Improving teaching

Too much information thrown at teachers, all of it flagged as top priority. So they filter out as much as possible and focus only on what they have to. So while classrooms have become wired and computers and peripherals have been plopped on campuses, few teachers have bothered (or been able to find the time) to really start to figure out how to teach with (or through) these new resources. And even when a teacher does try something new, the road is littered with obstacles -- hardware crashes, bad software, limited access to hardware and software, skill gaps among students (and on the part of the teacher!) and so on.

So how to break through the filter and trigger teachers' experimentation? Application? Innovation? -Or, dare we hope, sharing?

I'd say start small, and keep it flexible. Link it to a prof devel plan -- require one documented new teaching technique every year, and one documented follow-up on a previous teaching technique. Focus on the classroom application and the rest (e.g., administrative competency) will follow. Or so I hope.