Faculty Profile: Mitch Eisner
Mitch Eisner is a finalist in the 2021 UNC Charlotte Award for Teaching Excellence competition. He demonstrates care and interest toward all of his students and creates an inviting classroom community where students are actively engaged and where the material is made relevant as well as challenging through a balance of cooperative teaming, independent learning and individual accountability.
Eisner said: “The most important element of my teaching philosophy is to be student centered. I believe it is essential to tailor my approach to the specific learning needs of each university student who I teach. In order to get to know my students as individuals and to appropriately support and challenge them academically, we have morning meetings, discussion boards, and use Padlets. I regularly stress my commitment to continual improvement and encourage students to provide me with feedback.”
Eisner, who was named Professor of the Year for 2018 by the Student Government Association, is well regarded by his students and readily makes himself available to his students.
Former student Chloe Gentry said: “Dr. Eisner is an extremely attentive and helpful professor. He gives guidance and feedback for us during class that are helpful for our understanding. He is always willing to go the extra mile outside of class to assist us in whatever we need by providing us advice and guidance.”
Eisner is well-known for informally mentoring a large number of students as they exit the program and begin to search for teaching positions. He provides resume feedback and mock interviews with dozens of graduating students each semester.
The trust and respect that he builds in the classroom extends beyond his teaching duties for the university as alumni and first-year teachers invite him to their classrooms and seek his suggestions for improving practices. Area schools, principals and practicing teachers also routinely seek his expertise with consultation around curricular materials, observing in classrooms, and providing teachers and principals with various forms of professional development and feedback.
Department Chair Michael Putman said: “Dr. Eisner readily conveys to students that he is an instructor who genuinely cares about their success. Students regularly describe Dr. Eisner’s availability and willingness to go above and beyond his normal responsibilities to ensure they are successful.”
Eisner furthers this commitment to the teaching profession. He helped lead an immersive yearlong partnership with Kannapolis City Schools, which resulted in a large percentage of the participating candidates hired as teachers in Kannapolis City Schools. Eisner played a major role in this success, working directly with clinical educators in the district and developing the observation instrument. He and his colleagues were recognized with a national award by the National Association for Professional Development of Schools for their three-year partnership with Kannapolis City Schools that included professional development for teachers and administrators, classroom observation and support to enhance the learning environment. Eisner shared these experiences at national conferences to support other educators as they seek to develop bonds between universities and K-12 schools.
The UNC Charlotte Award for Teaching Excellence is open to full- or part-time non-tenure track faculty members who have at least five years of teaching service at UNC Charlotte (lecturers and adjunct faculty).