Jay Hollowell

Recently, one of our online course participants, Linda Logan, in her blog, "Understanding Students," stated ..."Also, the instructor must be excited about the course in order to get students excited and motivated.

I had the pleasure of teaching Accounting Principles for years! After a while, it sometimes became challenging to teach the same thing over and over again - how many times can you teach debits and credits a new way? Linda's quote though got me thinking about faculty who teach the same discipline for most of their teaching lives. How do they keep themselves motivated in order to… >>>

As faculty administrators, deans, program heads, etc. we are no doubt involved in the faculty development of our instructors. It also goes without saying that our instructors are the number one liaison and source of support to our students. In that regard, faculty development accentuates many areas - teaching methodologies and delivery, instructional planning, classroom and lab management, active learning, working with diverse learners too name a few. Additionally though, student retention is a key component of faculty development - how can we help prepare our faculty in addressing retention/attrition issues? The first step may be in acknowledging what some of the top… >>>

Observing instructors in class is an essential component of a successful faculty development program.  The observation process provides a platform for faculty to demonstrate techniques and strategies acquired from, or enhanced by, training.  Observation is the primary way to assess the program’s training outcomes.  

Many instructors may have never had observers in their classrooms except to evaluate them through required performance appraisals.  In post-training observation, any concerns about the upcoming visits will have to be addressed.  How you approach the observation process is essential if you want to gain a true picture of how your instructors are delivering… >>>

I was purchasing some Vitamin C the other day and happened to think of a series of workshops I did several years ago called The Multi-C Manager. Each managerial role began with the letter C - sort of a "vitamin or energy" boost for managers - perhaps not too much of a stretch. :-)

I thought I might share the "C" roles with institutional managers across all departments and functional areas. Though the "C"s represent specific areas of management and leadership, they very much address the many things we do in a day's time: 

• Conducting the Strategic Planning Process… >>>

In the context of our ongoing development as managers and leaders, the concept and principles of leadership are often addressed. We often look at what leadership is, but how about what leadership is not. Of the many things leadership is not, two primary factors may rise to the top.

First, leadership is not necessarily focusing on just an individual. This, at first, may seem like a contradiction because people are leaders. We often point to those in history that exhibited leadership qualities. We may also think back in our own lives to individuals that personally imprinted a positive impression… >>>