Personal Essays on the Scholarship of Teaching

Introduction

Since opening its doors a decade ago, the Teaching Resource Center has collected well over four hundred reflective statements written by faculty and graduate teaching assistants. In the past year, we carefully read through each of the statements to select for publication a sampling of the many engaging and provocative essays. We have made an effort to represent the broad range of academic disciplines and personal backgrounds here at the University of Virginia. We are pleased that most of the teachers whom we contacted granted us permission to publish their statements.

At the Center, we are committed to the idea that the best teachers periodically reflect on why and how they teach. Over time, of course, it is likely that a person's ideas, feelings, and reflections about teaching will evolve. Accordingly, we have grouped the graduate student statements together in one section and the faculty statements together in another. We find it provocative to read in juxtaposition statements by people with different scholarly training, and so we have organized the statements alphabetically by author, rather than by discipline, within each section. If you are interested in reading by discipline, the entries are so listed in the index. For the individual entries we have listed the author's department or school and any teaching awards received. Unless otherwise indicated, the University or a subsidiary unit sponsored the awards.

We believe that by making public these personal reflections we will open up a discussion about why, from where, and to what end we all teach—whether inside or outside the classroom. We hope this collection will inspire you to think even more deeply and more creatively about the nature of teaching in general and the role teaching plays in your life and in the lives of those around you.

J. Jenry Morsman IV
Editor