How do get faculty to work together, when some just dont want to person refuse
You have to tie it to compensation - we have a number of things that we have as a checklist for facutly come review time that includes their participation in faculty meetings, training & contribution to the faculty newsletter. We also have established what we call "course owners" where one person has responsibility for continous improvements for a course - part of that is getting input from their peers who also teach the course - so participation in that exchange is also on the checklist.
If the faculty members are informed of this "responsibility" before they are hired - they may be more apt to participate in "school activities." Particpation should not be a choice, it is a requirement. When students see that the staff/faculty is working together, they feel like they too are a part of something rather than just a paying customer. This promotes ownership & responsibility both to the school and to themselves.
Lisa, I agree that participation should be a requirement for new hires, but what do you do about people who are already in the organization and don't get involved? Is lack of engagement sufficient cause to dismiss a long term employee?
I am in total agreement, student need to see that staff and administrators respect and stand together.
I belive that faculty should do things together as a team, building a united team so that if students see faculty working together, I feel that students may want to work with other student in other classes building on the the whole school body not just part of the scholl body.
Diane, do you have any specific team building techniques that you use at your school? Do you teach leadership skills in any of your courses?
I work with team building exercises at each of the faculty meetings and/or in-service days. The focus is always demonstrating a team effort. When the expectation is set the one/two staff member that wants to drag eventually comes along. The activities are meant to be on-going so that working together is part of the culture of the school.
Please share an example of the exercises, Joseph.
This is a must! The whole institution needs to be one team. When I first started I would hear comments from the students to a faculty or staff member like, “You're not my teacher/program director/ financial aid officer, I don't have to listen to you.†This is defeating for the whole institution every, teacher needs to know that they are a part of the team and that a teacher is a teacher is a teacher. They have the same authority as any one else in respect to all of the students. Once the students try to play one teacher against another you are doomed.
How did your institution make this important shift in culture, Michael?
The point of instructors refusing to take on support roles etc. is one I have been dealing with. I can say there has been move from outright hostility to one of cooperation. It has taken a year and the one thing I can say is if you want them to do it you must also do it. The it being going the extra mile. Do not be ashmed of saying thank you either. Even for them doing their basic job. I cost you nothing and will buy you their gratitude in the long run. be consistant and reward those who rise to the occassion. There may be incentives likke leaving early for working a project or giving preference to the classes they teach or recognition and financial rewards. In some cases there is need of disiplinary action. I advise against negative reinforcement alone.
Good counsel, Michael. You know you're making progress when you begin to hear peers complimenting and thanking each other. Some institutions have set up systems that allow for peers to recognize outstanding performance and may include pre-announced rewards.
When a new instructor is hired, they must be made fully aware of what is going to be expected of them. There should be no confusion as to what is needed from them. If an instructor does not want to be part of the team, he/she does not need to be an instructor. Students follow our lead. If you have someone acting out, the students will feel that this is acceptable behavior.
April, how does your school assure that instructors are doing what is expected of them? Do you use mentors for new faculty members and/or classroom observation? Does your school do classroom observation of senior faculty?
It is very important that new hires understand that participation in the larger school activities is a requirement of the job. We set that expectation in the interview and again in orientation. If they refuse to participate, it is always are reason to terminate their employment.
Obviously, each person brings different strengths and abilities to an event. Do new hires have some latitude about what events they work on and how? How often do you have to terminate someone for lack of participation?
I think that it boils down to attitude. Is the instructor willing to jump in and take on new things? Or are they saying, "That's not my job"? Really, that is the determining factor for us. Usually, we don't terminate for lack of participation. We don't often have to. Instructor who are not team players almost always also have poor outcomes from their students. That is usually the basis for termination.
I have often asked myself this question. What I have found to help is to envolve the admissions department when a student wants to withdraw. Being a program director, the withdrawals for my department come to me. At that time I find out who admitted the student. I then talk to the admissions rep and ask her to give the student a call. I also ask the student services department to call. We do this in hopes of retaining the students. Often we have found that the problem is minor and can be fixed.
Do the admissions people really get involved, Patsy? That seems rather unusual unless it's part of their job description. Do you or other faculty also try to contact the student?
