Terry McDonough says, among many interesting things: Teaching is also increasingly valued. New hires at our institution are virtually required to sign up for a master's degree in third level education which concentrates on teaching techniques. These techniques are usually inapplicable because they can't be implemented in the dominant large lecture classes, but will be demanded for promotion because you have been taught how to do them. The remainder are about things like "learning outcomes" which are always related to marketable "skills" which will help the students obtain employment and promote national economic competitiveness. Finally, the latest fad is promoted like Who Wants to be a Millionaire style ask the audience clickers. Applicants for promotion must document that they have done these things in "teaching portfolios." Customer satisfaction must be demonstrated in teaching evaluations from students who increasingly don't attend class in any case.
All of this is touted as making academia "accountable" to the larger community. Be very careful what you wish for. This and all the other matters Terry posted, along with what Anthony DiMaggio wrote on Counterpunch, to which Terry was responding, have been part of a process going on for many years in colleges. All part of a process aimed at removing control over the way in which teachers do their work from the teachers themselves. Taylorism comes to higher ed. This really puts the Salaita case at the University of Illinois in a broader perspective. Being punished at a public college because of what you say on Twitter or Facebook seems just one of many ways teachers can be and are punished for doing what professors presumably are supposed to do. How are your speech rights not being violated if you are fired because you didn't generate, or actively refused to generate, appropriate "learning outcomes." If customer satisfaction rules, if we must teach marketable skills, then speaking out on public issues on twitter seems almost beside the point. A Salaita case comes up from time to time, and we must all support the victims of disgusting university actions. But the demeaning of the labor of teaching goes on everyday, with all too many professors, no doubt some who are vocal supporters of Salaita, acquiescing to it. _______________________________________________ pen-l mailing list [email protected] https://lists.csuchico.edu/mailman/listinfo/pen-l
