Based on the assumption that student learning is the strongest criterion for evaluating effective teaching, three practices that create partnerships between college students, teachers, and faculty peers in understanding quality in teaching and learning are described. The techniques use creation and evaluation of student and faculty course…

Degree of profile similarity across specific evaluations was determined for studies comparing teachers' self-ratings with current student ratings, as were the relative and absolute similarity (or dissimilarity) for certain of the specific instructional dimensions. Implications were explored in terms of individual and subgroup differences.…

This study investigated the relative importance of 9 instructional factors (amount learned, exam fairness, enthusiasm, individual rapport, organization, assignments, group interaction, breadth of materials, course difficulty) in 229 college students' global evaluations of faculty effectiveness in 3 disciplines (accounting, education, geology).…

Analysis of 73 University of Florida faculty portfolios, prepared as part of an instructional improvement program, revealed great variability in quantity, quality, and coherence of evidence presented to support claims of excellence in teaching. Seven guidelines for portfolio preparation, appropriate for different colleges and teaching assignments,…

A Tel Aviv University (Israel) study applied qualitative methods to evaluate a model for improvement of university teaching. A departmental instruction specialist treats instructional quality issues comprehensively within a department. Two years of implementation in the physics department have resulted in increased instructional quality, faculty…

Norms of undergraduate teaching behavior were examined in a survey of 302 biology, history, mathematics, and psychology faculty in 2 institution types, research universities and comprehensive colleges. The study investigated the perceived impropriety of specific planning, in-class, interpersonal, curricular, and testing practices. The survey…

Syracuse University (New York) is working to change the publish-or-perish ethos in higher education through better organized courses, more vigorous teaching evaluation policies, and merit raises and grants for strong teachers. More ambitious changes may follow. The modest plan has become the most comprehensive such effort to date. (MSE)

This study sought to identify major factors of teaching evaluation as related to professors' overall teaching effectiveness. Undergraduate and graduate students at a university in the southeastern United States were asked to rate 126 business faculty through anonymous course evaluations. Students rated faculty on 12 specific items related to…

This digest, based on a full report of the same title, provides an examination of the improvement of college teaching and argues for the central involvement of faculty themselves in collaborative peer review and looks at some central issues and challenges to implementation. Since summative evaluation involved in tenure and promotion decisions…

College faculty are unlike other teachers in that they are not trained to teach and have little supervision. Effectiveness of language instruction is more difficult than most to evaluate. Contemporary models of supervision tend to emphasize training, not evaluation, even for teaching assistants. Some see teaching as an art, not susceptible to…

This book provides higher education faculty practical suggestions for efficient and effective teaching and assessment of students and evaluation of teaching quality. Chapter 1 is an introduction to the book and its format. The format follows a schema developed to show the general process of planning and teaching a course which should be first…

A study was conducted to examine the relationship between community college faculty's perceptions of the frequency of evaluation activities and their perceptions of their own effectiveness and effort in classroom teaching, curriculum development, professional development, college service, student advising, and maintenance activities. A…

A national study of liberal arts academic officers and institutional support of excellence in liberal arts teaching and research was conducted in 1984. Usable questionnaire responses were received from 371 of 738 chief liberal arts academic officers, representing church-related colleges, private colleges, and state colleges. The officers had…

A bibliography of materials authored, coauthored, or edited by Paul L. Dressel on programs and principles in the evaluation of higher education is presented. Entries are from 1939 through 1980. Topics include the following: curriculum development, external and nontraditional graduate programs, professional development for institutional…

The University of Notre Dame developed the Teaching Activity Report in an effort to present professors with meaningful summaries of their individual instructional efforts each semester. Geared to meet the needs of the individual instructors and their superiors, the Teaching Activity Report synthesizes all facets of the individual's instructional…