Program for the Enhancement of Teaching
The Program for the Enhancement of Teaching (PET) initiates, coordinates, and supports programs that assist College of Commerce faculty to strengthen their teaching abilities and achieve their own professional goals. DePaul University, the College of Commerce, and PET are dedicated to improving instruction, promoting collegial relations, enhancing faculty vitality, and other professional activities.
Newsletter Orientations & Conferences Resource Library Teaching Awards
Workshops & Discussion Groups Videotaping Classroom, Observation and Consultation
Once a year, the Program for the Enhancement of Teaching hosts teaching orientations. These sessions typically offer practical strategies for improving classroom practice, at least one panel discussion on a topic of general interest to all participants, and a practical introduction to DePaul University and the College of Commerce. DePaul University faculty and PET lead the orientation sessions, along with a small number of invited speakers from other institutions. For more information, see Teaching Conference.
A copy of the
Faculty Handbook has been included for your perusal. In addition, each department/school has included information pertinent to its faculty members. Please refer to the individual department/school of interest: Accountancy, Economics, Finance, Management and Marketing.Each year PET conducts a voting process of graduate and undergraduate students of the College of Commerce to determine the recipients of the Gus Economos and Lawrence W. Ryan teaching awards of Excellence. The award winners are announced and honored at the June convocation.
Apple, the PET newsletter, is published three times a year. It contains information on teaching strategies, innovations in higher education, highlights of teaching projects at the College of Commerce, book reviews, and announcements of upcoming events and seminars.
The PET resource library is a growing collection of over 225 books, newsletters, journals, reports, calls for proposals (Calls for Papers), conference announcements (Events in Academe), and other publications on teaching and learning, higher education, and faculty development. Most materials are available for faculty to borrow. Periodicals include The Chronicle of Higher Education, NewsLine, The Teaching Professor, Exchange, Forum Academic Leader, Change, AAHE Bulletin, Teaching Excellence, Journal of Higher Education, and several newsletters from other publications fall into several categories: faculty development, instructional improvement, professional writing, and student writing. PET also has videotapes and reports from both DePaul and other universities related to teaching.
In addition to the resources available through me, Tuft University has an wealth of information available on its Web site. Tuft's Teaching Assistant Handbook & Other Resources
PET organizes workshops and informal discussion groups on exploring alternative teaching strategies, learning uses of new technologies, improving and getting feedback on classroom instruction, and advancing research and scholarly activities. These workshops and discussion groups conducted by PET promote a multidisciplinary approach for improvement and innovation. In addition to other events, each year PET co-sponsors the Annual Business/Economics Teaching Conference with Elmhurst College.
Videotaping Classroom, Observation & Consultation
One of the tools used by PET for analyzing and enhancing teaching is videotaping classes. A videotaped class is then reviewed in a consultation between the faculty member and a PET staff member. Typically the consultation lasts twice as long as the original class, allowing time for extended commentary. Such sessions combine detailed analysis of specific teaching issues with a more general goal of helping to develop teaching confidence and a solid repertoire of skills.
At the start of the quarter, PET also uses videotaping to coach and train groups of new College of Commerce faculty. Direct classroom observation without use of a video camera is another offered service. Observations of a single class, extended classes or done repeatedly are possible, depending on circumstances. Faculty members may work with a staff member over a number of weeks or throughout the quarter. Classroom observation by an experienced observer is especially appropriate where class size is small, or where the instructor believes that filming the class might prove distracting..
Philip R. Kemp
, pkemp@wppost.depaul.edu, DePaul University, 1 East Jackson Boulevard, Suite 7100, Chicago, Illinois 60604-2287Last date updated: December 21, 1999