Documenting and Evaluating Teaching: Evaluating Teaching Effectiveness

Teaching can be evaluated for the improvement of practice (formative evaluation) and for personnel decisions such as promotion and tenure (summative evaluation). The links below offer research, guidelines, and practical suggestions for using multiple data sources to assess teaching effectiveness for both purposes.

What is Effective Teaching? What Can Be Evaluated
Approaches to Evaluating Teaching
Student Ratings of Teaching
Peer Review of Teaching
Teaching Portfolios
Self-Evaluation
Institutional Handbooks on Evaluating Teaching

Considering Evaluation: What Can Be Evaluated:
Link: http://www.flinders.edu.au/teach/t4l/evaluate/considering.php

Approaches to Evaluating Teaching:
“Improving the Evaluation of College Teaching,” L. Dee Fink (University of Oklahoma, Instructional Development Program).
This article makes recommendations for a faculty teaching evaluation system that recognizes the complexity of teaching and provides for multiple sources of data-collection.
Link: http://www.ou.edu/pii/tips/ideas/evaluation.htm

“Defining and Evaluating College Teaching,” William E. Cashin, Kansas State University. (IDEA Paper #21, September 1989). Adobe Acrobat/PDF.
Reviews the various kinds of data used to evaluate college teaching, presents an expanded definition of college teaching based on seven areas of teaching responsibility, and suggests that multiple sources of data be used to evaluate college teaching.
Link: http://www.idea.ksu.edu/papers/Idea_Paper_21.pdf

“Appraising Teaching Effectiveness: Beyond Student Ratings,” Donald P. Hoyt and William H. Pallett. (IDEA Paper #36, November 1999). Adobe Acrobat/PDF.
Discusses the value, limitations, and problems of several methods used to gather data about teaching effectiveness. Makes recommendations for their use based on faculty status as first-year, non-tenured, or tenured faculty.
Link: http://www.idea.ksu.edu/papers/Idea_Paper_36.pdf
The following appendices to Paper #36 provide instruments for assessing teaching:
Link: http://www.idea.ksu.edu/papers/ideapaper36_appendixA.pdf
Link: http://www.idea.ksu.edu/papers/ideapaper36_appendixB.pdf
Link: http://www.idea.ksu.edu/papers/ideapaper36_appendixC.pdf
Link: http://www.idea.ksu.edu/papers/ideapaper36_appendixD.pdf

Guidelines for Evaluating Teaching (University of Michigan, Center for Research on Learning and Teaching).
A list of principles and data sources from students, colleagues, and self-reflection.
Link: http://www.crlt.umich.edu/tstrategies/guidelines.html

Student Ratings of Teaching:
“Student Ratings of Teaching: A Summary of the Research,” William E. Cashin, Kansas State University. (IDEA Paper #20, September 1988). Adobe Acrobat/PDF.
Summarizes what research shows about the reliability, validity, and possible bias of student evaluations of teaching. Concludes that student ratings can be useful when used in combination with other sources of data.
Link: http://www.idea.ksu.edu/papers/Idea_Paper_20.pdf

“Student Ratings of Teaching: The Research Revisited,” William E. Cashin, Kansas State University (IDEA Paper #32, September 1995). Adobe Acrobat/PDF.
An update of IDEA Paper #20 (listed above), this paper summarizes the results of research on student ratings from 1971 to 1995. Concludes once again that student ratings tend to be useful but should only be used as one source of data among multiple sources.
Link: http://www.idea.ksu.edu/papers/Idea_Paper_32.pdf

“Student Ratings of Teaching: Recommendations for Use,” William E. Cashin, Kansas State University. (IDEA Paper #22, January 1990). Adobe Acrobat/PDF.
This paper makes 34 recommendations for the effective and appropriate use of student ratings of teaching.
Link: http://www.idea.ksu.edu/papers/Idea_Paper_22.pdf

“Questions Frequently Asked About Student Ratings Forms: Summary of Research Findings,” Matthew Kaplan, Lisa A. Mets, Constance E. Cook. (University of Michigan, Center for Research on Learning and Teaching).
FAQs and answers based on research into student evaluations of teaching. Has extensive bibliography.
Link: http://www.crlt.umich.edu/tstrategies/studentratingfaq.html

“Dealing with Hurtful Student Comments,” Nancy Givens, Editor (Western Kentucky University, Faculty Center for Excellence in Teaching).
Contains much good advice from faculty who’ve “been there.”
Link: http://www.wku.edu/teaching/booklets/DealingwithHurtfulStudentComments.pdf

Peer Review of Teaching:
Peer Review of Teaching (University of Minnesota, Center for Teaching and Learning Services).
Guidelines, instruments, and other resources for helping departments establish or improve a peer review process. Includes materials for instructors who are being reviewed or acting as a reviewer and links to other sites with information on peer review of teaching.
Link: http://www1.umn.edu/ohr/teachlearn/resources/peer/index.html

Peer Review of Teaching (North Carolina State University)
Guidelines for formative and summative peer evaluation of teaching, including procedures for classroom observations and a summary of best practices.
Link: http://www.ncsu.edu/provost/peer_review/intro.html

“Preparing for Peer Observation: A Guidebook” (University of Texas at Austin, The Center for Teaching Effectiveness).
Comprehensive guidelines for all aspects of peer observation from its rationale to specific methods and recommendations for departmental and institutional use. Includes materials and worksheets for use in the peer review process.
Link: http://www.utexas.edu/academic/cte/PeerObserve.html

Teaching Portfolios:
“The Teaching Portfolio,” Matthew Kaplan (Occasional Paper #11, 1998, University of Michigan, Center for Research on Learning and Teaching). Adobe Acrobat/PDF.
Provides an overview of teaching portfolios, their description, purposes, evaluation, and use.
Link: http://www.crlt.umich.edu/publinks/occasional.html

“Promoting a Culture of Teaching: The Teaching Portfolio,” Speaking of Teaching, Stanford University Newsletter on Teaching, Spring 1996, Vol. 7, No. 3. Adobe Acrobat/PDF.
More useful information on the creation and use of a teaching portfolio.
Link: http://ctl.stanford.edu/Newsletter/teaching_portfolio.pdf

Developing a Teaching Portfolio (Ohio State University, Faculty and TA Development).
Practical guide to developing a teaching portfolio.
Link: http://ftad.osu.edu/portfolio/

“How to Produce A Teaching Portfolio”
Excerpts from Peter Seldin’s The Teaching Portfolio: A Practical Guide to Improved Performance and Promotion/Tenure Decisions, 2nd edition, Anker, 1997.
Rationale for developing a teaching portfolio, items to include, and examples of the Table of Contents for two faculty members.
Link: http://www.city.londonmet.ac.uk/deliberations/portfolios/ICED_workshop/seldin_book.html

Self-Evaluation:
“Evaluating Your Own Teaching,” L. Dee Fink. From Improving College Teaching by Peter Seldin (ed.), Anker, 1995, Ch. 16, pp. 191-204. (University of Oklahoma, Instructional Development Program).
This chapter urges faculty members to develop a comprehensive plan for evaluating their own teaching for continuous improvement. Describes 5 techniques for collecting self-evaluation data.
Link: http://www.ou.edu/idp/tips/ideas/yourown.htm

“Using Student Evaluations to Improve Teaching,” Speaking of Teaching, Stanford University’s Newsletter on Teaching, Fall 1997, vol. 9, No. 1.
Specific and detailed suggestions for analyzing student ratings and comments, and using them to improve teaching in particular areas.
Link: http://ctl.stanford.edu/Newsletter/student_evaluations.pdf

Institutional Handbooks on Evaluating Teaching:
The two institutionally produced evaluation handbooks described below are intended to encourage consistency in evaluating teaching throughout the university. Each one provides guidelines and resources for faculty as well as department chairs, deans, and other administrators.

University of North Dakota, Office of Instructional Development, Resources for Teaching Evaluation.
This well-organized online handbook is based on sound principles and provides resources for individual faculty members and departments on multiple aspects of teaching evaluation.
Link: http://www.und.edu/dept/oid/evaluation.htm

Cornell University Teaching Evaluation Handbook.
A comprehensive five-chapter online handbook designed to assist faculty, tenure committees, and administrators in pursuing a fair, rigorous, and thorough faculty evaluation process.
Link: http://www.clt.cornell.edu/resources/teh/intro.html