Combined, the two surveys will serve as a springboard for programs to enhance teaching skills this coming school year. I would like to see that become a requirement. One of the key issues faced by Temple and its faculty is how teachers are taught to teach. They basically said there's your room. Nobody told me how to teach.
Most people have little or no formal teaching training.
Temple University should also put a greater value on effective teaching, Wheelan said. For example, the standard faculty activity form, which is completed each semester to see how professors are allocating their time, does not have a section for teaching skills. If the issue is not addressed there, along with publications, professional memberships and the like, it will not be valued, Wheelan said. Ultimately, the Teaching Academy hopes to create learning centers for professors and instructors that are staffed by teaching professionals. Such centers could conduct regular surveys and teaching enhancement classes.