Teaching Model as a Living Document

Many new civil engineering faculty members have little to no formal training on teaching. New faculty are often welcomed to their respective institution, introduced to other faculty members, shown their office, and left to figure out how to teach on their own. Several institutions have recognized this deficiency, and have taken some type of action to develop the teaching ability of their faculty members. Teaching models are one of the tools that have been used by some organizations to develop the teaching ability of their faculty members. The Department of Civil and Mechanical Engineering at the United States Military Academy at West Point prepares their new faculty to teach by administering an in-depth six week training program. The training program, which is centered on the department’s teaching model, effectively prepares teachers to actively engage students in the learning and development process. The current teaching model was established in the late 1990s, and has remained unchanged for over 15 years. This paper provides an overview of the current teaching model and describes recent initiatives that led to several recommended changes, thus treating the teaching model as a living document to ensure it remains relevant.