Our Better Angels: A Neuro-Psychological Theory of Faculty Development

Abstract

At the dawning of the twenty-first century, The Courage to Teach was a tipping point that shifted our conceptualization of faculty development to consider the heart of the teacher, ‘the place where intellect and emotion and spirit and will converge in the human self’ (Palmer, 1998, p. 11). So inspired, a study was designed to inquire into the lived reality of teachers to better understand how teachers experience and make meaning of the phenomenon of teaching (Natoli, 2000, 2006). The objective of the Self as Teacher Study was to interview and observe those who teach to capture how they come to know their subjects and their students with attention to the selfhood of the teacher. Analysis of narratives collected through autobiographical interviews with K-12 instructors and university professors from Boston to Barcelona to Brazil evidenced astounding epistemological patterns – distinctions between teacher ways of knowing and being – which provided insights into the construction of teacher identity and integrity (integritas or wholeness). Ultimately, human virtues are represented in the embodied mind as higher-order cognitions and emotions and manifested as actions through qualitatively different self-states, our better angels. Consequently, faculty development is about human development, expanding consciousness, enhancing capacities for relationship, shifting awareness to integrate new perceptions, and incorporating previously isolated mentalizations. The Model for In-depth Faculty Development is introduced as a grounded theory framework highlighting teacher characteristics and potentials for personal and professional growth through a shared community culture while the POISE® Curriculum offers a system for implementation.

Citation

Natoli, D.J. (2023), "Our Better Angels: A Neuro-Psychological Theory of Faculty Development", Kumar, P., Culham, T.E., Major, R.J. and Peregoy, R. (Ed.) Honing Self-Awareness of Faculty and Future Business Leaders: Emotions Connected with Teaching and Learning, Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 179-196. https://doi.org/10.1108/978-1-80262-349-920231011