Building Capacity for Change

UC Professors of Teaching: Lessons Learned from a Unique Teaching-Focused Faculty Model

The University of California (UC) is home to a tenure-track, teaching-focused faculty position, the Professor of Teaching (PoT). PoTs spend a majority of their time on classroom instruction but are also expected to participate in scholarly activities and have service responsibilities, similar to their research-focused peers. Making up roughly 10% of the tenure-track faculty across the UC system, PoTs have the potential to serve as change agents to improve undergraduate education. Our research has found that PoTs are more likely to implement evidence-based teaching practices relative to their research counterparts, serve as key departmental resources in teaching-related matters, and are active discipline-based education researchers. But barriers to their success exist, including institutional structures that can contribute to a lack of departmental integration. This talk will highlight a UC-wide PoT group, the UC STEM Tenure-Track Teaching Professor Network, which aims to facilitate PoT professional development, and ultimately improve student success across the UC system.

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