Until about forty years ago, most academics worldwide received no organised preparation for their teaching role. But in the 1970s universities in many Western nations started to off er programmes that would help improve teaching, either for new or potential faculty members, or for those in mid-career. Although almost all Western-infl uenced universities now provide some type of teaching-related development for their staff , the targets and approaches vary considerably from one country to another. Many academics, especially in North America, lack any preparation or training in teaching methods. Furthermore, there is little empirical evidence for the eff ects for such training on teacher eff ectiveness or student learning.