The teaching that professors do conduct is primarily focused on mentoring graduate students on how to become excellent researchers. Graduate students, who may be attracted to academia because of the prospects of teaching undergraduates, often come to the realization that focusing on teaching skills is a dead end.Cognitive learning theory in the classroom if their goal is to land a tenure-track position at a university, grad students need to devote their time to publishing papers.

Graduates students who are initially excited about the prospect of teaching can lose that enthusiasm fairly quickly.Cognitive learning theory in the classroom I was talking to a doctoral candidate at university of california, san diego, recently who said that she and many other doctoral students that she knows at the university were initially excited about the prospects of teaching, but they became disillusioned and discouraged when the professors in their respective departments not only deemphasized it but in some cases even bragged about being poor teachers.Cognitive learning theory in the classroom

Undergraduates foot much of the tab for expensive graduate programs and for star professors, including nobel prize winners, who rarely teach.Cognitive learning theory in the classroom in what has been characterized among higher-ed insiders as a bait and switch, smart undergrads are attracted to research universities by the presence of great scholars, but they routinely find they have little-to-no access to them.Cognitive learning theory in the classroom

To recruit or retain professors, research universities will sometimes promise to cut their course load. Rebecca blank, the chancellor of the university of wisconsin, madison, acknowledged the practice recently in an interview with the wall street journal.Cognitive learning theory in the classroom according to the article, blank said that 15% of her professors last year received outside job offers, and as chancellor, she bids against those offers in part by cutting the course loads of researchers so they will stay.Cognitive learning theory in the classroom

When there are dozens or hundreds of students in many classes, grading assignments and tests can be overwhelming for the graduate students who typically do the scoring.Cognitive learning theory in the classroom consequently, there can be few opportunities to earn a top grade. There may be just a mid-term and a final. Having a bad day or studying the wrong material can be disastrous for a student who may have only two chances to ace a class.Cognitive learning theory in the classroom

When a student is in smaller classes, which are standard at colleges, there can be more opportunity to show what they know. A student may receive a grade based on papers, class participation, extra-credit opportunities, classroom presentation, quizzes and tests.Cognitive learning theory in the classroom the stakes for any one grading opportunity aren’t as high. It’s also much easier to ask a professor a question when he or she is standing next to you rather than 20 rows away in a lecture hall.Cognitive learning theory in the classroom missing mentors

Studies have repeatedly shown that undergraduates have a much better experience in college if they have professors who get them excited about learning and if they find mentors.Cognitive learning theory in the classroom A mentor can help an undergrad not only navigate what can be a bewildering path through college, but can also be incredibly helpful in advising students on graduate and professional school opportunities, as well as providing much-needed recommendations for advanced degrees.Cognitive learning theory in the classroom

A friend of mine, who is a tenured professor at a prestigious research university, tells me that he gets requests from undergrads hoping to go to medical school who need a recommendation from a science professor.Cognitive learning theory in the classroom my friend will tell these seniors that he can’t help them because he doesn’t know who they are. After all, he teaches undergrads in lecture halls.Cognitive learning theory in the classroom

Sometimes the students persist and ask if my friend would get a cup of coffee or lunch to get to know them well enough to write a recommendation.Cognitive learning theory in the classroom the professor always turns them down. My friend’s son, by the way, graduated from a liberal arts college and he has marveled at the personal attention that his son received from his professors.Cognitive learning theory in the classroom academic freedom and learning

Students can also be collateral damage thanks to academia’s embrace of academic freedom, which is a phenomenon that isn’t just confined to research universities.Cognitive learning theory in the classroom here is how kevin carey, a highly respected higher-ed commentator, frequent new york times contributor and the author of a new book, the end of college: creating the future of learning and the university of everywhere, describe the clash of this professor privileges and student learning:

cognitive learning theory in the classroom

Under the theory of “academic freedom,” which was originally advanced to shield faculty scholarship and speech from politics and administrative caprice, professors were given wide latitude to design courses however they liked.Cognitive learning theory in the classroom they did so largely in isolation, with little outside help or supervision. Their teaching was never evaluated by experts. Nobody checked to see how much their student learned compared to other students in similar course.Cognitive learning theory in the classroom

This reality led to a system where teachers taught what they wanted rather than the institution examining what students should know and designing appropriate courses.Cognitive learning theory in the classroom the number of schools that require all students to take a core curriculum like columbia university, university of chicago, reed college and st.Cognitive learning theory in the classroom john’s college have dwindled dramatically.

Families have not appreciated this bias against undergraduates at universities because there has been little to compare it against.Cognitive learning theory in the classroom the vast majority of americans with degrees have graduated from universities as opposed to colleges. At colleges the emphasis is on teaching undergraduates and there usually are no graduates students.Cognitive learning theory in the classroom only two or three percent of students earning bachelor’s degrees attend liberal arts colleges. Undergrads teaching undergrads!

The article discussed how a group of professors had banded together to explore how undergraduate education might be improved at the ivy league school.Cognitive learning theory in the classroom A professor quoted in the article lamented that some undergraduates, after spending four years at harvard, didn’t know a single faculty member well enough to ask for a letter of recommendation.Cognitive learning theory in the classroom

Research universities occasionally do explore ways to improve teaching, but it’s usually a modest effort. Here is a link to an article in the chronicle of higher education that carolyn thomas, the dean for undergraduate education at the university of california, davis, wrote in march 2015 about the need for universities to pay more attention to teaching quality.Cognitive learning theory in the classroom

I’m not suggesting that undergrads should avoid all research universities, but I think students who choose this option need to be aware of what the mission of these institutions are.Cognitive learning theory in the classroom most students pick universities because they are familiar names. Or they are also attracted to “school spirit,” which usually translates into division I football and basketball.Cognitive learning theory in the classroom or for other superficial reasons that have nothing to do with getting an education.

A university takes 50-80% of any grant a professor receives as overhead.Cognitive learning theory in the classroom private schools often take more than state schools. This means that if a physics professor gets a $500k grant to study a topic, only $250k or so will be available to him/her for lab equipment and graduate students/postdocs.Cognitive learning theory in the classroom the school merely provides a building and very basic materials; any specialized equipment or chemicals needed for the experiments must be paid for from the grant.Cognitive learning theory in the classroom basically, the university takes $250k and provides nothing in return.

That $250k more than covers a professor’s salary for the year. The $250k the professor gets to use sounds like a lot, but in terms of the labor it buys, it’s not much: after health benefits and stipend (+ tuition for graduate students), that’s about 2.5 postdoc years or 4 graduate student years.Cognitive learning theory in the classroom it’s ok, but it’s not enough to sustain a program for very long. The professor needs to get several of these grants to do that.

It’s no different from an engineer at a company or anyone else who works for a living.Cognitive learning theory in the classroom everything the professor does is just a means to accomplish that. Teaching brings in money via tuition, but it’s a drop in the hat compared to research money.Cognitive learning theory in the classroom A single intro-level course brings in $60k or so ($2000 per student x 30, or so); high-level courses, which require more advanced knowledge, net significantly less because they’re only taken by 15-20 students.Cognitive learning theory in the classroom

With all the prep time required, 3 courses consume a semester and won’t give the professor enough time to accomplish much research. The university can bag $180k from those courses’ tuition money.Cognitive learning theory in the classroom if the professor spends those 3 months writing 4-5 successful research grants, the university can easily net $500k or more, depending on the field.Cognitive learning theory in the classroom

Thanks, this is a great post. However, I think it’s important to remember that not all “universities” are research universities. I went to a small liberal arts university that focused on undergrads and only had a few graduate programs.Cognitive learning theory in the classroom the faculty there were amazing and definitely focused on teaching students. They really listened to students; I even got some of them to change class schedules when I saw there was a class that I wanted to take which had traditionally been offered at at time I couldn’t take it.Cognitive learning theory in the classroom

After that, I went to yale and got a phd in biology and there, many of the faculty were definitely more focused on research than teaching. There were some amazing faculty like my research adviser who excelled at both.Cognitive learning theory in the classroom there were also some who clearly didn’t really care about teaching and only did it because they had to. I think it’s a shame that universities don’t have some professors who focus on teaching and others who focus on research.Cognitive learning theory in the classroom different skills are needed for teaching compared with research. I think both students and researchers would benefit from this kind of separation.Cognitive learning theory in the classroom

My son attends james madison university (JMU) in virginia, which is state supported. It is rather unique in that although it is a fairly large university (about 18,000 undergraduates and about 1,800 grad students), it is highly focused on undergraduate education.Cognitive learning theory in the classroom all undergraduate courses are taught by professors. My son chose it over virginia tech (VT) for his major of geographic information science/geographic science, because of its undergraduate focus and ability to have more hands-on experiences with the technology.Cognitive learning theory in the classroom he has not been disappointed. The department at JMU has no graduate program, so he has been able to participate in numerous research projects, has had a position as an assistant with a professor as part of an independent study, and has had a professor-supervised internship.Cognitive learning theory in the classroom he has another professor who has informally taught him, on the professor’s own farm, how to run sustainable farming projects, something in which my son has a strong interest.Cognitive learning theory in the classroom he has had at least six professors that he counts as friends and mentors. He is leaving college a different person than when he arrived and has grown immensely, and this is largely due to the close contact he has had with professors.Cognitive learning theory in the classroom JMU caps mathematics and english classes at 35 students, and they have a rich general education program grounded in the liberal arts that all students must complete, even if majoring in science, engineering, or technology.Cognitive learning theory in the classroom all students must take courses in english, math, science, oral presentations, an internationally focused course, history, etc. One of my son’s friends who chose to study the same subject at VT did not have nearly the opportunities in research and one-on-one time with professors, as most of that has been reserved for the graduate students.Cognitive learning theory in the classroom I point this out, because most people think they must go to a small college in order to experience an undergraduate focus. JMU is one of only a few larger colleges that mainly focus on undergrads.Cognitive learning theory in the classroom I believe this is also true of miami university of ohio, appalachian state university in NC, and there are probably more that I don’t know about.Cognitive learning theory in the classroom small colleges are probably the best options for undergraduates to have strong relationships with professors, but for those who want a larger setting and for whom a state supported university makes more sense financially, they may want to consider schools like JMU, miami of ohio, or appalachian state, where they can have a larger school experience without the large lecture classes and teaching assistants.Cognitive learning theory in the classroom