Considering Evaluation
What is it about teaching that can be evaluated?
Teaching evaluation has as its central element the assessment of the quality of classroom instruction. Since teaching includes activities broader than classroom instruction, evaluation of teaching must assess more than classroom performance. While departments and schools may identify additional items, among the teaching activities that may be assessed are the following:
1. quality, amount, and level of classroom instruction
(including shared instruction)
2. development of curricula, new courses, and classroom
materials;
3. supervision and mentoring of graduate students, including
chairing of dissertations;
4. service on graduate examination and dissertation committees;
5. one-on-one consultation with students, including supervision
of independent study and readings courses;
6. supervision of teaching assistants in undergraduate courses;
7. conduct and supervision of laboratory instruction;
8. supervision of undergraduate and graduate research;
9. advising students in the major;
10. supervision of field work; and
11. supervision of clinical and practicum experiences.
There are a number of domains of teaching and teachers that can be evaluated.
What is good teaching?
Good teaching is characterised by:
| Teaching
competence and skills |
|
| Stimulation
and enthusiasm |
|
| Rapport
and fairness with students |
|
| Organisation and
preparation |
|
| Appropriate workload
|
|
| Assessment |
|
Who can Evaluate?
Different aspects of teaching are best evaluated by different stakeholders. Stakeholders can include:
Self Evaluation
One of the most neglected for of explicit evaluation is self-evaluation. Ideally and logically, this should proceed all other forms of evaluation. Self-evaluation can assist you to:
- improve the educational experiences you provide for your students
- identify the professional education you need to further develop your capacity to teach well
- prepare for your performance review with your supervisor
- assess you readiness to apply for promotion and tenure
Once you have worked out what you need to
know about your teaching you can then set about choosing
the most appropriate source of evaluation.
Student Evaluation of Teaching
Students are a very important and reliable source of information about how your teaching supports their learning achievement. Peers are a very good source of information about the design and coherence of your approach to teaching and the appropriateness of your intentions and interpretation of the outcomes.
Research shows that teachers and students
place different values on different dimensions of teaching.
Students place greater emphasis on:
- stimulation of interest and
- clarity and modulation of the teachers speech.
Teachers place more importance on:
- providing intellectual challenge,
- enabling independence of thought
- motivating students.
Both teachers and students value:
- a teacher's concern and respect for students
- the nature and value of the course material
- the quality and frequency of feedback to students
- a teacher's openness to the opinions of others
- a teacher's encouragement of questions and discussion
Students are usually the best source of information
about interactive classroom processes, the handling of assessment
and the interpersonal; dimensions of teaching. Flinders
University has a standard tool for student evaluation of
teaching called the Student Evaluation of Teaching (SET)
from Adelaide University. The materials to conduct evaluation
of this are available from your Faculty office. You can
also visit the Flinders Student
Evaluation of Teaching site.
Peer Evaluation of Teaching
Peers are a useful source of information about the quality of your planning and preparation for teaching and your capacity to critically review and improve and enhance your teaching. Seeking and providing constructive critical peer feedback about teaching should regarded as a fundamental aspect of the academic role. Peers are a valuable source formative feedback on whether you seem to be achieving your intentions in lectures and through the design of assessment tasks.
As a rule peer evaluations are poorly used. They are all too frequently based on a request to "come and observe me teach". This could mean anything and what results is often poorly focused and only dealing with surface aspects of university teaching.
If you invite peers and supervisors to evaluate your teaching it is important that they appreciate which aspect of your teaching you are seeking feedback and constructive advice. If they are going to observe your teaching, meet with them ahead of the class and give them materials so that they can appreciate you educational intentions. Let them know the kinds of feedback you want and if you are experimenting with different methods or strategies.
For further detail regarding peer evaluations,
visit the PEER REVIEW web page.
Supervisor Evaluation of Teaching.
If you are planning to apply for tenure or
promotion you will need to have your supervisor evaluate
your teaching. This also occurs as part of your annual performance
review. The quality of this review of your teaching is as
dependent on your preparation for it as it is on the capacity
of your supervisor to engage with the review. You need to
have thought about the kind of evidence you need to demonstrate
your teaching competence, your interpretation of the evidence
and the kinds of actions and resources you require in the
future to be continually developing your teaching.
Expert Evaluation of Teaching
From time to time academics need to seek feedback form experts in their disciplinary, professional or vocational field to ascertain that their content is appropriate in both scope and depth and that the skills they teach are germane to the contemporary demands of their field.
Methods of Gathering Data
- Surveys
- Questionnaires
- Focus Groups
- Observation and feedback
- Personal
- Video
- Student learning outcomes