Interviews with individual instructors or groups of instructors, behavioral observations, and analyses of archival data are equally valid methods to assess faculty vitality. Nonetheless, if the administration of the inventory is followed-up with feedback sessions or focus group inquiries, it can serve as a beginning of a useful dialogue on faculty vitality. Dimension scores of 15 or less on the Inventory signal an area of potential risk to faculty vitality, where as scores of 30 or higher point to an area of strength. At the bottom of this page is a table containing the mean scores on the nine dimensions of vitality from faculty at a variety of institutions. These results will be updated as new data are received.
Scholarship is fundamental to the well-being of college teachers.
Instructors who are strong on this dimension are experts in their disciplines. Through reading, research, publication and active participation at professional conferences they keep abreast with new developments in their fields. An abiding interest in their disciplines causes them to develop new courses and constantly inject old courses with fresh information. So, what they teach is continuously developing. However, the way they teach also sustains their scholarship.