A pre-kindergarten class at the Child Development Center in Georgia. March 19, 2009 (Senior Airman Brittany Barker/File Photo)
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When deciding whether or not to commit to CU Boulder, I was bombarded by horror stories about university research professors. As the stereotype goes, professors at research universities are the worst teachers one will ever encounter. “They only care about masters students; they choose research over their classes; they’re smart but so BORING,” I would always hear people say.
However, as I near the end of my first year in college, I have come to realize that unsatisfactory teaching is not a quality of research universities — it is a quality of nearly all universities.
After speaking with students from Colorado State University, University of Northern Colorado, Denver University and Metropolitan University, one trend became clear: while college professors are highly knowledgeable, many are poor teachers.
The root of this issue lies in the qualifications of the job itself.
Professors must earn a master’s degree or a doctorate degree in their field but are not required to possess a teaching certificate or teaching degree.
It is illogical that college professors are not held to the same standards that K-12 teachers are when it comes to education and experience in teaching.
For research universities, a professor having a doctorate degree in their field assures that the professor will be competent in their research ability. However, this does not guarantee that they will be able to adequately instruct students. In fact, one study found that there is absolutely no relationship between teaching ability and research ability.
This finding highlights the issue of using research capability to determine a professor’s teaching qualifications. These same qualities dictate the job security of professors as well.
At research universities, tenure is decided on by the productivity of a professor’s research — not their ability to teach. In addition to this, it has been found that tenured professors are actually less effective at teaching undergraduate students than their non-tenured counterparts.
The current system hires and rewards professors solely based on qualities that are completely irrelevant to their teaching. It is a professor’s job to teach, so universities need to start prioritizing the ability to do so.
Requiring professors to receive teaching certificates or teaching degrees would assure that they possess a general background in how to articulate their ideas and knowledge in a way that is engaging and comprehensive — instead of reading off of a PowerPoint for 50 minutes straight.
At successful universities, education and experience in teaching make a significant impact on the quality of professors.
Nearly half of the top ten rated schools on the “25 Colleges with the Best Professors” list require teaching experience for all of their professors. Two of these schools require three to five years of teaching experience respectively. Number 3 also requires professors to be eligible for or possess a certificate in elementary education.
Universities everywhere need to follow this example and start holding college professors to at least the same standards as kindergarten teachers when it comes to teaching education.
As the rigor, prestige and price of education increases entering college, it is only fair for the quality of instructors to increase as well. Requiring educational certificates and degrees for college professors would be the first step towards transforming professors into teachers.
Contact CU Independent Staff Writer Hannah Metzger at hannah.metzger@colorado.edu.
