Dennis Byrnes wrote:
> Where is this course located at Alverno?
We have course prefixes for non-departmental courses. The Small Group
Behavior course is BSC 215 (BSC for "Behavioral Sciences"). My
interdisciplinary research course is BSC 255. Other non-departmental courses
include a series of CM courses ("Communications").
> Is it a departmental course? And who teaches it? How are the
> teachers chosen?
The courses are taught by faculty with expertise in the area
(naturally...). The BSC courses are typically (but not always) taught by
faculty in the Behavioral Sciences Division (Psychology, Social Sciences,
Professional Communications). The CM courses are typically (but not always)
taught by faculty in Professional Communications or English. In many cases,
faculty volunteer to teach these courses because they've taught upper level
courses in their respective majors that rely on those abilities, and want to
(a) know something more about how they're taught and assessed at the lower
levels, and/or (b) want some input on the content of the courses.
Those who teach the Small Group Behavior course seem quite willing to do
so. It's a piece of service done for the college by the Behavioral Sciences
Division, but it doesn't seem too much of a "drag" on people. On the other
hand, the Communications Department just sent our department a request for
teachers of the Communications courses, and the response was a uniform "no
way".
> Here, we're having some difficulty getting
> full-time faculty to volunteer to develop the courses that
> would infuse the skills through distribution requirements.
> The incentives, as compared to those for research and other
> activities, are relatively small. Applying formal
> administrative pressure would prevent just the sort of
> "buy-in" that we hope to nurture. On the other hand, a
> general education plan that's implemented in large part by
> adjunct faculty doesn't seem attractive either.
Agreed on all counts. At Alverno, tenure and promotion are dependent
chiefly on demonstrations of teaching effectiveness, with publication and
research being secondary. On the other hand, familiarity with this kind of
system gets one invited to make presentations about assessment and
ability-based learning (I was just asked at the last minute to present at
MPA in May as a result of our system). Faculty who are truly interested in
college teaching as a discipline in itself will find the traditional rewards
do come from being willing to teach these courses.
I do find myself resistant to teaching that kind of course (the group
interaction or basic communications courses), but often wish I had the
nerve/generosity to teach one of the communications pieces (writing, in
particular). Maybe someday.
Paul Smith
Alverno College
Milwaukee
