Formative evaluation of teaching is discussed, and ways of obtaining diagnostic feedback that will lead to improved teaching in large lecture classes are examined. A Teacher Behaviors Inventory is included. (MLW)

A survey of graduate social work schools in the United States and Canada regarding the use of peer review for tenure and promotion purposes and the specific methods and criteria used is reported, and implications for other areas of professional education are discussed. (MSE)

The aim of this study was to develop standards that could guide the documentation and evaluation of faculty scholarship. The research was based, in part, on a formal survey conducted in 1994 of all four-year colleges and universities in the United States on faculty roles and rewards. A prologue titled, "A Personal Journal," written by…

The authors comment on incentive systems that impede serious scholarly work on teaching and learning. The hallmark of academic freedom is the opportunity it affords faculty members to pursue innovative or unconventional scholarship. Over the past decade or so, teaching initiatives in higher education are gaining visibility, innovation is on the…

The evaluation of instruction via distance learning at the high school and college level offers special challenges, particularly the evaluation of one-way video--two-way audio instructional programs. The role of the teacher is radically changed and teaching strategies and course design are particularly important in a distance leaning environment.…

This guide for college faculty attempts to balance assessment theory and practical advice on grading. Grading is viewed as a complex process that serves multiple roles: evaluation, motivation, communication, and organization, and this work provides examples from classrooms in many disciplines, sample assessment plans for departments and general…

The detrimental effect of evaluating college teachers with student ratings of their performance is illustrated. The author found that he could raise his ratings by reducing the quality of his teaching and concentrating on the improvement of morale among his optometry students at the University of California at Berkeley. (JMD)

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…

Hoping to gain prestige and financial support for research, many four-year institutions have toughened faculty tenure and promotion standards to require more and better research. Some older faculty have been surpassed in salary and perquisites by younger, more aggressive scholars. Morale problems and concern over evaluation criteria have resulted.…

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.…

It is argued that use of a management system can improve faculty productivity through reduction of rivalry and increased teamwork and collaboration. Monitoring of productivity with computers encourages self-competition. The five-stage process is described. (MSE)

The performance review process used for faculty evaluation at Nene College (England) was assessed by surveying appraisers, appraisees, and senior administrators. Most appraisees and appraisers thought that appraisers should be line managers rather than peers, and that classroom observation should be included. Opportunity for staff to communicate…

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…