Grading, evaluation procedures, numbers of tests, even the issue of whether to have textbooks is entirely up to the faculty member, and if a rationale supports these decisions, the college would not interfere. An added protection is the granting of tenure to established professors who have documented significant teaching histories and excellent student reviews, publications, campus committee work, and outreach to the community. The granting of tenure to established professors gains them an additional degree of job security and further supports their expression of academic freedom. All of these conditions make the classroom environment and the relations of faculty and students very different than earlier experiences in public school. Although the tenure system is under increased scrutiny, and there are movements to initiate measures to determine faculty productivity, these are in their infant stages of development.
In spite of these seeming freedoms, it is important to note here that the standards of accountability still apply, and some are not very different from that of the high school teacher who must meet state educational standards. If you are teaching a basic college course in algebra, it will be very apparent to your colleagues in your department if you are not covering the material adequately. When they receive your students in upper level classes, they will expect you to have covered certain material. So while college teaching brings much freedom of choice in methods and pedagogy, it in no way frees you of accountability for accomplishing your teaching task.
The actual teaching day in a college or university setting involves fewer class hours taught per day and per week than a high school setting. At an institution that focuses on faculty research, the teacher would be responsible for teaching two to three courses that each meet approximately two hours per week. Colleges that emphasize teaching rather than research require instructors to teach three to four courses for a total of eight to twelve hours of class meetings per week. These class hours and some mandated office hours for advising class students and general advisees are the principle requirements for attendance on the faculty members' part.
In addition to courses and advising, scholarly research is an expectation even of those colleges for whom tenure is not based on publication. All colleges want their faculty to contribute to the scholarly dialogue in their discipline, and this is reviewed by chairs of departments and academic deans periodically throughout the instructor's career. It may be a determining element in granting tenure or promotion. It may also influence issues such as salary negotiations and merit increases.
Committee work is also important as the faculty at most colleges are the governing and rule making bodies who determine and vote on governance and program changes. Committee work can be issue oriented, such as a commission on the status of women or a faculty pay equity survey; it maybe programmatic, such as a committee to study the core curriculum for under graduates or to devise a new graphic arts major; or it may be related to credentials as in a committee set up to prepare materials for an accreditation visit.
Some committees, such as academic standards, curriculum review, promotion and tenure, planning, and administrator review committees are permanent, though the members may change on a rotating basis. Other groups are formed for a limited time or until completion of some task. These committees are essential, and are one vehicle for guiding the direction of the college. Having the support of the entire faculty and constantly fresh and interested members' helps to ensure all voices are heard and many different opinions considered in making what are often long reaching decisions.
Training Bachelor's Degree
To teach math at the secondary level requires a Bachelor of Science degree in mathematics education at the secondary level and state certification for the state in which you wish to teach. These programs are well defined options within the education curriculum of many teacher training colleges and universities. They include student teaching, where you have the opportunity to leave campus and teach actual math classes under a supervising teacher for (usually) a semester. Certification for the state granting the degree is usually part of the degree process and may include the requirement to participate by taking some kind of national examination. You will hear of the National Teacher Examination (NTE) frequently. NTE, however, has become a generalized term that often refers, not just to the original NTE (a specific exam), but to other national professional assessment instruments such as the Praxis series.
If you are applying for certification in Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Hawaii, Minnesota, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, West Virginia, or Wisconsin, consult the state Department of Education for information about the test(s) needed in that state. In states requiring testing, test preparation is usually now well incorporated into the curriculum.
