New Possibilities for an Old Goal:
Excellence in Teaching and Learning
hroughout my career in higher education, my duties have been primarily on the
administrative side of the academy. I thoroughly enjoyed my part-time teaching of
undergraduates and graduate students, but few college presidents today can devote
the time and energy required for effective teaching.
When I taught students preparing to become teachers, I emphasized that a school may just
be four walls, but inside those walls is the future of our nation. Technological advances
are rapidly changing educational delivery systems, making this four-wall definition of a
classroom obsolete. Nonetheless, the responsibility we educators have for creating a positive learning environment for students of all ages remains critical to the present and future
well-being of our nation and our world.
Most classes at Siena Heights are still taught the “old fashioned” way, with teacher and
student, eyeball to eyeball. But the explosion of knowledge, and the seemingly infinite
sources of information now accessible from any place at any time, are changing the role
of “teacher” from knowledge dispenser to knowledge facilitator, and from learning source
to learning guide.
Pat Palmer, associate professor of human resource development, ushered Siena Heights
into the distance learning field this past spring, when he brought graduate students in
Adrian and Benton Harbor together through interactive video. This summer, Bob Gordon,
dean of graduate studies and lifelong learning, organized training workshops for other Siena Heights faculty interested in using new educational delivery systems such as interactive television and Internet-based courses.
The traditional paradigm of 50-minute classes in a dedicated classroom building is not a
requirement for effective learning. The wi