TARGET

The Advisory Resource Group on Evaluating Teaching

Six Best Practices for the development and implementation of a
faculty assessment program

Allison MacKenzie
Faculty of Communication Studies

•  Best practice: Adopt an institution-wide, clear definition of “what” good teaching entails.

Evaluation and assessment of instruction is covered in collective agreements but collective agreements rarely provide specific breakdown as to “how” good teaching will be assessed.

In most institutions assessment is implemented on a Faculty by Faculty basis, thus standards and degrees of direction vary widely. This may create a lack of understanding and distrust amongst Faculty.

In order to avoid this pitfall, prior to institutionalizing a Faculty assessment program the General Faculties Council should define clearly the components of “good” teaching. This should include what good teaching entails, what the indicators of “good” teaching are and how “good” teaching will be measured (both formative and summative purposes) across the institution.

The purpose of this is twofold: it provides a framework for Faculty to measure against and it develops trust in the process as instructors are measured in a clearly defined way in which they know what is being measured and how they will be evaluated.

•  Best Practice: Engage Faculty in the development of the assessment program by inviting widespread participation in an open, transparent process across the institution.

Transparency of process is a key success factor in the successful creation and implementation of an institutional evaluation and assessment process. To create a platform for success the process used to structure the assessment program - both the expectations of Faculty members for growth and development and the proposed uses of assessment results - needs to be transparent and open to the entire community. This ensures fairness and the appearance of fairness, and thus facilitates the required buy-in from Faculty.

•  Best practice: Communicate the benefits of an institution-wide Faculty assessment program clearly and often. To create engagement Faculty members need to understand the importance and benefits of evaluation and assessment.

Is the initial focus on enriching the student learning experience or on promotion? The more beneficial (less threatening) assessment is perceived as being by individual faculty members, the more people will engage.

Before a college or university can successfully adopt a faculty assessment program, Faculty needs to understand why assessment matters and why they should care (beyond compensation and promotion). Benefits for both for both tenured and tenure track employees should be clearly articulated.

•  Best Practice: Set a reasonable timeframe for development of the Faculty assessment program based on the culture of the organization rather than on an arbitrary deadline. To be successful, the process of defining and institutionalizing evaluation and assessment of teaching must reflect the specific institution's unique culture and identity. In terms of developing a Faculty assessment program, mapping out the appropriate journey is critical to reaching the desired destination.

Cultural “fit” is a key driver of successful acceptance and implementation.

•  Best Practice: Create a triangulated assessment model that incorporates student evaluations, peer reviews and teaching dossiers.

There is a growing acceptance of the importance of embracing a triangulated methodology built on three pillars: student evaluations, peer review and reflective practice (students, faculty and individual). In conjunction, these three methodologies provide a 360 degree assessment of an instructor's continued trajectory of growth and development.

•  Best practice : Standardize the peer review process by developing and implementing training. Create an inclusive body of peer reviewers across Faculties to ensure shared understanding of the process and uniformity of application. One suggestion for consideration is the development of a pool of trained reviewers who are randomly assigned to do peer reviews. This ensures that all reviewers measure the same core capabilities, and that Faculty members are assessed fairly across the institution (apples to apples).

•  And finally, as a bonus: Create a culture of sharing and fostering teaching excellence. Remove the mystery that currently surrounds “good teaching” by fostering a non-threatening environment for sharing best practices, receiving peer feedback and recognizing excellence. Model and reward desired instructional behaviours. Excellent examples of this include -

•  The University of Nebraska Lincoln Teaching Dossier project

•  Teaching awards

•  Lecture of a lifetime concept

•  Academic Development Seminars

This information is derived from a series of conversations and correspondences with Faculty and Administrators at other post secondary institutions including the universities of Toronto, Calgary, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Prince Edward Island and Nebraska Lincoln, as well as Queens, Western, Mount Allison, Trent, Brock, Carleton and Texas State. More information is available upon request.

"Nugget" for presentation

Six Best Practices for the development and implementation of a faculty assessment program
Allison MacKenzie
Faculty of Communication Studies

1. Best practice: Adopt an institution-wide, clear definition of “what” good teaching entails.

The purpose of this is twofold: it provides a framework for Faculty to measure against and it develops trust in the process as instructors are measured in a clearly defined way in which they know what is being measured and how they will be evaluated.

1. Best Practice: Engage Faculty in the development of the assessment program by inviting widespread participation in an open, transparent process across the institution.

Transparency of process is a key success factor in the successful creation and implementation of an institutional evaluation and assessment process.  To create a platform for success the process used to structure the assessment program - both the expectations of Faculty members for growth and development and the proposed uses of assessment results - needs to be transparent and open to the entire community. This ensures fairness and the appearance of fairness, and thus facilitates the required buy-in from Faculty.  

1. Best practice: Communicate the benefits of an institution-wide Faculty assessment program clearly and often. To create engagement Faculty members need to understand the importance and benefits of evaluation and assessment.  

Before a college or university can successfully adopt a faculty assessment program, Faculty needs to understand why assessment matters and why they should care (beyond compensation and promotion). Benefits for both for both tenured and tenure track employees should be clearly articulated.

1. Best Practice: Set a reasonable timeframe for development of the Faculty assessment program based on the culture of the organization rather than on an arbitrary deadline. To be successful, the process of defining and institutionalizing evaluation and assessment of teaching must reflect the specific institution’s unique culture and identity. In terms of developing a Faculty assessment program, mapping out the appropriate journey is critical to reaching the desired destination.
2. Best Practice: Create a triangulated assessment model that incorporates student evaluations, peer reviews and teaching dossiers. 

There is a growing acceptance of the importance of embracing a triangulated methodology built on three pillars: student evaluations, peer review and reflective practice (students, faculty and individual). In conjunction, these three methodologies provide a 360 degree assessment of an instructor’s continued trajectory of growth and development.  

•  Best practice: Standardize the peer review process by developing and implementing training. Create an inclusive body of peer reviewers across Faculties to ensure shared understanding of the process and uniformity of application. One suggestion for consideration is the development of a pool of trained reviewers who are randomly assigned to do peer reviews. This ensures that all reviewers measure the same core capabilities, and that Faculty members are assessed fairly across the institution (apples to apples).
• Create a culture of sharing and fostering teaching excellence. Remove the mystery that currently surrounds “good teaching” by fostering a non-threatening environment for sharing best practices, receiving peer feedback and recognizing excellence.

The aim of the TARGET group is to seek out, evaluate, and make available to the Mount Royal Community materials which may inform the evaluation of teaching for the purposes of professional development, summative assessment, and/or formal evaluation.

Updated February 1, 2010