3 ms·

Do you know this from personal experience or is it just one of those things that "everyone knows"? My experience of both real-life lectures and podcasted ones

Do you know this from personal experience or is it just one of those things that "everyone knows"? My experience of both real-life lectures and podcasted ones suggests otherwise.

lftl 16y ago
Podcasted lectures probably show an enormous selection bias, in that professors who don't care about teaching probably have no desire to make their lectures available to a wider audience. That aside I will concur that "professors don't like to teach" is probably much more anecdotal than evidence backed.
- danielford 16y ago
  You also have to be pretty confident about your teaching ability to put that stuff up on the internet for everyone to see. I'd like to put some of my lectures online in a year or two, but currently they don't meet the Khan standard. Regarding research professors, the chair of the department I was a graduate student at once said that your teaching can only hurt your career; it can never help it.
ewanmcteagle 16y ago
Personal experience and the experience of colleagues. I spent 11 years in the undergraduate/graduate system both learning and teaching. It's also something you can learn if you ever have to look for work in academia. It's very rare that anyone cares about your teaching credentials. Typically undergraduate education is at the bottom of a professor's concerns. First is research/publications/funding. Next are graduate students and their research. Undergraduate teaching is an 'in the time left' activity.
elai 16y ago
Professors have four jobs: fundraiser, researcher, teacher and tester. They're evaluated in that priority in most universities. They have a few assistants for their various jobs, but it's mainly on their shoulders. A university professor's job should really be separated into four separate jobs, and universities can provide much better services in each area. A teacher who can just concentrating the best of teaching, a marker who can provide flexible final examination services so people can take their finals on their schedules, a fundraiser who's actually focusing on fundraising and not being miserable doing it, and a researcher who actually just researches and is not hired by a corporation.

Do you know this from personal experience or is it just one of those things that "everyone knows"? My experience of both real-life lectures and podcasted ones suggests otherwise.

lftl 16y ago

Podcasted lectures probably show an enormous selection bias, in that professors who don't care about teaching probably have no desire to make their lectures available to a wider audience. That aside I will concur that "professors don't like to teach" is probably much more anecdotal than evidence backed.

danielford 16y ago
You also have to be pretty confident about your teaching ability to put that stuff up on the internet for everyone to see. I'd like to put some of my lectures online in a year or two, but currently they don't meet the Khan standard. Regarding research professors, the chair of the department I was a graduate student at once said that your teaching can only hurt your career; it can never help it.

ewanmcteagle 16y ago

Personal experience and the experience of colleagues. I spent 11 years in the undergraduate/graduate system both learning and teaching. It's also something you can learn if you ever have to look for work in academia. It's very rare that anyone cares about your teaching credentials. Typically undergraduate education is at the bottom of a professor's concerns. First is research/publications/funding. Next are graduate students and their research. Undergraduate teaching is an 'in the time left' activity.

elai 16y ago

Professors have four jobs: fundraiser, researcher, teacher and tester. They're evaluated in that priority in most universities. They have a few assistants for their various jobs, but it's mainly on their shoulders. A university professor's job should really be separated into four separate jobs, and universities can provide much better services in each area. A teacher who can just concentrating the best of teaching, a marker who can provide flexible final examination services so people can take their finals on their schedules, a fundraiser who's actually focusing on fundraising and not being miserable doing it, and a researcher who actually just researches and is not hired by a corporation.