Miami University's Alumni Teaching Scholars Program: A Model Of A Teaching Enhancement Program

As new full time engineering faculty we desire to use the best techniques in the classroom, to incorporate the experiences of seasoned instructors, and to be aware of the current state of the art in education. To do this without some sort of guidance or support is difficult. Luckily there are institutions that have programs that address this issue. These programs range from casual seminars on good teaching to formal effective teaching programs. One formal program is the Alumni Teaching Scholars program at Miami University. This program draws from a university-wide pool of tenure-track professors and introduces participants to the scholarship of teaching. This paper describes the program in general, and the experiences of the authors as participants in the program. A description of Miami University is given to provide the background for understanding the implementation of the program. A brief history of the program is discussed, then the elements of the program are presented.