The “Meta-Profession” of Being a College Teacher (C) M. Theall SCC 2011 A presentation for faculty and administrators at Sinclair Community College October 21, 2011 Michael Theall Ph.D.

Raoul’s tale …. Once upon a time at a bank in Jacksonville, FL …. (C) M. Theall SCC 2011

Proposition # 1 Given the missions of higher education and the nature of teaching and learning as human activities, faculty are the college’s critical resources (C) M. Theall SCC 2011

Corrolary: To be effective, successful, productive, and professionally satisfied, faculty need a variety of skills AND adequate institutional support (C) M. Theall SCC 2011

Professional development… must reflect institutional realities and the interests and needs of the stakeholders WHY? (C) M. Theall SCC 2011

Because … two of the activities most important in the professional lives of the faculty [[ i.e., professional growth and performance evaluation]] are determined, influenced, and carried out by local stakeholders. (C) M. Theall SCC 2011

Basic Premise: Evaluation without development is punitive Development without evaluation is guesswork. (C) M. Theall SCC 2011

Basic Premise: Development and evaluation systems will not be complete until they are based on an understanding of the work that faculty are expected to do, and the skills that are required to do that work successfully! (C) M. Theall SCC 2011

Basic Premise: ALL DEVELOPMENT and EVALUATION ARE LOCAL! (C) M. Theall SCC 2011

In higher education… Who are the stakeholders? What is (or should be) their influence? (C) M. Theall SCC 2011

Traditional stakeholder model (C) M. Theall SCC 2011

Development and Evaluation Stakeholders in a revised model (C) M. Theall SCC 2011

In the Meta-Profession, Collegiality is a foundation for professional development and satisfaction, and the basis for a strong profession. (C) M. Theall SCC 2011

How do you promote collegiality? In general? At Sinclair CC? Please take a few moments to identify some critical (and observable) behaviors that you would consider “collegial.” Please share your thoughts with others so that we can create a list of possibilities to consider, choose from, and connect to today’s presentation. (C) M. Theall SCC 2011

Collegial behaviors: (C) M. Theall SCC 2011

How do you promote collegiality? At Sinclair CC? Please take a few moments to identify the ways in which the faculty and the College can promote these collegial behaviors. Again, please share your thoughts with others so that we can create a list of possibilities to consider, choose from, and connect to today’s presentation. (C) M. Theall SCC 2011

Institutional strategies (C) M. Theall SCC 2011

An approach… Thinking“Meta-Professionally” about the work and skills of the faculty (C) M. Theall SCC 2011

Faculty are “Meta-Professionals” (C) M. Theall SCC 2011 BaseProfession College Teaching Profession

(C) M. Theall SCC 2011 Accountant Nurse Historian The Academy Accounting Professor Nursing Professor History Professor Base Profession All faculty are drawn from a pool of people prepared in a content- specific ‘base’ profession.

Base profession includes…. Content Expertise Practice/Clinical Skills Practice/Clinical Skills Research Techniques Research Techniques (strategies for keeping current) (C) M. Theall SCC 2011

Roles of the Professoriate: Teaching Scholarly & Creative Activities ServiceAdministration (C) M. Theall SCC 2011

Roles of the Professoriate The performance of these roles often requires skills and knowledge beyond that of one’s disciplinary expertise. (C) M. Theall SCC 2011

24

Teaching Context Differences (C) M. Theall SCC 2011

Expertise in, and Need for Skills How do we know which skills are necessary? How do we know if we are skilled enough? (C) M. Theall SCC 2011

Expertise and Frequency of Need (C) M. Theall SCC 2011

Expertise and need … Do all academics share opinions about the levels of expertise in, and need for the skills? (C) M. Theall SCC 2011

Disciplinary Differences in Ratings (C) M. Theall SCC 2011

Administrator and Faculty Ratings (C) M. Theall SCC 2011

You may ask ….. How can a “Meta-Professional” approach support and improve professional enrichment and fair evaluation? (C) M. Theall SCC 2011

The Institutional Expertise Advantage

Development and Evaluation Stakeholders in a revised model (C) M. Theall SCC 2011

Figure 1. Scholarship & Practice (C) M. Theall SCC 2011

Figure 2. Scholarship & Practice Interactions (C) M. Theall SCC 2011

Figure 3. Scholarship & practice: Assessment - SoTL - Improvement Synergy (C) M. Theall SCC 2011

8 Steps to Develop a Comprehensive Faculty Evaluation System (Arreola, 2007) Determine the faculty role model the faculty role model the faculty role model parameter values the faculty role model parameter values the definitions of the roles the definitions of the roles the role component weights the role component weights the appropriate sources of information the appropriate sources of information the source weights the source weights the data gathering methods the data gathering methods the design & selection of forms the design & selection of forms (C) M. Theall SCC 2011

Source – Impact Matrix (Arreola, 2007) (C) M. Theall SCC 2011

8 Steps to Develop a Comprehensive Professional Enrichment System (Theall, 2008) Determine: the needs for enrichment functions; the needs for enrichment functions; the principal clients of services; the principal clients of services; the configuration & location of programs; the configuration & location of programs; the allocation of resources; the allocation of resources; the intended impact of programs; the intended impact of programs; the connections to other campus programs. the connections to other campus programs. the leadership structure; the leadership structure; the processes to create & implement programs. the processes to create & implement programs. (C) M. Theall SCC 2011

Function – Client Matrix (Theall, 2008) (C) M. Theall SCC 2011

A question (or two) … “Whatever happened to THE faculty?” (Schuster, 1990) “What has happened to the professoriate?” (Katz, 2006) (C) M. Theall SCC 2011

What is … “a body of persons having a common purpose or common duties” (C) M. Theall SCC 2011

What is … “a body of persons having a common purpose or common duties” … a college (C) M. Theall SCC 2011

Who is: “One who chooses to, or is chosen to work with others” (C) M. Theall SCC 2011

Who is: “ One who chooses to, or is chosen to work with others” …a colleague (C) M. Theall SCC 2011

In the Meta-Profession, Collegiality is a foundation for professional development and satisfaction, and the basis for a strong meta-profession so that … so that … (C) M. Theall SCC 2011

Somewhere, some time, back at the bank… We might hear, “Let me help you with this. After all, you’re a college professor.” (C) M. Theall SCC 2011

A sampling of sources Go to: for a discussion of the ‘meta-profession’ of the professoriate to access a series of short essays on teaching & evaluation for an overview & bibliography of faculty evaluation for access to on-line resources on teaching and learning (C) M. Theall SCC 2011