Suzanne,
I look forward to your posts in some of the other discussion forums. You may want to review the posts of some of the other active participants and add to those discussions.
Billy,
Thank you for the post. How can you determine if a candidate is a subject metter expert, especially if the position you need to fill is outside of your area of subject matter expertise?
Billy,
You've identified one of the toughest things we have to deal with as Deans, faculty quitting during the quarter. It is really important to develop a "bench" of qualified faculty you can call in to fill in for a while.
What we do as a campus to determine if a candidate is a good fit for our campus is to ask questions about teamwork as Dave indicated in his post. We look for leadership skills, communication skills as well as personality. We as well are a tight net group and we do whatever it takes to give the students the quality education they need. Teamwork is an very important part of our everyday culture at The Chefs Academy. There are no little I or big yous we are all a part of a team that does not say this is not my job. We are willing to help out in any department. Anyone coming on board will have to posse these qualities.
Cissi,
Thank you for these comments. Hiring folks who fit the culture and personality at the campus is vital to success.
I look forward to your posts in the other discussion areas.
Our teaching faculty must demonstrate an educational background and experinece in the specific area taught. The general education, professional education, teaching experience and practical professional experience must be appropriate to our school and to the subject area taught. Only a few alumni have been hired to teach at our school. However, our policy is they must have more than 5 year experiences in their practice before they can apply.
Yan,
Thank you for this discussion post. Successful alumni that return to teach can be a real insiration to current students. When you mix that with the experience you require, excellent things can happen.
It is also a great idea to invite some alumni who may potentially become faculty members to come in and do guest lectures or substitute teach. Your students will enjoy new perspectives and you will be able to see how the alumni perform in front of students.
Instructors are required to have:
5 years of teaching experience
SME in their field
Reflective practitioners willing to share their experiences
Terminal degree
Involved in research
Passion for teaching
Flexible, articulate, teachable, organized, caring, good listener
Current with industry standards
I think it really depends on the course or courses they are going to be facilitating. For the most part, they should have a firm knowledge of the subject matter, they will require a specific skill set for the psychomotor aspects of any course and they must possess other abilities that are required for the position (use of computer and IS systems for example).
Thank you, Aaron.
Are there any "universal" attitudes or abilities not related to the subject matter that you look for?
Sure. The must be friendly, caring, have a good work ethic, care about the students and their outcomes as well as being able to motivate.
When hiring an instructor general application of skills and excellent verbal skills are important to students that are learning a trade. Students must be able to ask questions and be interested in the way the instructor presents the material to them. Organization and sequence of the material is important.
Thanks, Connie.
I was a the first GE instructor in a technology school. It was sometimes a tough sell to get students and the other faculty members to buy-in to the importance ofthe communication skills thatwere the focus of the courses.
For my school the right instructor would posses: ability to self direct, work independently, motivate students learning and have clear communication. Other traits would be good nursing judgment as we are a nursing school and good observational skills.
I think that the personality of the applicant also plays an important role in the hiring process. Most teachers who are ‘good’ are outgoing, fun and easy to talk with. They usually are extroverts. The instructors who are currently on staff that I don’t think are performing as well don’t hold these traits. One thing we have done is to implement teaching demos into our interview process. Theoretically, this allows our hiring team to determine how they would act in front of a classroom full of students.
Thanks, Maria.
Teaching demos are a good way to at least get a feel for how someone might perform in front of a class.
I have employed a few introverted faculty members who were still very good teachers. I found they were more effective teaching students who had been with us a while.
It's important to get an idea of the work ethic, skills ability and personality characteristics. I have hired many instructors that have excellent skills ability, but later discovered that "teaching" is not included in their excellence. It takes the right personality, the right person committed to push themselves out of the envelope (to deliver a well organized and well perceived lecture), along with someone that truly understands the up-to-date skills to help students be successful in their future career (that they are training for).
Thank you, Randy.
What are some specific things you have done to try to help professional in their field to develop good teaching skills?
Our particular school requires that the instructors have the right amount of industry experience. This sometimes poses a problem because those who have been "out in the field" are not necessarily the best instructors. However, a person who has a combination of industry experience and teaching experience is ideal. Students in our field are interested in learning from those who have credentials and experience within the industry, and will be less critical of someone who has little experience in the classroom. The best teacher of our curriculum is one who can point out real world scenarios and prepare students for the challenges they might face in our competitive industry.
The instructor must be a caring individual focused on helping students realize their potential. It is simply not enough to teach the material in a Career College environment. I always look for instructors that want to make a difference in people's lives.
Andrew,
Thanks for this post. How do you determine that instructors you are interviewing have the "changing lives" gene?
Jeffrey Schillinger
