INTRODUCTION::FRAMING

1. Why psychological obstacles (rather than knowledge) may be a major impediment to faculty development, and
a class of potential solutions [Hearts and Minds, and Magic Feathers]
2. How the way our minds work impacts faculty development [A Species of Very Little Mental Bandwidth]
15. No matter how much ‘they’ seem like ‘us’, ‘they’ aren’t; design academic assessment and faculty development programs and communications in anticipation of this reality [The Dancing Fool Meets John Malkovich]
9. Faculty and ‘the administration’ have different views of reality, which challenge faculty development
[The Matrix as a Metaphor for Academic Institutions]
12.Decannomics poster (from AAMC-GFA Professional Development Conference)

3.5 Devices that help us keep commitments [A
Bestiary of Commitment Devices]
4. Why we are averse to feedback and what to
do about it [Difficult Conversations]
5. In faculty development, if it’s too good to be
true it probably is. Confusion is normal and even
a sign of appropriate goals. [Stories We Tell
Ourselves]
7. Fear of interaction with others impedes faculty
development. It can be countered. [The Only
Thing We Have To Fear]
11. In faculty career development, choice itself is
a challenge that behavioral tactics can help
meet. [Might what suits Barack Obama suit
faculty development?]
13. ‘Yes, And…’, an element of improvisational
comedy, is an effective alternative to negative
feedback in academia [Yes, And…]
14. Judicious application of forcing functions can
yield faculty development [Almost The End of
Civilization As We Know It]
15. No matter how much ‘they’ seem like ‘us’,
‘they’ aren’t; design academic assessment and
faculty development programs and
communications in anticipation of this reality [The
Dancing Fool Meets John Malkovich]

Mentorship

3. Why it’s easy to commit to faculty
development activities, and difficult to follow
through on these commitments [Happy New
Year!]

Communications

DEVELOPMENT  STRATEGIES

FACULTY  ASSESSMENT
19. People assess academic work and make the
decisions, and the assessments and decisions
are not private. Not private means that the
assessments and decisions can or will be shared
with other people. [Know Your Enemy]
15. No matter how much ‘they’ seem like ‘us’,
‘they’ aren’t; design academic assessment and
faculty development programs and
communications in anticipation of this reality [The
Dancing Fool Meets John Malkovich]
16. An enlightened attitude towards scholarship
does no good unless the gatekeepers of
publication, funding, and academic appointment
and promotion buy in to it [Curve Ball].
17. Our normal behavior can interfere with highquality peer review. Devise countermeasures.
[Fishy behavior]
18. Cognitive biases can influence academic
peer review, more so when review is done in
groups. Even if this is rare, prudence dictates we
anticipate it and combat it. [The Jury Is Still Out]
20. To faculty seeking promotion: Use the power
of cognitive bias for good, not for evil [“Give ’em
the old razzle dazzle”]

MENTORSHIP
6. The single all-knowledgeable mentor is a fable
[Yoda is Dead!]

COMMUNICATIONS
10. Faculty development is only as successful as
faculty awareness of it and engagement with it;
no effective communication, no faculty
development [What we got here is… failure to
communicate]