>The question remains: are there any systematic data behind these opinions. >It's been a while since I read Wingspan, but as I recall it's rather soft.
I also would be interesting in knowing what the research says about this particular issue. Are there any empirical studies investigating faculty's perceptions of students, how they rank the importance of their various roles, their level of commitment to their university versus their discipline, etc. I've known professors that care a lot about students and I've known some that see them as an unfortunate intrusion on other "more important" professional activities. I don't think this is a situation of "all professors care about their students" versus "no professors care about their students." My guess is that most professors care about their students but they have different ways of expressing it and believe certain ways of caring are more appropriate and more professional. I'm reminded of a engineering colleague of mine who doesn't think its his right to talk about personal issues with students or get involved in their personal life, but he will bend over backwards to help his students succeed in engineering classes. Of course, anecdotal data is not too helpful in reaching firm conclusions, but it is good for formulating questions that can be more rigorously evaluated. As a counseling psychologist who follows a scientist-practitioner model, I wonder if anyone has adopted some of the clinical research paradigms to investigate "which particular teaching/advising methods are most effective when used by this type of professor working with this type of student dealing with this type of problem in this type of situation." My hunch is that, similar to what we see in the clinical literature, there are certain common factors in effecitve teaching and advising which, if present, create an atmosphere in which learning is optimized, regardless of the particular style of teaching or advising that is used. Anyone know of any research in this area? I'll do a search on this topic when I get back to my office. In the meantime, I'm reminded of an old saying that may or may not be supported by hard data but seems to have relevance to this debate: "For everyone complex problem, there is a simple solution, that is invariably wrong." Make it an empirical day, Rod ______________________________________________ Roderick D. Hetzel, Ph.D. Department of Psychology LeTourneau University Post Office Box 7001 2100 South Mobberly Avenue Longview, Texas 75607-7001 Office: Education Center 218 Phone: 903-233-3893 Fax: 903-233-3851 Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To unsubscribe send a blank email to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
