First Steps to Excellence in College Teaching

Media attention focused on the instructional quality in colleges and universities reflects a higher education system that must do a better job of preparing instructors. First Steps is written just for that purpose - to help new instructors and teaching assistants set and meet standards of excellence.

Glenn Ross Johnson provides the basics of instruction, from preparation through evaluation, step-by-step. He focuses on what new instructors need most, covering the essentials such as:

• Determining your course objectives
• Selecting textbooks
• Involving your students more actively
• What can be learned about your teaching through the Cognitive Interaction Analysis System (CIAS)
• Evaluating your students

Glenn Ross Johnson is Professor Emeritus in the College of Education at Texas A&M University where he taught for many years. His background includes a BS in Education from Kent State University, a MA in Education from Ohio State University, and an EdD in Education from Columbia University Teachers College.

Glenn has been Associate Editor for The Journal of Staff, Program, & Organization Development since 1991 and has served on it’s editorial board since 1987. In addition, he is reviewing the literature on teaching in higher education, practices involving teaching in higher education, intellectual discussions of teaching in higher education.

Glenn implemented The Center for Teaching Excellence at Texas A&M University, and he served as its first director from 1983-1990. During his 30 years at Texas A&M University he directed several funded and unfunded research studies involving college teaching which resulted in the creation and development of Johnson's Systematic Instruction Model (SIM) and Johnson's Cognitive Interaction Analysis System (SIM). For more than 25 years, Glenn taught a popular graduate level course entitled, "College Teaching," in which many Ph.D. and Masters students from Agriculture, Architecture, Business, Education, Engineering, Liberal Arts, and Veterinary Medicine enrolled to learn more about teaching.