national or local publication.