One glaring omission in our preparatory training is that no formal pedagogical training is required (remember, “recommended” and “required” yield very different behaviors from faculty too!). I have always found it strangely ironic that a career in university teaching comes with no formal training in how to actually do it. Are we the only domain of education that requires no formal training to teach? Yikes. Imagine starting a job in a high school without a teaching credential? Admittedly our workload triad (teaching, professional growth, service) is different to that of a school teacher, but a significant proportion of our time is spent designing, implementing, and evaluating strategies for student learning. Yet how many faculty (junior or senior) have been trained to design a syllabus, let alone a course? What about write student learning outcomes, or develop assessment indicators that relate to learning outcomes? Not me. In fairness, I had heard about free workshops, brown bags and the like, but as any new faculty member will tell you, you really only start noticing these after the first year is over. But then it’s summer. And the summer is spent grant writing and trying to reverse the deleterious effects that the academic year has had on your body and your family life. The typical launch sequence for many new faculty is this: inherited syllabus: check; Powerpoint slides that I still need to review: check; huge bunch of keys: check; class schedule: check; LIFT OFF!! Before you know it, you’ve had plenty of “well I won’t try that again” moments, a few bumps and bruises, and hopefully a few success stories.
In my short(ish) time at SDSU I’ve seen quite a few new faculty struggle in the classroom (and I mean, really struggle) largely because of personality characteristics that are not compatible with standing up in front of people and talking. My opinion is that all new junior faculty should be required to take an intensive semester long course through CTL which would need to be “topped up” throughout our careers.