Faculty Role: A Choice of Styles.

Abstract

Most faculty receive copious amounts of information about the various generations and their characteristics - the Millennials, the Gen-Xers, etc. - and strategies to engage them. Although meeting the needs of learners and tailoring our strategies to be optimally effective with each group have merit, it is important to consider the roles we choose. It is inappropriate to assume that, as faculty, we will simply mold ourselves to the needs of various students. Rather, we need to consider our role and the interactions that best fit the situation.Potentially more significant than generation definitions is the fact that our speedy technology brings new demands, challenges, and opportunities for the faculty role. With vast social media networks and direct email contact, it is easy to understand how students fall into interactions where they treat faculty like their best buddies. I still gasp when I receive an email addressed, Hi Dean, as if dean were my first name and not my title. We select the role style, not the students.In the mid-1900s, universities and colleges often emphasized their roles as in loco parentis, in the place of parents. Here the action is to guide and direct the next phase of a learner's development. As a community, we continue teaching learners about making good choices. The university's code of conduct sets standards and assigns consequences for unacceptable behaviors such as cheating and binge drinking. Taking the parental role to guide is part of what faculty do, as we construct curricula and courses to build the intellect. We use a parental approach often to nurture the formation of young professionals, particularly in strengthening their caring hearts as respect for all persons. We shape concepts of professional conduct as personal integrity and responsibility in the professional life. In loco parentis is part of faculty life.Faculty sage (whetheron the stage or off)is another rolechoice. In this mode, faculty knowledge is revered, and faculty members are approached with deference. In many ways, the sage guides all interactions, because ultimately the sage knows the best choice. In nursing, those who bring true practice situations into dialogues often are the most revered, because they demonstrate real-world knowledge and answers. There are distinct advantages to this role, when well executed, in that learners are captivated by the scenarios and may grasp important concepts that would have escaped them without the real-world illustration.Leamnson (1999) speaks of another role, the adult friend, someone who approves of [students] as learners and persons (p. …