A Utah State University study examined the relationship of grades awarded to students and student evaluations of the teacher but adding the variable of instructional level. In lower-division and upper-division undergraduate courses, correlations between grades and ratings were positive. In graduate courses, the grade-rating correlation was…

Describes a survey of faculty members at the University of Witwatersrand (South Africa) which investigated the extent of support for use of teaching portfolios, in addition to student evaluations, as a method for evaluating faculty for promotion, and based on responses, development of a profile of portfolio content and procedures for its review.…

The contemporary academic labor market is examined using concepts from labor market economics and sociology to elucidate why teaching, universally acknowledged to be at the center of American academic life, is not at the center of the academic labor market and is only modestly rewarded. First, tenets of the neoclassical labor market model are…

Ramapo College of New Jersey has implemented a program review with self-reflective pedagogy as a critical component. The review is a self-study that encourages faculty to use peer observation to evaluate and improve their pedagogy. The review encourages all faculty regardless of rank to serve as both observers and the observed in a series of…

This paper addresses difficult issues in evaluation of college faculty for scholarship, teaching, and service particularly noting areas that trouble faculty themselves. A section on evaluation of teaching notes long standing debate and disagreement. This section then lists many of the central questions around evaluation of teaching and notes that…

Approaches to faculty evaluation to assist departmental chairs who have no formal background in personnel administration are discussed. Stages in the development and maintenance of performance appraisals for instructors are considered, including a written position guide, a performance planning conference, a performance appraisal procedure, a…

Elements of good teaching and ways to master effective teaching techniques are examined, drawing on direct observation, the literature, and student accounts of outstanding professors. A model of effective college teaching that includes nine styles of classroom instruction is proposed. The dramatic and interpersonal aspects of teaching and the…

The University of Illinois' project on the elevation of the importance of teaching consisted of two programs: one to try to better systematize information about teaching effectiveness, and one to develop and validate a peer evaluation questionnaire to secure interpretable information. It is believed that the importance of teaching effectiveness…

The three-year Miami University (Ohio) project to develop teaching portfolios is described. The department-based approach acknowledges that departments and disciplines have different cultures, and that departments are where rewards are determined. Issues in portfolio development and use, including benefits and problems, are discussed and…

An alternative method for college faculty to develop teaching portfolios is outlined, with the objective of minimizing professional risk. It is recommended that faculty work on course portfolios privately rather than in an organizational project, and that teaching philosophy be written last, not first. A two-year curriculum for developing a…

The evolution of the recent discussion of quality assessment and evaluation of teaching in German higher education is chronicled. Concern began in the 1980s over the length of time to degree and has shifted to interest in improvement of teaching quality and overall system effectiveness. (Author/MSE)

Examines trends in use of teaching portfolios for college-faculty evaluation and development in Australia and the United States, offering a framework for portfolio use to address the diverse purposes, products, and processes of evaluation and the need for both formative and summative evaluation methods. The framework enables portfolio use to be…

A study was done to discover whether a program to change the reward structure for teaching at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, a research-oriented university, had had an impact on faculty members' perceptions of the importance of teaching. Questionnaires were administered to 220 faculty in 12 departments in a pre-test and to 166 faculty in 10…

Results of a review of approximately 60 studies relevant to improving college teaching are considered, and a proposal for a study is presented. The interventions can be classified into four categories: workshops and seminars, grants for faculty projects, feedback from ratings by students, microteaching and minicourses, and protocol materials. It…

Main features of the cyclical procedure used by the University of Geneva (Switzerland) to evaluate 75 teaching and research units (TRUs) over a 6-year cycle are that it covers teaching, research, and services simultaneously and combines self-evaluation, peer assessment, and use of a database on TRU resources and achievements. (Author/MSE)