Approaches to college faculty peer coaching and peer review are described, including team mentoring, reciprocal class visits, teaching circles, departmental teaching libraries, teaching portfolios, course portfolios, pedagogical colloquia, and departmental reviews. Methods can be adapted, combined for different goals, contexts. All rest on faculty…

Issues emerging in the use of active learning techniques at the college level are summarized, including faculty's risk of colleagues' disapproval, risk of student disapproval, creation of a positive classroom environment, inclusiveness and equitable participation, course and student evaluation, and use of electronic tools for instructional…

Describes a system of undergraduate and graduate instructional evaluation that integrates student and peer evaluation techniques. The procedure has three steps: preliminary meeting between faculty member and peer facilitator; in-class assessment session in which the facilitator engages students in focused discussion of teaching, in the teacher's…

Discusses the results of a national study of 930 (response rate 71%) community colleges' evaluation methods for faculty who have achieved tenure or who have long-term status. Identifies current practices and perceptions regarding post-tenure faculty reviews in community colleges. Asserts that faculty evaluation practices need to be changed if they…

Describing the various forms evaluation can take, this book delineates problems in evaluating writing faculty and sets the stage for reconsidering the entire process to produce a fair, equitable, and appropriate system. The book discusses evaluation through real-life examples: evaluation of writing faculty by literature faculty, student…

Evaluation alone will probably not improve teaching, but, when it is accompanied by feedback, information about teaching and learning, and work with a knowledgeable consultant, evaluation may lead to improvement. An experienced consultant can foster trust, offer encouragement, and provide guided practice to help faculty improve their teaching…

The use of career ladders with planned career stages and a multiple-stage performance appraisal strategy is advocated. This could restructure the teaching profession to be more compatible with the individual teacher's need for growth, recognition, and advancement. (MSE)

The ultimate criterion of effective teaching is evidence of impact upon student learning. Three purposes of evaluations are identified: to help faculty improve, to make personnel decisions rewarding good teachers and getting rid of those who are not, and to help students choose courses more wisely. (MLW)

Describes a study of faculty evaluation procedures and practices in selected New York community colleges. Offers guidelines for minimizing negative consequences of adversary faculty-administrator relationships found in most faculty evaluation systems. Recommends a system based on 15 considerations (e.g., faculty involvement; publicized purposes;…

One university presently has an accord with the Department of Labor that helps greatly in satisfying confidentiality needs. However, each university is still forced to undergo litigation independently for treatment of its records. In the meantime, the peer review system may be eroding until underlying legal issues are settled. (MSE)

The text of the court order following litigation to release faculty peer review evaluations at the University of California Berkeley is presented. The order applies to all university campuses and covers the release, maintenance, and return of relevant university documents. (MSE)

Analyzes the process of making peer evaluations. Factors on which peer evaluation is based are extremely subjective and unconscious. Concludes that until peer rating systems are developed that are reliable and valid, their use should be strictly supplementary, or on an experimental basis. (Author)

Discusses problems with summative peer evaluation of college teaching, looking at conflicting interests and mixed metaphors of faculty evaluation that obscure its process and principles. Issues related to five kinds of evaluation (judging, critiquing, assessing, appraising, rating) are examined. Argues that peers can contribute to faculty…

In 1993, the University of North Carolina at Charlotte's governing board mandated peer evaluation for nontenured faculty. Participants in the American Association for Higher Education's peer review project feared the mandate would taint efforts to introduce faculty to collegial approaches to peer review. However, negative fallout from the mandate…

The formal evaluation process (FEP) is the primary tool provided by most two- and four-year colleges and universities to create more effective teachers. Yet, the FEP has little impact on teaching practice. The FEP serves merely to classify a teacher as a success or failure based on written records and rating scales from observations conducted…