Linda Nilson

When I was an undergraduate at UC-Berkeley in the late 1960s, colleges and universities wore attrition rates like badges of honor. When the lecture ended, students were on their own. If you didn’t get it, that was your problem, not your professor’s.

“ACUE’s online course, rich with videos embedded in a smart learning design, can reach everyone.”

Times have changed. Now we’re responsible for our students’ success. Merely offering an opportunity isn’t enough, especially when there are things we can—and must—do to keep students enrolled, motivated, and learning. Teaching is a real field of study with a body of research-based practices that faculty can develop and master. We know more about how the mind works, how information gets encoded, and how what we do helps (or hurts) the learning process.

I spent much of my career helping faculty develop their pedagogy through my books and workshops, classroom observations, and individual consultations. I wanted to help every professor learn about the science and essential practice of good teaching. When I agreed to serve as one of ACUE’s subject matter experts, it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to work alongside esteemed colleagues like Tom Angelo, Elizabeth Barkley, Saundra McGuire, Mary-Ann Winkelmes, and others to prepare, in a scalable way, the professoriate for excellent teaching.

ACUE’s online course, rich with videos embedded in a smart learning design, can reach everyone. I wish ACUE had been around when I was still leading Clemson’s Office of Teaching Effectiveness and Innovation. I would have worked to credential the entire faculty.

Reprinted with Permission from Change: The Magazine of Higher Learning