Montclair State University - Carnegie Committee - What Is The Carnegie Committee

What Is The Carnegie Committee
On The Scholarship Of Teaching

Jack Baldwin LeClair MA, EdS, JD

It is less important that we all believe alike than that we all alike inquire freely and place at one another's disposal such glimpses, as we may recieve, of the truth for which we are in search. - John Dewey

Years ago in a galaxy not so far away, the Provost of Montclair State University, Dr. Richard Lynde, initiated a campus discussion about the scholarship of teaching at Montclair State. The initial committee had several reincarnations with various souls migrating in and out of the committee from various campus constituencies. Chaired very successfully by Dr. Tina Jacobowitz during its middle years, the campus conversation grew from simple dialogues to a colloquium among colleageues.

During our adolescence, several years ago, specialists from various institutions were invited to invigorate the colloquium during a University Day devoted to the scholarship of teaching. The project was a success engaging the entire community. The current committee chaired by Prof. Jack Baldwin LeClair, with Dr. Joan Ficke as administrative liaison, populated by Dr. Richard Wolfson, Dr. Susana Sotillo, Dr. Jennifer Bragger, Dr. Dorothy Deremeer, Dr. Dorothy Heard, Dr. Mark Kay, Dr. Richard Wolfson, Dr. Gideon Weinstein, and Peter Campbell, later replaced by Cindy Meneghin (webmaster and communications expert) determined that the campus conversation had evolved to the point at which we, the faculty and administration of the university, could chart our own destiny and apply our expertise to improving the unique learning environment that is Montclair State University.

The current goal of the committee is simply to encourage faculty members to develop models and methods of self-evaluation to improve their teaching and consequently student learning. Our idea is as bold as it is simple. The campus culture can reinvent itself around the concept of enhanced and leveraged pedagogy through the use of appropriate technology. Realizing that styles and methods of teaching and learning shared much in common among the disciplines yet retained qualities unique to each, the committee developed a framework upon which each discipline could build its own tools for pedagogical self-reflection. Thereby, we reasoned, teaching effectiveness would be improved and student learning enhanced.

The Carnegie Committee web site, which you have entered, is the public face and interface of this endeavor. Links to concepts, methods, tools, theories, and practices in higher education abound. By examining what you intend to teach, how it can best be learned, and developing means to measure how well you achieve your stated goals, you will be able to develop models, methods, and tools which can be shared with our community of educators further enhancing the learning environment at Montclair State. Committee members have contributed their own discussion threads in their own voices for our edification.

We encourage you to participate. The rewards, in addition to improving the learning environment in your classrooms, are possible advantages in reappointment, tenure, promotion, and scholarship.