In evaluating scholarship, many kinds of activities and products should be given credit. Suitable measures of excellence should be developed, and credit should be given for non-traditional as well as traditional forms of scholarship. For some departments and faculty members, the ideal may be the publishing of a book or a refereed article. Authorship of textbooks and the development of course materials for distribution should be thought of as making public the result of one's scholarship. Developing innovative courses or new instructional programs and disseminating information about them in appropriate scholarly forums should also be recognized as scholarly work.
Students learn by interpreting, synthesizing, and evaluating what they hear and read.
Teachers should therefore strive for interactions with students that encourage these activities. They should respond to student s ideas frequently, thoughtfully, and extensively both inside and outside the classroom. Effective teachers encourage student conferences, small group meetings, and informal conversations about students' ideas. Part of teaching is collaboration with counselors, tutors, colleagues, and administrators in programs to assist student learning both in and out of class. Departments should develop programs of evaluation which involve a variety of measures which assess different strengths and weaknesses.