Fifty-Plus Years as a Student-Centered Teacher: An Interview with Wilbert J. McKeachie

Abstract

R. Eric Landrum is an Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Psychology at Boise State University in Boise, ID. His teaching and research interests focus on student performance and student success, examined in the context of student study time, retention and attrition, grade inflation, and student evaluations of teaching. Landrum is currently serving as the President of the Council of Teachers of Undergraduate Psychology.

Wilbert J. McKeachie is a Professor in the Department of Psychology and a Research Scientist at the Center for Research on Learning and Teaching at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. His long academic career is distinguished by 7 honorary degrees, 27 regional or national honors, membership in 14 professional societies, 32 books, 117 book chapters, 84 research or scholarly articles, and 105 other articles. Additionally, he is the composer of 6 musical compositions and has sung (with his wife) in the First Baptist Church Choir since 1948. During his fast-pitch Softball career (from 1933 to 1989), McKeachie pitched 35 no-hitters (in 1976 his pitching record was 22-0), with a winning pitching record of .750 and a lifetime batting average above .300. His book, Teaching Tips: Strategies, Research, and Theory for College and University Teachers is in its 10th edition and has become a cherished resource by new and seasoned academics alike.

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