Non-tenure-track professors are better teachers of introductory courses

Parents Forum
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<p>I can’t believe its not butter!</p>

<p>Really?! Really?! A Prof., who wants to teach, teaches better than a Prof. who doesn’t want to teach? </p>

<p>How many tenured Profs. are excited to teach freshmen?</p>

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<p>My dad has been a tenured professor since the early 70s, and loves teaching freshmen. He volunteers to teach the intro to ______ engineering almost every year. The main reason he has not retired yet is that he still enjoys teaching. He is also a dedicated researcher who is in the National Academy of Engineering.</p>

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<p>^ It is great to have research professors who love to teach. Every time I listen to Engines of our Ingenuity on NPR, I wonder if I missed out on a great teacher in John Lienhard. Shouldn’t have been that hard for me to take class under him when I was at his school for 2 years.</p>

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<p>MaineLonghorn , </p>

<p>There are enthusiasts that love to tech students. There are great Profs with great passion.</p>

<p>However, most tenured Profs view teaching of freshmen as a job requirement, boring and non-essential for their promotions.</p>

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</p>

<p>…and bad teachers can continue their bad teaching</p>

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<p>And ha ha, a number of DH’s peers argued that teaching mattered more than research-- because they had no research. No wind in tneir sails. He advocated for both-</p>

<p>He felt being immersed mattered and so did being able to express that and inspire.</p>

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<p>Speaking as a researching faculty member at a research university, I say that most research faculty have an interest in teaching well. They live and love their discipline: eat, drink, and sleep it. It may seem a bit silly to use a national figure, a major intellectual, to teach freshman, but many chose to do so and enjoy it. </p>

<p>There is a certain fear of intellectuals that has them labeled poor teachers automatically. Knowledge and passion are the greatest pedagogy. I write this as someone who use to interview graduate students across the curriculum for jobs. The worst were from the ed school, lots of pedagogy talk and not much passion or knowledge.</p>

<p>Northeastern’s ability to recruit the best teachers from a non-research population is not unusual in a top university in an urban area, but for most universities, faculty can outperform the locals, if they are given adequate support.</p>