Duties and Responsibilities of

College Teachers in
Higher education

Dr. S.Ganapathy,B.Sc.,B.E.,M.Sc (Engg),P.hd.

Principal
KLN College of Engineering
Pottapalayam, Madurai.
 College teaching is a very complex activity that cannot
easily be defined or measured

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 Definition of good teaching

 A major criterion of good teaching is, of course, the

learning that results, but teachers cannot be held
entirely responsible for student learning, and often,
learning is as difficult to define and measure as
teaching. Research on college teaching and learning
has identified several factors that contribute to
successful outcomes, but the presence or absence of
these factors (often called dimensions, behaviors,
practices, conditions, or principles) does not
automatically mean that teaching is good or bad.

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 The definition of the roles and
responsibilities of college
faculty.

 The contemporary college teaching profession involves much

more than maintaining one's disciplinary expertise and
delivering lectures. The responsibilities of the faculty
member as a teacher are embedded in the context of a
dynamic and multifaceted profession.

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“Seven principles for good practice in
undergraduate education."

 encourages student-faculty contact,

 encourages cooperation among students,
 encourages active learning,
 gives prompt feedback,
 emphasizes time on task,
 communicates high expectations, and
 respects diverse talents and ways of learning

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Classroom teachers, however, needed more
specific information in order to be able to
translate these principles into practice.

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How do the dimensions of teaching, student
achievement, and student ratings relate to each
other?

 Several studies correlated the

dimensions with ratings or achievement
measures such as tests or grades.
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 Teacher organization, presentation skills, the
perceived outcome of instruction (i.e., learning
or its results), and stimulation of interest in
course content were the most strongly
correlated with achievement and were also
strongly correlated with ratings.

 Teacher helpfulness and

Teacher encouragement
and openness were tied at
fifth/sixth rank.

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The Future of College Teaching

 No discussion of college
teaching can omit the major
changes brought about by
two factors: the changes in
the student population and
the tremendous growth of
distance and technology-
based teaching and
learning

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Traditional Teaching
Differences between
traditional, face-to-face
instruction and computer-
based, and other
instructional formats.

 A major new agenda for research is

necessary to test the extent to
which what is currently known can
inform teaching and learning in new
situations.

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If the premise of such differences is accepted,
then another issue is raised

 The extent to which current methods of measuring teaching

effectiveness are usable.
 The best response at the moment is that simple replication
of current methods of evaluation is not sufficient.
 New methods and instruments must be devised that take the
changes into account and provide accurate information that can
be fairly interpreted and used.

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Su mma ry

 From the various avenues of research, it has been possible to

develop useful guidelines for teachers, but these are not guaranteed
techniques for successful teaching.

 No single technique will work in every situation, and even carefully

developed sets of strategies may be more or less effective
depending upon the context in which they are used.

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In the future ……
 To succeed, College teaching must be flexible and responsive to
the teachers, students, and situations in which it takes place.
 This increased responsibility, in union with other expanding roles
and responsibilities of faculty and ongoing changes in higher
education, may drastically alter the profession of college
teaching and the way it is practiced.

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