Representative Assembly 10/12/95

Committee on Teaching Quality

Annual Report
1994-1995

The Committee on Teaching Quality (CTQ) met 8 times during the academic year. The following summarizes our discussion of and participation in various issues.

1. "Celebration of Teaching." This idea was first proposed in 1991-92 by then Dean of Undergraduate Studies Michael Butler, and strongly endorsed by CTQ. Discussion continued during 1992-93, and concluded in a vote of support from the Executive Committee of the Academic Senate. This year, the prospect of corporate funding for new campus teaching awards brought this issue back to attention of the Academic Senate. CTQ argued for and strongly endorses the Executive Committee vote in favor of a "Celebration of Teaching," as opposed to a "Celebration of Faculty Excellence." Chair Valletta worked with Susan Bryant, Chair of the Committee on Scholarly Honors and Awards, to help develop an event proposal, as overseen by Senate Chair Danziger. As of the end of the year, however, development of the event is in limbo, and outside funding does not appear to be forthcoming.

   For the second year, the final meeting of the Campus Teaching Colloquy on June 7 consisted of the "Celebration of Teaching." This was a festive afternoon event at the University Club, and it honored faculty and graduate student recipients of campuswide, school, and department teaching awards. In the future, we recommend that this event occur in the evening, in a more formal setting, with resource support from the Academic Senate. A higher profile event will highlight the emphasis placed on teaching at UC Irvine.

2. "The Discovery University." We discussed this issue at length, at several meetings. We focused on discussing how widespread undergraduate projects of a significant nature are likely to be, given our current resources and student body. Many members supported the idea of encouraging additional undergraduate research and creative projects, particularly if such activities are supported by campus resources but are not mandated as requirements by central administration.

   On the other hand, several members expressed skepticism about the ability and training of undergraduates to conduct useful projects. Also, several members were deeply opposed to the use of the moniker "The Discovery University," which they felt was not grammatical and not sufficiently dignified. Chair Valletta served on the Educational Initiatives Subcommittee of the Executive Committee, and communicated these views during subcommittee and Executive Committee discussion.

3. Teaching Colloquy. CTQ continued its co-sponsorship of the Campus Teaching Colloquy, which provides members of the campus community an opportunity to be informed about and discuss various issues related to teaching at UCI. Nine Colloquy meetings occurred during 1994-95. At the first meeting, newly appointed Executive Vice Chancellor Golub shared his views about teaching. Later meetings discussed performance aspects of teaching, educational technology, distance learning, undergraduate research, acad emic dishonesty, writing in all disciplines, and teaching upper-division writing. The final meeting served as the campus "Celebration of Teaching."

   CTQ also aided Instructional Development Services (IDS) Acting Director Gallow in planning a tentative complete agenda for next year's Colloquy. The planned topics include: An Introduction to Teaching at UCI, Technology and Instructional Strategies, Changes in Affirmative Action, Collaborative Learning, Preparation of High School Students, TA Supervision and Training, Mentoring Graduate Students for the Academic Job Market, Distance Learning, and the "Celebration of Teaching."

4. Distance Learning. CTQ met at the Media Services Building for a presentation and discussion of distance learning technology, which complemented a Teaching Colloquy presentation on the same topic. We reviewed tapes from a graduate course taught by a CTQ member (Prof. Barrett) that utilized the technology to teach the course to students at UC Riverside also.

   Members discussed the applications and limitations of the technology. Widespread use in undergraduate courses appears undesirable. The technology appears to be most useful for small graduate seminars in specialized areas that are not covered on all UC campuses. Currently, and perhaps in the future, the cost of the technology appears to place sharp limits on extensive use. Finally, we note that its greatest potential for the future may lie in the teaching of "self-paced" courses in which student intera ction with teaching resources is critical. This application may become particularly important with widespread availability of home terminals with attached audio/video devices.

5. Outside employment policy. CTQ discussed this proposal for University of California policy and made several recommendations for modification, to both wording and content. These recommendations were incorporated into the UCI Academic Senate response to the proposal.

6. Campus teaching support resources -- "Teaching How to Teach." Acting IDS Director Gallow gave a presentation concerning resources available at UCI to help faculty and graduate students develop their teaching skills. Most of these resources are available through IDS. Dr. Gallow emphasized the confidential, non-evaluative nature of IDS/faculty consultations. Currently, these services are mostly used on an individual basis. We recommend that departments more actively seek out connections to IDS programs, to promote the culture of teaching on campus. The first Teaching Colloquy meeting of 1995-96 will provide an orientation to campus teaching development resources.

7. Testing. We discussed the various forms that testing takes on campus. Members noted that multiple choice and true/false questions are ideal test formats only under very limited conditions. We encourage faculty to avoid such questions whenever resources allow it. This view may be particularly relevant as UCI increasingly adopts the principles of "The Discovery University," with its emphasis on active discovery of reasoning methods, as opposed to passive comprehension of concepts. Several members no ted their success in using TAs to help grade essay-type exams in large courses.

8. Chair Activities. Chair Valletta engaged in several tasks in addition to those listed above. Along with several other academic senate chairs and Chair Danziger, Valletta attended campus Enrollment Council meetings, to provide Senate input into campus enrollment decisions. At the request of Acting Dean of Undergraduate Studies McWilliams, Chair Valletta also chaired the IDS Director Search Committee. That committee met several times, interviewed candidates, and made recommendations to Acting Dean Mc Williams concerning the new Director and other matters related to IDS operations.

Issues for the Future

1. "Celebration of Teaching." We recommend that development of this event be revived in the coming year.

2. "The Discovery University." The campus can benefit from ongoing discussion of the success of this concept, by CTQ and other key committees.

3. Technology. Computer Assisted Learning, Technologically Enhanced Classrooms, Distance Learning, use of e-mail for classes, etc., are important ongoing areas for development. Particularly in the context of "The Discovery University," these technologies present opportunities for substantial improvements in teaching quality. All areas of the campus have shown willingness and ability to develop such areas. We encourage more systematic campuswide effort in this regard. Emphasis should be on how to use these technologies as learning tools, rather than on using technology for its own sake.

4. Testing. Limited attention is paid to modes of testing and their success in their twin roles as evaluative and learning tools. We recommend that modes of testing be investigated and discussed in more detail in the future.

	Robert Valletta, Chair
	Jeffrey Barrett (Winter, Spring)
	Rhona Berenstein (Fall)
	Franz Hoffmann
	Larry Jamner
	Kenneth Longmuir
	Margaret Miles
	Athan J. Shaka
	Harry H. Tan
	Ex Officio:
		Michael Butler (Fall)
		Roger McWilliams (Winter, Spring)
		Frederic Wan
		Jeremiah Tilles
	Consultants
		De Gallow,
		Lori Miller
		Zohreh Soltani	
	Michelle Tsui, Undergraduate
	Tina Matsubayashi, Undergraduate
	Janel Alberts, Graduate