• Introduction
• Articulating Goals
• Faculty as Learners
• Sharing Authority: The Models
• A Richer Classroom
• Authority and Trust
• Growth and Community
• Printable Text of Article

Kim Eby Teachers share authority in different ways. There's one model that says, "Well, I'm in charge of this, and you're in charge of that," and the teaching sticks within the framework of disciplinary perspective, or some other form of expertise that each person brings to the classroom. That's not very challenging to the students. Another model thinks about perspective, and suggests that there are ways, beyond the disciplinary difference or the status difference between junior and senior faculty, that a teaching team might develop. I think you are going to be able to challenge students more if you can say that you have different perspectives on issues. Or to say, "I disagree." Or, "I see this issue a little differently…" Or, "My interpretation might be.."

Ashley Williams Part of the way we do that, I believe, is to call attention to the discourse itself, to the nature of the conversation we're involved in, and to epistemological issues. This involves helping students learn about epistemological issues. You help students learn from the very beginning that you see, understand and value the different perspectives, and that you understand and see the difference in ways of knowing and understanding. Then you really achieve important epistemological conditions for learning.

Elizabeth Gunn I think there are two other issues, too. The first is classroom behavior. I think we need to excel at this, and understand the ways we act. Students are very good at scoping out each of us. They want to know who is the 'lenient' person; they want to take advantage of that.  They would like to do that intellectually as well. For example, if you are working with a biologist, and the class is studying something about genetics, the students will turn to the biologist because they see him or her as the authority. They're confused if you start talking about genetics, and they resist this. They're saying, "Why are you doing this?" Students want to keep the faculty sorted by discipline. 

It's really challenging to students if you are showing them that you need to integrate. If you're asking them to integrate, and see connections, you have to model it. So it's important to stay in those disciplinary boxes to challenge them -- to use that disciplinary cover -- but also to be careful to mix those, because how else can students gain the confidence to integrate, and also achieve that level of understanding, so that they too can speak with authority about biology?

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