Becoming a Teacher Educator.

Dreaming of a career in academe? Love your field, but want a change in responsibilities? Does it make sense for you to move from public education to higher education? As a teacher or administrator in basic education, have you considered becoming a teacher educator? If you answered yes to any of these questions, becoming a teacher educator may just provide the opportunity for you to recharge your intellectual batteries and to offer college-aged students the benefit of your knowledge and experience. The Trilogy of Teaching, Scholarship, and Service Most colleges and universities consider the academic alliance of teaching, scholarship, and service to be an interdependent trilogy. Some institutions place more weight on one area than another. In many universities, teaching is the area of emphasis although the other two elements of scholarship and service are still considered quite important and are not separable from the primary focus on teaching. The three primary areas of faculty life at the university level are as follows: 1. Teaching: Public school teachers and university professors have the same major responsibility--teaching students (Grant & Murray, 1999). As with elementary and secondary school teachers, effective teachers in the university context use interesting, challenging, relevant activities to engage their students in learning (Borba, 2001). Despite the existing stereotypes of teaching in basic (K-12) versus higher education (Tate, 1993), many of the skills necessary to instruct university students are the same as those for teaching elementary or secondary students. For example, all teachers must have and utilize effective organizational and communication skills. In addition, they must be able to design and implement a variety of instructional techniques and learning opportunities to meet the needs of all of the students in the classroom. Important, too, they must provide appropriate assessments that give valuable and timely feedback to students. In addition, educators at all levels are faced with the challenge of meeting federal, state, and local standards. The bar is rising not only in the public K-12 schools, but in institutions of higher learning, as well. This includes all of the familiar accountability issues for faculty and students alike. However, in some aspects teaching responsibilities in higher education (Grant & Murray, 1999) can be quite different from those in the public realm. Public school teachers typically have a seven and one-half to eight hour per day contract. During this period of time, they are usually involved with students--teaching classes or supervising routine or special student activities--the majority of the school day. At the university level, 12 to 15 hours per week is an average teaching schedule. Some universities require more time and others less. In higher education, professors may be asked (or required) to teach undergraduates and/or graduates, including students in master's and doctoral level courses. Part of a teaching load for a teacher educator will likely include the supervision of various field experiences including pre-student teaching, student teaching, internships, and serving on dissertation committees. Many professors also serve as program coordinators for field experiences and for master's level and doctoral programs. Another teaching issue for educators is academic freedom. This commodity is sought at all levels of teaching, but is particularly cherished at the university level. Faculty associations actively work to protect academic freedom and, typically, university professors face fewer challenges in this area. Instructors can basically speak freely on any issues without feeling suppressed or condemned by higher authorities (Borba, 2001). Other teaching-related duties include, but are not limited to, "office hours" which are required in order to provide students the opportunity to meet with their professors outside of the classroom setting. …