occasional paper

Writing a Statement of Teaching Philosophy for the Academic Job Search

This Occasional Paper is designed to help experienced graduate students write a statement of teaching philosophy. The paper contains four sections. First, we offer suggestions for making a philosophy of teaching explicit and getting it on paper.  Second, we discuss research on characteristics of effective statements. Third, we introduce a rubric that can guide the development and crafting of a teaching statement that search committees will value.  Finally, we address questions that job candidates often raise about this sometimes perplexing document. 

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Best Practices for Designing and Grading Exams

Creating high quality educational assessments requires both art and science: the art of creatively engaging students in assessments that they view as fair and meaningful, and that produce relevant data about student achievement; and the science of assessment design, item writing, and grading procedures (Worthen, Borg, & White, 1993). This Occasional Paper provides an overview of the science of developing valid and reliable exams, especially multiple-choice and essay items. Additionally, the paper describes key issues related to grading: holistic and trait-analytic rubrics, and normative and criterion grading systems.

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Student Teams in the Engineering Classroom and Beyond: Setting up Students for Success

Our purpose in this Occasional Paper is to provide instructors with a framework for ensuring that student teams are set up for success.

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Lecture Capture: A Guide for Effective Use

 

A number of faculty members at the University of Michigan (U-M) are capturing lectures and creating podcasts and screencasts to provide supplementary learning material, to free up class time for active learning experiences, or to make learning material accessible to the general public. This paper reviews research on the use and impact of lecture capture technology, discusses challenges and implications of using this technology in classrooms, and provides guidance for using this tool to enhance teaching and student learning.

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The Importance of Teaching at the University of Michigan

This Occasional Paper presents the 2010 U-M Faculty WorkLife Study survey data on teaching. The specific questions addressed here include: How much time do faculty spend working and how is their workload divided among teaching, research and service? What are the challenges that U-M faculty encounter in managing their heavy workloads? How satisfied are faculty with their teaching and their perceptions of the tenure process? Data are presented for all tenured and tenure-track faculty (except those in the Medical School because of the unique character of their work).

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