Pursuing Instructional Effectiveness in Higher Education

Book excerpt: The title of this book has two meanings. One meaning expresses a sense of relief that during the last several years post-secondary institutions have begun to pay serious attention to the enhancement of instruction on their campuses. There has been an emergence of new organisations, associations, conferences, seminars, and workshops; a proliferation of books, journals, and articles; an expansion of research and investigative inquiry; and a growth of interest among post-secondary faculty-members and administrators -- all of which are devoted to various aspects of the improvement of both teaching and learning at the undergraduate level. These initiatives have combined to furnish undeniable evidence attesting to the pursuit of better teaching and learning in higher education. Increasing numbers of post-secondary educators, students, and tax payers at large not only welcome wholeheartedly this new emphasis, and -- as suggested by the last clause in the title -- they feel it has been long overdue! A second interpretation of the title -- and the one which is a key theme of this book -- emphasises the substantive concept of the use and management of time (and timing) as an integral component of effective instruction. (From the Introduction).