This self-appraisal device lists more than 500 "affirmations of quality of teaching." It is intended to be used by teachers as a means to reflect on the areas of their work where they are already successful, and to work out an agenda for areas in which they wish to develop professional expertise. The checklist can also be used as a team…

This paper proposes a strategy for analyzing and improving a college professor's approach to teaching. The strategy uses volunteer observers and a simple checklist, the Teacher Observation Checklist, of positive teaching behaviors drawn from the literature. Since college professors' sensitivity to examination and evaluation is high, this strategy…

The Bonus Model of South Carolina's Teacher Incentive Program rewards eligible teachers for their individual efforts. The Campus/Individual model contains two separate components. Through the Campus Plan, eligible teachers are collectively rewarded in schools that attain the School Incentive Reward Program Achievement Gain Standard or higher…

Using data from previous comprehensive studies of incentive pay plans, this report draws conclusions about assessing and implementing various incentive pay plans. Following a brief history of incentive pay plans from 1908 to 1983, an analysis of accumulated research is provided that shows the reasons why incentive pay plans for teachers have…

Opinions and research findings differ on two fundamental aspects about a teacher's impact in the classroom: the amount students learn, and the process of instruction. Although consensus is lacking, faculty evaluations are widely used by administrators in such matters as promotions, tenure, and merit increases. Studies of college students'…

The philosophy, operations, and applications of the Eastern Washington University Department of Education Merit Pay System are described. The system is designed to: eliminate arbitrary assessments, reward desired behaviors, award merit pay to those achieving designated goals, individualize rewards, encourage cooperation, and simplify evaluative…

These three conference presentations on teacher evaluation cover gathering and using evaluation information. Robert D. Brown emphasizes the communication and trust necessary to maintaining a good working relationship during and after evaluations. Basic strategies of data gathering and reporting are covered, as well. Using a management information…

Research on teaching effectiveness is discussed, along with initiatives to improve the quality of teaching in business and management schools and colleges. Responses to a survey on teaching effectiveness are examined to identify perceptions of 427 undergraduate and graduate business students. In addition, results of a survey of 79 business and…

The views of 1,105 faculty members at seven diverse colleges and universities relating to pay-promotion criteria were surveyed. In addition, the parallel-perceptions inquiry enabled comparison of the views of 36 Harcum Junior College faculty and those of 1,069 faculty representing large, medium, and small colleges, both public and private.…

Seven typical faculty concerns about the appropriateness of using ratings of instructor and instruction are examined. These are summarized in terms of common observations frequently expressed by faculty: (1) Students cannot make consistent judgments because of their immaturity, lack of experience, and capriciousness; and a widely held belief is…

This document is the summary report of a study having as its main objectives: (1) an intensive study of organizational and group-structural factors influencing the research and teaching effectiveness of individual faculty members and their relations to the students; (2) research investigating the effect of academic area and technology on…

Faculty effectiveness as evaluated by students was the focal point of the first invitational conference sponsored by the Measurement and Research Center of Temple University. Papers presented cover: the rationale of student evaluation of faculty, the impact of student ratings on academia, the usefulness of student evaluations in improving college…

A wide variety of individual and contextual factors, within and outside institutional control, can affect faculty research performance. These collective factors, the research culture, include policies and practices affecting recruitment, workload, evaluation, collegial communication, leadership, and structure. (MSE)

A Tel Aviv University study determined the characteristics of good teaching, as defined by college students, and the difference in concept and definitions among students in various disciplines. The most commonly cited characteristics included teacher delivery, advising, contribution to student thinking, and scholarly attributes. (MSE)

A study to determine whether students are able to adequately discriminate differences in instructors' teaching and whether these evaluation differences are related to examination item characteristics is described. Results indicated students were able to discriminate among various instructors as well as between basic science and clinical faculty.…