Defining and Developing Standards of Teaching Excellence for New College Faculty
Abstract
In PreK–12 education in the United States, public school teacher candidates engage in a series of standardized requirements for certification, including the PRAXIS examination, supervised student teaching, formal observations, and maintaining a minimum grade point average for state licensure. No comparable system of standardization exists for college professors, raising an important question: How can universities cultivate and sustain teaching excellence at the post-secondary level?
This study employed a dialogical approach to explore the nature of teaching excellence and the ways in which higher education institutions can best support it. The research design intentionally prioritized the authentic voices of participant researchers, producing a mosaic of shared themes and distinctive individual perspectives.
Key findings highlight the importance of (1) recognizing teaching excellence as a legitimate and valued form of scholarly achievement; (2) fostering caring and relationship-centered pedagogies; and (3) integrating cognitive, affective, and spiritual dimensions of learning. Readers are encouraged to interpret and extend these findings within their conceptual frameworks because of the diversity and depth of the insights shared.
The study’s conclusions were further examined through feedback from doctoral students and candidates, whose responses suggested that specialized pedagogical training, combined with mentorship from experienced faculty, significantly enhances the development of teaching excellence among emerging professors. This underscores the critical need for structured programs designed to equip new faculty with effective pedagogical strategies, particularly given that many enter academia with limited teaching experience (Schmid et al. 2021).
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