Sabbatical leaves in pedagogy - Journal of Chemical Education (ACS

David W. Brooks Robert G. Fuller Helen J. James1 L. Cliff Lewis2 Jean Debry3 John W. Johnson4 Robert G. Silbermans University of Nebraska-Lincoln and Lincoln. NE 68588

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Sabbatical Leaves in Pedagogy

Suppose that you are a tenured college chemistry or physics professor with a sabbatical leave coming up. What options do you have? There is a research leave where you try to get something done as a visitor in an established research program. If you want to brush up your thesis research, or if you want to learn a new technique, then a research leave may be very productive for you. However, most college professors primarily teach for a living. Suppose you want to use your sabbatical leave to do something related to your teaching. Until the heeinnine of this uroeram. there was no such ouportunity fora college profe&orwtost"dy teaching. providing a sabbatical leave ouoortunitv to studv uedaeoev and do a is all ~~ major instructional pioject is what the P A C T S ~ ~ & about. The authors from the host institution hoth have very traditional roots in science: both have research-hsed Ph.Ds: both started traditional faculty careers; neither has ever taken an education course. Although their careers have been very different, they have principal professional interests in college teachinp. Their experiences have convinced them that i t is a very rare college professor who is adequately prepared to teach. Most professors are put into the classroom to sink or swim. Most do swim. Our experience from PACTS is that academe can do much better in preparing college teachers and in heluine . them to imurove. Suppose that you are a "successful" teacher (i.e., you can a t least tread water). You may not he satisifed with the impacts you have upon your students. (The senior authors are in this arouu. Althounh their students are different for having taken