Master Learner
The Master Learner concept and practice is intended to enhance undergraduate education by employing a faculty member as a student in a given class (usually in a discipline different from the faculty member's own) to model the methods of inquiry, study, and learning to show how a master does it. The master learner reads and does the assignments, participates in class to some degree, takes the quizzes, tests, and exams, writes the essays, and is graded by the teacher as any other student would be. Since the master learner is not an expert in the content of the class, the students come to see him or her as someone working daily with the same information they have, creating knowledge in the ways they themselves might, but achieving different results not by magical means or because the teacher favors him or her, but because the master learner has internalized means by which the process of learning well can be transferred from discipline to discipline. Results are sometimes shared with the students to demonstrate why, for example, the master learner's essay answer was an "A" while the student's was a "C."

Master learners are particularly helpful in showing students how to participate in class discussions, ask questions, challenge the teacher respectfully, write journals and essays, do assignments--in short, engage successfully in sustained intellectual inquiry as a member of a group. In addition, master learners model simple behavior that is essential to such an endeavor: attending class regularly, arriving on time, paying attention, keeping up with the reading, and participating actively. Participants in the program in whatever role (student, teacher, Master Learner) report that the experience dramatically improves their abilities to teach and learn.

Released time is available for William Paterson faculty to take part in the Master Learner Program. Interested faculty members should contact the Center for Teaching Exellence for further information and an off-print detailing the process. In preparation, they should also:

• find a willing colleague from a different discipline and discuss the potential of the program with him or her
• choose a course taught by that colleague to study along with the regular students
• apply to the Center for Teaching Exellence for released time for one course for the semester during which the target course is offered
• should the released time be granted, make the necessary arrangements to attend the course with all involved parties

The Master Learner, as part of the fulfillment of his or her obligations must:

1. Become a member of the target class, subject to all the requirements of the other students in the class

2. Keep a journal on each class session, briefly describing the events of the class, concentrating on the teaching/learning process and its improvement

3. Meet with the teacher of the target class frequently, at a minimum once a month, using the journal as the basis for discussion

4. Submit a written report at the end of the experience, detailing the experience and especially noting changes in the behavior of the students as a result of the presence and behavior of the Master Learner in the class

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. Please send questions, suggestions or comments to Sharmila Pixy Ferris, Director of
Center for Teaching Excellence .