At the same time our teaching capacity is being called upon to contribute more profoundly to human, economic, and cultural progress, our models of teaching must be transformed to accommodate a variety of developments including increasing diversity among students, an exponentially expanding knowledge base, and the still emerging tools of information technology. With such changes, instructional objectives are far more ambitious than in the past, seeking not to provide a fixed education but to inspire and enable lifelong learning. Hands-on problem solving, service learning, and teamwork are among new approaches being taken to achieve this end.

As the day-to-day learning of students unfolds in such contexts, the faculty remain the most influential factor in educational quality. They continue to set standards, determine content, and deliver instruction. Yet their role as teachers also is changing in keeping with the new expectations and opportunities for learning that now exist. In addition to "transmitter of knowledge," some new descriptors come to mind as faculty provide leadership for the learning communities of colleges and universities today: coach, facilitator, and mentor.

Diversity of Students

A transformation of the role of the faculty is in keeping with nationwide calls to rededicate higher learning to students. Among them, the Kellogg Commission on the Future of State and Land-Grant Universities urges institutions to put students first, in part by "meeting the legitimate needs of learners, wherever they are, whatever they need, wherever they need it (Kellogg Commission, 1997, p.9)."

Students today are vastly different demographically from those of the past and are expected to become even more diverse in the years ahead. Demographic, personal, and cultural changes influence what is taught in both the context of formal courses and in out-of-class experiences. How faculty relate to students also is affected.

The fastest growing segment of enrollments in recent years has been adult and part-time students. The percentage of college students 25 years of age and older increased from 28 percent in 1970 to 43 percent in 1996; part-time enrollments grew from 32 percent to 43 percent over the same period (U.S. Department of Education, 1999, p.198). These trends suggest that more and more students are bringing extensive life experiences that filter higher learning.

While the concept of student as an empty vessel to be filled by the instructor may never have been totally appropriate, it is absolutely obsolete for those who by virtue of their age, work, or family and community responsibilities have gained a great deal of knowledge. These students have a head start on many of the goals of higher education. They tend to be highly focused on their educational objectives, have a personal framework that enables a broad range of insights, and can have much to contribute to class discussions.

Effective teaching builds on the backgrounds of learners no matter their age or experience. We have come to understand that students learn best when they can make material their own by integrating it into existing frameworks of understanding. The broad spectrum of previous knowledge and understanding represented among college students today challenges faculty to get to know the members of their classes and diversify approaches to content accordingly. Students, for their part, are challenged to assume responsibility for more active involvement in learning.

Minority enrollments nationwide totaled 26 percent in 1996, compared to 16 percent two decades before (U.S. Department of Education, 1999, p.187). Greater racial and ethnic diversity can be anticipated for the future as a result of the growth rates for minority populations in the United States.

Retention is a special concern for students from groups that have been historically underrepresented in higher education. Many of these students are the first generation in their families to attend college and are in need of a strong network of encouragement and support across the campus community. As the primary point of educational contact with students, faculty have a particularly important role to play in such efforts, and more generally, in creating an environment in which all members of a diverse academic community can learn from one another. Humanizing our institutions by giving priority to such climate concerns on an individual and interpersonal level is a very important factor in the quality of education we provide and in the qualities we encourage in our graduates.

The need to be concerned about all aspects of student development is reinforced by a multitude of social and cultural changes in evidence on college campuses today. A recent summary of such developments points to changes in values, family background, and goals for young people (Hansen, 1998). Students today, for example, are less likely to say that developing a meaningful philosophy of life is an important educational objective and more likely to look to increased earning power as a benefit of college. Many more are politically disengaged compared to the past. Our students are growing up in a culture of violence and sexuality reinforced by the media. Substance abuse among youth is on the rise, with more than 40 percent of all college students engaging in high risk and binge drinking.

These are some of the indicators that tell us one of the biggest educational challenges colleges and universities face is developing character, conscience, citizenship, and social responsibility in a society that sometimes gives the impression that such virtues are optional. These are aims not readily addressed through traditional classroom teaching. They call for experiential learning and much reinforcement in both academic and extracurricular settings.

One important means to promote student character development is involvement in community service. Service learning opportunities can be especially powerful when focused through an academic course that merges practice with theory. In such courses, the experience, rather than the teacher, is center stage; the role of the instructor is more like a guide who helps to identify problems, develop and facilitate external relationships, and encourage critical reflection on the part of students.

There can be no doubt that changes in teaching are being wrought by changes in students. If there is one generalization about them that can be made, it is the necessity to respond to a greater array of learner needs to foster educational growth. Sensitivity to individual differences, a broadening of educational aims, and attention to learning both in and out of classrooms are some of the resulting demands on those who carry out the teaching mission.

Growth in Knowledge

With the knowledge base now estimated to be doubling every few years, an education not only represents a shrinking sample of what might be studied but also must provide preparation for a lifetime of change.

Our students need expert guidance in choosing from among the many interests and courses that are found today across an institution and within any given field. The challenges of general education provide one illustration. Whereas once there was a relatively circumscribed canon that all students were expected to cover, today there are many more voices and perspectives that contribute to the comprehensive world view that reflects contemporary society -- too many to be covered within the requirements for a degree. The increasing specialization within virtually every field forces choices that did not exist in the past. Students need help negotiating the options before them into a coherent and satisfying educational experience. Faculty are in the best position to advise about their own fields, to promote the interdisciplinary connections that are increasingly important to understanding the complexities of the world, and to delineate educational foundations that will best serve their students' interests.

Our students also need to develop the habits and skills that will enable them to keep current with the continuing flow of new knowledge and to keep abreast, if not one step ahead, of rapid change. We must help students to learn to think critically and creatively--to seek out and synthesize relevant information, to analyze from many perspectives, to draw sound conclusions, and to solve problems successfully. Active approaches to learning give students practice in these skills and reinforce the notion that learning never ends. Here the role of faculty is to guide students through their own journey of discovery and understanding class discussions, independent projects, research experiences, practicum opportunities and other activities that emphasize involvement.

In addition to critical thinking and problem solving skills, the ability to work in teams is high on the list of qualities employers seek in our graduates. Collaborative learning experiences in which students share responsibility for a project or problem set the stage for collaboration later on in the workplace and in our communities.

The vast expansion of knowledge, and with it, the growing use of sophisticated technology even in everyday life, the globalization of many societal concerns, and the continuing acceleration of change have made intellectual capital the greatest resource for the future. Enabling our students to make sense of all that surrounds them is the heart of their higher education and the solemn responsibility of all within our institutions who work with them.

The Impact of Technology

Advancements in information technology continue to revolutionize the efforts of students and faculty alike. The pace at which these developments are occurring is breathtaking. Even more astounding is the impact of the new digital technologies on the processes of teaching and learning. On both counts, colleges and universities no longer go about any area of their business as it was conducted just a decade or two ago.

New digital technologies are enabling instruction to become more interactive. E-mail and other networking modes can increase interaction between students and teachers and among students, changing the traditional one-way flow of communication emanating from the professor that has been so much the staple of instruction in the past. Use of e-mail in college courses nationwide increased from 8 percent in 1994 to 40 percent in 1998 (Campus Computing Project, 1998, p.2). More frequent feedback from the instructor, expanded opportunity to ask questions on the part of students, and the facilitation of team-based projects are some of the advantages e-mail offers.

More active student learning is supported by resources available through the World Wide Web, multimedia, and computer assisted tools for design, writing, and other applications. Realistic computer-based simulations provide practice in critical thinking and problem solving. Multimedia presentations demonstrate concepts and elaborate context, giving learners greater opportunity to engage with subject matter. The use of computer-assisted design, computer-based foreign language tutorials, word-processing software for writing and editing, and other technology tools enables repeated practice of skills and in many cases gives students experience with applications they will later be using on the job.

These developments have substantial implications for faculty. To the extent that digital resources are incorporated into a course, instructors become managers and facilitators of a variety of learning experiences and may share the role of content expert with others whose lectures or instructional materials may be accessed electronically. As the tools of technology free up time that might otherwise have been spent covering content, faculty may be able to devote more of their efforts to leading discussions or working with small groups or individual students. Some see the "unbundling" of teaching tasks made possible by technology as a source of cost efficiency (Young, 1997).

Indeed, with the greatly expanded opportunities for distance learning opened up by the Internet, growing numbers of students and faculty never meet face-to-face. In virtual time and space, a primary responsibility of the instructor can be to monitor and provide feedback on the progress of independent student efforts or to facilitate group communication.

The new tools of technology enable the academic community to do things that were not possible just a short time ago. They provide important means and flexibility for meeting the educational needs of students today. Yet to make the most of technology faculty and students must redefine their approach to instruction and learn new skills.

Teaching in the Twenty-First Century

Our institutions need to become more learner-centered, with learning experiences no longer being confined to the finite settings of classrooms. Teaching needs to be transformed into a multidimensional effort to promote and support the educational development of students.

While the faculty will continue to hold primary responsibility for teaching, this responsibility will be discharged in new ways. There will be increased opportunities for collaboration with others, and one of the most important changes will be the increased responsibility students take in the process of teaching and learning. With these changes, faculty must take on the roles of manager, mentor, and coach with much of their "teaching" accomplished in ways that represent a marked departure from practice to date. These new roles must be encouraged and supported through special initiatives, collegial forums, and focused incentives.

At Penn State, for example, our Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching provides programs, services, and resources designed to increase understanding of the teaching-learning process, promote teaching as a scholarly activity, and encourage interdisciplinary conversations about teaching and learning among all members of the University community. Our Learning Colloquy, convened by the provost, brings faculty together annually to discuss the enhancement of teaching. Penn State's Schreyer Institute for Innovation in Learning is a laboratory for the creation of active and collaborative learning environments. We have instituted a freshman seminar as part of the University's general education requirements to promote closer student-faculty relationships early in a Penn State education. There are several efforts in support of integrating technology in teaching and learning, including Education Technology Services within the Center for Academic Computing.

These are just beginning steps in the transformation of teaching. Based on three years and 120 innovation projects with 89 faculty that affected some 12,000 students, the 1998 annual report of Penn State's Schreyer Institute for Innovation in Learning concluded that the transformation of teaching is equally a transformation of learning (Schreyer Institute, 1998). Working closely with students, faculty can create an exciting new model that will serve the future well.

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References

The Campus Computing Project. "The 1998 National Survey of Information Technology in Higher Education." November, 1998. Retrieved from the World Wide Web: http://www.campuscomputing.net/summaries/1998/index/html.

Hansen, E.J. "Essential Demographics of Today's College Students."AAHE Bulletin, 1998, 51 (3), 3-5.

Kellogg Commission on the Future of State and Land-Grant Universities. "Returning to Our Roots: The Student Experience." Washington, DC: National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges, 1997.

Schreyer Institute for Innovation in Learning. "Annual Report." The Pennsylvania State University, 1998. Retrieved from the World Wide Web, http:www.inov8.engr.psu.edu/about/annual.htm.

U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. "Digest of Education Statistics, 1998." (NCES Publication No. 1999-036). Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1999.

Young, J.R. "Rethinking the Role of the Professor in an Age of High-Tech Tools." The Chronicle of Higher Education, Oct. 3, 1997.

Graham B. Spanier is President of The Pennsylvania State University. He chairs the Kellogg Commission on the Future of State and Land-Grant Universities and the Commission on Information Technologies of the National Association of State and Land-Grant Universities.