HOW TO IMPROVE TEACHING QUALITY. Quality Management Journal, 6(2), 9-21 (1999). Richard M. Felder Department of Chemical Engineering North Carolina State University Rebecca Brent College of Engineering North Carolina State University An announcement goes out to the faculty that from now on the university will operate as a total quality management campus. All academic, business, and service functions will be assessed regularly, and quality teams will plan ways to improve them. A campus quality director and a steering team are named, with the director reporting to the Provost. All university departments appoint quality coordinators, who attend a one-day workshop on quality management principles and return to their departments to facilitate faculty and/or staff meetings at which quality improvement is discussed.
Many faculty members are irate. What happens then is…practically nothing. Higher education discovered total quality management in the 1980s and quickly became enamored of it. Write instructional objectives. Instruction. Online. Honolulu. Common Core. Building on the best of existing state standards, the Common Core State Standards provide clear and consistent learning goals to help prepare students for college, career, and life. The standards clearly demonstrate what students are expected to learn at each grade level, so that every parent and teacher can understand and support their learning. The standards are: Research and evidence basedClear, understandable, and consistentAligned with college and career expectationsBased on rigorous content and the application of knowledge through higher-order thinking skillsBuilt upon the strengths and lessons of current state standardsInformed by other top-performing countries to prepare all students for success in our global economy and society According to the best available evidence, the mastery of each standard is essential for success in college, career, and life in today’s global economy.
For grades K-8, grade-by-grade standards exist in English language arts/literacy and mathematics. Administration. Professional Development. Increasing the effectiveness of professional learning is the leverage point with the greatest potential for strengthening and refining the day-to-day performance of educators. Standards for Professional Learning is the third iteration of standards outlining the characteristics of professional learning that lead to effective teaching practices, supportive leadership, and improved student results. Learning Forward, with the contribution of 40 professional associations and education organizations, developed the Standards for Professional Learning. (See the Standards Revision Task Force and the Standards Advisory Team.) The standards make explicit that the purpose of professional learning is for educators to develop the knowledge, skills, practices, and dispositions they need to help students perform at higher levels. Watch Stephanie Hirsh give an overview of the standards These standards call for a new form of educator learning.