Journal on Excellence in College Teaching, Volume 9, Number 2

Professors begin their careers as students, discovering and then falling in love with their disciplines. Often it is only by chance, rather than lifelong ambition, that the excellent undergraduate student becomes the hard-working graduate student, and then the fledgling college teacher. The development of instructors from trying to survive, to teaching skill development, and then to engaging in real collaboration with their students' learning is a journey that yields excitement and deeper commitment as time passes (Richlin, 1995). For example, new and junior faculty bring great enthusiasm for their subjects to the classroom, but learning to share this enthusiasm effectively with undergraduates is a complex undertaking (Boice, 1991). Employing faculty development strategies that build community and raise interest in teaching are effective in enabling this connection (Cox, 1995).