Using courseware authoring to mentor faculty of the future

This paper discusses a novel method for recruiting faculty members-particularly female and minority faulty members-by introducing students to the duties and responsibilities of faculty members at an early stage of their undergraduate career. Students assisted faculty in preparation of electronic courseware in a ten-week long summer program as well as during the school year. Student participants were teamed with faculty mentors from their discipline. The courseware design was based on Kolb cycle principles for use in undergraduate courses. In addition to participating in their development teams, all students met weekly in a large group setting. In those meetings background material like Kolb cycle principles, were presented to the students, or they shared and critiqued their courseware design as well as discussing issues relating to life as a faculty member. Students were chosen for this project on the basis of an expressed interest in attending graduate school and in pursuing a career in academia. Nineteen students have participated in this program over a period of 4 years.