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Faculty Evaluation
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Institutional Systems
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Announcing the Curated Teaching Evaluation Change Initiative Repository
Casey Wright, Western Michigan University; Carlos Goller, North Carolina State University; Sharon Homer-Drummond, PhD, Tri-County Technical College; Stephanie Salomone, University of Portland; Christine Broussard, University of La Verne
The Aligning Faculty Incentives with Systemic Change Working Group is excited to report we havecurated a repository of teaching evaluation change initiatives to support national efforts at the systemic change of faculty teaching evaluation. Teaching evaluation is an area of critical focus for systemic change efforts to align undergraduate students' experience in STEM courses with best practices for inclusive learning (NASEM, 2020; Boyer 2030 Commission, 2023). Since the academy is deeply resistant to change (Wise et al., 2022), it is critical to share innovations that have successfully impacted teaching evaluation with the systemic change community (e.g., Simonson et al., 2023). We have created the Curated Teaching Evaluation Initiative Repository to meet this need. For the repository, we define an initiative as a concerted program or set of related efforts that have been undertaken to change the policies, processes, or practices around teaching evaluation. These initiatives are not limited to resources for individual faculty to change their teaching practices but instead describe efforts that have been successful in creating systemic change.
Resource Type: Blog Post
Program Components: Professional Development:Diversity/Inclusion, Course Evaluation, Institutional Systems:Incentive/Reward Systems, Evaluating Teaching
Themes in the National Discussion on Reforming STEM Teaching Evaluation
Ann Austin, Michigan State University
The January 2021 National Dialogue on Reforming Stem Teaching Evaluation in Higher Education, hosted by the National Academies of Sciences Roundtable on Systemic Reform in Undergraduate Stem Education, in collaboration with AAU, APLU, ACSCN, and the TEval Project, involved faculty and administrative leaders from a variety of institutional types in very engaged conversation about teaching evaluation and innovative institutional projects. The lively conversation was evidence of the growing interest nationally in identifying models for more wholistic, effective, and inclusive forms of teaching evaluation as well as resources for initiating campus-wide discussions about reform in teaching evaluation.
Resource Type: Blog Post
Program Components: Professional Development:Course Evaluation, Institutional Systems:Evaluating Promotion and Tenure, Evaluating Teaching
How do we recruit, support, and retain diverse faculty? Reflections from our discussion series
Patricia Marsteller, Emory University
Equity, inclusion, diversity, and justice are foundational in effective higher education settings, including STEM disciplines. Our ASCN working group brings together communities whose work focuses on justice, equity, inclusion, and diversity (JEDI) in higher education. In spring 2021, we focused on a series of informal conversations centered on recruiting diverse faculty. In the series we discussed: Why recruiting diverse faculty is important. Promising practices for department leaders, such as creating detailed and inclusive recruitment plans, utilizing cluster hires, broadening searches, using faculty search advocates, and providing JEDI education for faculty and for search committees. Working with other institutional actors (e.g., data analysts, deans) for institutional and departmental reflections, hiring plans, and data needs.
Resource Type: Blog Post
Program Components: Professional Development:Diversity/Inclusion, Institutional Systems:Personnel/Hiring
2023 Transforming Institutions Conference Takeaways
Casey Wright, Western Michigan University
The 2023 Transforming Institutions Conference was held June 12-13, 2023, in Minneapolis, MN. With this most recent convening, we are proud to have brought together change researchers and change agents for 12 years. The meeting was made possible by the efforts of a conference planning committee consisting of 10 change agents convened by NSEC (Network of STEM Education Centers) and ASCN (Accelerating Systemic Change Network), supported by 40 reviewers from the systemic change community. Now that the dust has settled, we would like to share some key takeaways, attendee feedback, and future conference plans to continue to build momentum for our community to thrive with change.
Resource Type: Blog Post
Program Components: Professional Development:Accessibility, Diversity/Inclusion, Institutional Systems:Incentive/Reward Systems, Evaluating Teaching, Supporting Students:Student Engagement, Learning Communities
Join an ASCN working group!
Kate White
Temple University
Kate White (Western Michigan University), ASCN Research Director
Have you been considering joining one of our working groups, but aren't sure where to start? Here you'll find updates on what each of our groups is working on and more information on how to get involved in 2020. You can join any of our working groups by filling out this short form. Keep reading to learn more about how we're exploring theories of change; the costs, benefits, and impact of change; change leadership; equity and inclusion in systemic change; aligning faculty work with change; and learning spaces.
Resource Type: Blog Post
Program Components: Professional Development:Diversity/Inclusion, Leadership, Institutional Systems:Incentive/Reward Systems, Evaluating Promotion and Tenure, Physical Infrastructure
Transforming Institutions Takeaways
Rachel Renbarger, Western Michigan University
Last week concluded the 2021 Transforming Institutions Conference that marked the 10th year of convening like-minded change leaders. The event was a rousing success; we had over 250 participants from at least 3 continents with over 40 concurrent presentations, 60+ posters, and 4 workshops containing research-based strategies for improving higher education. What did we learn from such an amazing event?
Resource Type: Blog Post
Program Components: Professional Development:Diversity/Inclusion, Cultural Competency, Institutional Systems:Interdepartmental Collaboration, Supporting Students:Professional Preparation, Outreach:Policy Change, Inter-Institutional Collaboration
Yale University/Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL)
Contact: Jennifer Frederick; Yale University, jennifer.frederick@yale.edu
The CTL provides information about sources of feedback instructors can use to inform their teaching and also provides consulting services to faculty. Many sources of feedback are available to instructors to inform their teaching, including: self-reflection, students' mid-semester feedback, peer review of teaching, and end-of-term evaluations. Instructors should feel empowered to determine what methods fit the needs and context of their situation and to try out different approaches over time.
Resource Type: Booklet, Website
Program Components: Professional Development:Accessibility, Diversity/Inclusion, Course Evaluation, Cultural Competency, Institutional Systems:Incentive/Reward Systems, Evaluating Teaching
Shaping the Future of Higher Education: Practical, Community-Driven Initiatives to Improve Academic Climate
In this Editorial, we present the history and details of a collaborative effort to improve the academic climate of the Department of Chemistry at University of California, Berkeley.
Resource Type: Journal Article
Program Components: Professional Development:Advising and Mentoring, Diversity/Inclusion, Cultural Competency, Institutional Systems:Incentive/Reward Systems, Evaluating Promotion and Tenure, Strategic Planning, Interdepartmental Collaboration, Degree Program Development, Supporting Students:Student Engagement, Learning Communities, Academic Support, Outreach:Policy Change
ACHIEVING SYSTEMIC CHANGE: A SOURCEBOOK FOR ADVANCING AND FUNDING UNDERGRADUATE STEM EDUCATION
Catherine L. Fry, Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U)
This sourcebook is intended as a useful resource for allthose who have a stake in creating STEM solutions forUS society. It addresses the rationale for investing insystemic change throughout higher education, identifiescritical areas for investment, and provides pointers to keyreports and current STEM education reform efforts.
Resource Type: Booklet, White Paper, Report
Program Components: Professional Development:Diversity/Inclusion, Curriculum Development, Institutional Systems:Degree Program Development, Supporting Students:Bridge Program, Student Engagement
Aligning Practice to Policies: Changing the Culture to Recognize and Reward Teaching at Research Universities
This is an article about how to align University practices with policies. It offers three examples of how institutions have begun projects to achieve this. It overlaps with the TEval resources, as two of the examples are TEval participants.Abstract: "Recent calls for improvement in undergraduate education within STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) disciplines are hampered by the methods used to evaluate teaching effectiveness. Faculty members at research universities are commonly assessed and promoted mainly on the basis of research success. To improve the quality of undergraduate teaching across all disciplines, not only STEM fields, requires creating an environment wherein continuous improvement of teaching is valued, assessed, and rewarded at various stages of a faculty member's career. This requires consistent application of policies that reflect well-established best practices for evaluating teaching at the department, college, and university levels. Evidence shows most teaching evaluation practices do not reflect stated policies, even when the policies specifically espouse teaching as a value. Thus, alignment of practice to policy is a major barrier to establishing a culture in which teaching is valued. Situated in the context of current national efforts to improve undergraduate STEM education, including the Association of American Universities Undergraduate STEM Education Initiative, this essay discusses four guiding principles for aligning practice with stated priorities in formal policies: 1) enhancing the role of deans and chairs; 2) effectively using the hiring process; 3) improving communication; and 4) improving the understanding of teaching as a scholarly activity. In addition, three specific examples of efforts to improve the practice of evaluating teaching are presented as examples: 1) Three Bucket Model of merit review at the University of California, Irvine; (2) Evaluation of Teaching Rubric, University of Kansas; and (3) Teaching Quality Framework, University of Colorado, Boulder. These examples provide flexible criteria to holistically evaluate and improve the quality of teaching across the diverse institutions comprising modern higher education."
Resource Type: Journal Article
Program Components: Professional Development:Course Evaluation, Institutional Systems:Incentive/Reward Systems, Evaluating Teaching