Math and science professors at American universities are not adequately trained to teach, according to a study released by the National Academies' National Research Council.
The study, released Nov. 13, found that professors in those disciplines need more training on how to tell if students are learning, and how to evaluate their own performance as instructors.
The report outlined measures to improve professors' teaching abilities. The suggestions included having colleagues observe a professor's classes and provide feedback.
To determine the effectiveness of the measures, the report also suggested keeping track of how many students drop a particular course, and if students continue in the discipline.
The report recommended decreasing reliance on student evaluations for tenure and promotion consideration, as well as designating more than one university official in charge of encouraging improvements in teaching. The study also recommended that departments pay independent consultants to evaluate teaching methods.
"I think [the study is] true, but fortunately not" at the University, said Donald Ramirez, University math department associate chair.
The MATH 700 seminar on teaching methods -- mandatory for entering graduate students who go on to teach at other institutions -- shows that University math department graduates are well prepared to enter teaching careers, Ramirez said.
Ramirez also said math department faculty members often sit in on the classes of their colleagues, and rely less on student feedback in evaluating professors.
Although the University's math department institutes a framework to ensure that professors are adequately trained, no process exists to evaluate the effectiveness of their teaching methods, said Norman Hackerman, who co-chaired the Academies' report.
"To be able to evaluate teaching capacity is a fine thing, but the problem is how to do it -- the report doesn't outline enough ways to evaluate teaching," Hackerman said.
Hackerman said the University would benefit from rewarding those professors who have an extra capacity to help students learn.
There is no way of measuring how much students have actually learned, he added.
Testing done regularly, is not a good benchmark of how much a student has learned, Hackerman said.
The tests "can be harder or easier, and the results vary dramatically," he added.
Milton Adams, the Engineering School dean of academic programs, said the University does in fact have methods of evaluating student learning.
The University regularly conducts a survey that asks employers if new graduates have analytical and critical skills, Adams said.
The survey is not a test, but it is an analysis of what students have and have not learned during their time at the University, he said.
The survey results are then examined and used to change the weak points of the department, as well as to see what students benefited from the most, Adams said.
"Our grads and alumni do very well in the real world," he added.
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