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rofessors have two primary charges: efforts of researchers who are also excellent
generate new knowledge and edu- and dedicated teachers.
cate students. The reward systems at Toward this end, we advocate seven ini-
research universities heavily weight efforts tiatives (reflecting our views and not neces-
of many professors toward research at the sarily those of HHMI). Although many of
expense of teaching, particularly in disci- these ideas are not new, the context in higher
plines supported extensively by extramural education has changed because of wide-
funding (1). Although education and lifelong spread concern about educating enough sci-
of students. We should be preparing students universities must more broadly and effec- innovative pedagogy. This may also attract
for a lifetime of learning about science with tively recognize, reward, and support the a new donor population interested in spon-
soring named professorships for faculty who
1
Howard University, Washington, DC 20059, USA. 2University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA. have demonstrated excellence in the training
3
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA. 4Washington University, St. Louis, MO 63130, USA.
5
Brandeis University, Waltham, MA 02453, USA. 6Yale University, New Haven, CT 06520, USA. 7University of Pittsburgh, of future scientists. In addition to campus-
Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USA. 8Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138,USA. 9University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA wide recognition, annual department-level
92697, USA. 10University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84112, USA. 11Lousiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA 70803, USA. awards for excellence in teaching could pro-
*To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: losick@mcb.harvard.edu or dkodowd@uci.edu vide funds, allocated by the dean, to support
the scholarly activities of the recipient. This Yet many research universities have unex- References and Notes
would not only help more faculty who have ploited resources that could be drawn upon 1. V. Savkar, J. Lokere, Time to Decide: The Ambivalence of
the World of Science Toward Education (Nature Education,
devoted significant effort to teaching main- to improve college-level learning. For exam- Cambridge, MA, 2010); http://bit.ly/blWaPr.
tain their research programs but also dem- ple, many universities have Departments 2. J. B. Labov, A. H. Reid, K. R. Yamamoto, CBE Life Sci. Educ.
onstrate to their colleagues that the effort or Schools of Education, but only a few of 9, 10 (2010).
3. A. L. Johnson, J. Chem. Educ. 8, 115 (1931).
required to achieve teaching excellence is those [e.g., (18, 19)] include in their mis- 4. L. V. Koos, The Adjustment of Teaching Load in a University
valued. Named lecture series could bring sion undergraduate-level learning or robust (Government Printing Office, Washington, DC, 1919);
professors from other universities who are connections to, and collaborations with, fac- www.archive.org/details/adjustmentofteac00koosuoft.
distinguished as both research scientists and ulty members in STEM departments. Such 5. H. W. Marsh, J. Hattie, J. Higher Educ. 73, 603 (2002).
6. R. A. Duschl, H. A. Schweingruber, A. W. Shouse, Eds.,
teachers to deliver a campus-wide lecture on collaborations could spawn innovative pro- Taking Science to School: Learning and Teaching Science
pedagogy and a discipline-specific lecture on grams for experimentation and evaluation of in Grades K–8 (National Academies Press, Washington,
their research. teaching practices in the sciences. Psychol- DC, 2007).
7. R. Wilson, Chron. High. Educ. 57(3), A1 (2010);
3. Require excellence in teaching for pro- ogy Departments often have experts in cog-
http://chronicle.com/article/Why-Teaching-Is-Not-
motion. Formal criteria for tenure and pro- nitive science who would be valuable par- Priority/124301/.
motion typically indicate that teaching and ticipants in such programs. Though exten- 8. M. C. Taylor, Chron. High. Educ. 56(42), A22 (2010); http://
scholarship carry equal weight. The reality, sive discussion of best teaching practices is chronicle.com/article/An-Academy-to-Support/123779/.
9. Committee on Prospering in the Global Economy of the
however, is that most research-oriented uni- beyond the scope of this piece, we refer read- 21st Century et al., Rising Above the Gathering Storm:
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