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IU Faculty Teaching Mission
Excellence in Teaching: Faculty Responsibilities & Effort
Faculty Teaching Mission
Goals for Students: Outcomes for Students
Institutional Support for Teaching
Excellence in Teaching: Faculty Responsibilities & Effort
The faculty of the University, in keeping faith with the founders of the institution, has
always accepted as a primary responsibility the effective teaching of the men and women
who enroll as students in the institution.
The members of the faculty have always prided themselves upon the quality of their teaching.
They have always insisted on assuming individual responsibility for the best teaching possible
in their classes. The attitude has been to set forth the material of one's course thoroughly,
clearly, and with enthusiasm; to stimulate and encourage one's students to exert the effort
required for successful work; and to feel, when students fail, that at least sometimes and
in some measure, failure is the fault of the teacher as well as of the student. Because
of this attitude, the individual teacher continuously studies the effectiveness of teaching
methods and devices with a view of increasing the effectiveness of his or her effort. A
university without students is unthinkable. So long as it exists, therefore, an institution
of this kind depends upon its students, and the teaching of these students is the primary
reason for its continued existence.
Academic Handbook of Indiana University
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FACULTY TEACHING MISSION
Excellence in Teaching: Faculty Responsibilities and Effort
The university faculty member engages in the demanding process of teaching and learning,
to transmit and extend the range of knowledge through exploration and discovery, to create
a rich and supportive academic environment, and to develop educated human beings, prepared
for civic responsibilities and the world of work. It follows that the so-called "tripartite"
mission of the faculty must be seen as one complex collective endeavor.
The university's teaching mission is an essential dimension of an academic scholar's life,
a life which includes exploration, discovery and communication. Teaching well is not merely
preparation and class delivery, but a complex network of activities centering on concern
for students; maintaining currency in a discipline; providing public outreach and consultation;
and pursuing original investigation and scholarship. Just as importantly, excellent teachers
are role models: for students, for other faculty, and for the public in general.
Faculty members model the goals of the university in their practices with seriousness,
respect for their students, and enthusiasm for their disciplines. They demonstrate how their
disciplinary perspectives relate to other ways of approaching phenomena and how these perspectives
enrich and deepen human endeavor and the understanding of individual and social issues.
Excellent teachers expose students to the core of skills and knowledge as well as to alternative
ways of thinking; they teach them to question, to initiate research, to evaluate evidence.
They lead by example in several ways:
they recapitulate their experiences as learners, sharing their questions and doubts as
well as their sureties
they demonstrate the excitements and rewards of learning
they exemplify the ways in which life is a continual struggle to grow and improve, ways
in which learning is a life-long process; they are engaged rather than passive
their actions display ethical, moral and intellectual standards
they involve themselves actively in intellectual collaboration; they practice cooperation
and inclusivity
they show respect for students' humanity and concern for their futures
they are aware of the realities of students' non-academic lives
they make the classroom a place hospitable to learning and open to the play of ideas
they are committed to the academic community and their colleagues, promoting connections
through interdisciplinary as well as disciplinary exchange
they are self-critical and engaged in continuous growth and improvement
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Goals of Teaching: Outcomes for Students
The essential university teaching mission is assisting our students to become educated human
beings, creating life-long habits of learning, and preparing them for future challenges
and occupations. For faculty, that means helping the students develop:
a sense of responsibility to self and others
the competence and skills necessary for self-actualization, empowerment, independence, and
civic responsibility (i.e., the ability to think critically, to write clearly and effectively,
to read widely, to define and solve problems, to engage in decision-making.)
a desire to participate in the intellectual life of the community, not only within but beyond
the classroom
a context for informed understanding (i.e., a core of skills and fundamental knowledge essential
to the development of historical, scientific, cultural, economic, and global vision)
a sense of where to seek new knowledge and develop new perspectives
tolerance for difference and appreciation for diversity
higher expectations of self and others
the ability to assess and anticipate long-range consequences of proposals and actions
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Institutional Support for Teaching
The university embodies the teaching mission in all of its practices, providing leadership
which constantly affirms the importance of teaching and learning and underscores the faculty
and student responsibility in this enterprise.
By creating a positive learning environment, it sends a powerful message to all members
of the community about institutional priorities and values. The university maintains teaching
excellence in a number of meaningful ways:
ensuring student access to programs and availability of classes
providing incentives and meaningful rewards for teaching excellence
encouraging faculty members to define their goals and responsibilities as they change over
time
making a serious commitment to faculty development and teaching enhancement (including curriculum
development grants, training of Assistant Instructors and adjunct faculty, workshops on
classroom skills, travel, sabbatical leave, faculty collaboration and networking)
developing world-class libraries and information technologies recognizing and promoting
faculty mentoring of students, through collaborative projects, independent study, and creative
activity
providing appropriate teaching and learning facilities and student study space
acquiring up-to-date educational technologies and equipment as well as providing the support
necessary to integrate them into classroom instruction
supporting research on teaching effectiveness and student instructional outcomes
Drafted by members of the Faculty Colloquium on Excellence in Teaching (FACET), October,
1993.
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About FACET
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