Professors ’ Conceptualizations of Care 1 Running Head: PROFESSORS ’ CONCEPTUALIZATIONS OF CARE Exemplary Teaching Professors ’ Conceptualizations of Care

“The teaching methods one uses may be less important than aspects of teaching that cut across methods. The degree to which students feel we know them as individuals and care about their learning, the extent to which they know us as individuals (not simply as experts or authorities), the openness we have to questions and opposing points of view, our willingness to risk change in ourselves—these have much to do with the students ’ willingness to open their values to examination and change. ” (Wilbert J. McKeachie, 2002, pp. 302-303). Twenty-six exemplary teaching professors ’ wisdom of practice were studied through a theoretical framework of care in higher education to explore and understand what constituted professors ’ conceptualizations of care. Professors participated in a two-hour focus group interview and one-hour face-to-face interviews. Professors were asked to describe themselves as a teacher, what made them different from non-exemplary teaching professors, what motivated them to teach, their greatest joys, and the best thing about teaching. Evidence from professors’ concept maps of teaching and learning, focus group interviews, and face-to-face interviews were analyzed. The exemplary teaching professors, explicitly and implicitly, expressed that they cared about teaching and learning. The professors ’ conceptualizations of pedagogical care emerged into two groups: (a) caring for student learning, and (b) caring for student development. Three conceptual themes emerged out of two groups of professors regarding the professors ’ roles of creating a context for learning, roles of teaching knowledge, and motives and satisfiers as teachers. Professors ’ Conceptualizations of Care