Making Teaching Count in P&T Decisions: Can We Document Good Teaching?
Location
Peavy/Richardson Halls
Event Website
http://uenr.forestry.oregonstate.edu/
Start Date
3-15-2008 3:30 PM
End Date
3-15-2008 4:00 PM
Description
Few scientists studying natural resources conduct research as haphazardly as we assess teaching effectiveness. Methodologies employed in our research have been thoroughly tested to determine their reliability and validity. But when assessing teaching we may collect information that would be considered anecdotal if we attempted to publish results in refereed journals. We ignore the extensive research (Seldin 1999, Arreola 2007) on four components providing information about teaching effectiveness: • Student ratings provide meaningful information if the instruments are valid and reliable. Few institutions test home-grown rating forms for validity or reliability, but valid and reliable forms are available commercially. • Peer review provides meaningful information if the process is valid and reliable. Valid observational checklists and reviewer training are required to minimize bias. Reviewers must be chosen carefully, provided with appropriate documentation, and perform sufficient numbers of observations to ensure reliability. • Having candidates construct teaching portfolios provides meaningful information when candidates are given valid templates rather than “throw[ing] everything imaginable about teaching into a box and ship[ping] it off to the department chair or dean” (Bain 2004). • The scholarship of teaching (Boyer 1997; Arreola 2007) should be documented, particularly by faculty for whom teaching is the predominate activity. Those choosing to make their marks on the profession by teaching, should expect their influence to extend beyond their own classrooms. Activities might include publishing pedagogical papers, conducting teaching workshops at professional meetings, and serving on committees having to do with teaching in professional societies. A fifth element should be added to our assessment of teaching effectiveness: • Efforts to improve – Just as good researchers keep current by attending conferences, seminars, workshops or symposia, good teachers seek opportunities to improve their teaching. By subsidizing their attendance, administrators send a strong message that good teaching is important and valued.
Making Teaching Count in P&T Decisions: Can We Document Good Teaching?
Peavy/Richardson Halls
Few scientists studying natural resources conduct research as haphazardly as we assess teaching effectiveness. Methodologies employed in our research have been thoroughly tested to determine their reliability and validity. But when assessing teaching we may collect information that would be considered anecdotal if we attempted to publish results in refereed journals. We ignore the extensive research (Seldin 1999, Arreola 2007) on four components providing information about teaching effectiveness: • Student ratings provide meaningful information if the instruments are valid and reliable. Few institutions test home-grown rating forms for validity or reliability, but valid and reliable forms are available commercially. • Peer review provides meaningful information if the process is valid and reliable. Valid observational checklists and reviewer training are required to minimize bias. Reviewers must be chosen carefully, provided with appropriate documentation, and perform sufficient numbers of observations to ensure reliability. • Having candidates construct teaching portfolios provides meaningful information when candidates are given valid templates rather than “throw[ing] everything imaginable about teaching into a box and ship[ping] it off to the department chair or dean” (Bain 2004). • The scholarship of teaching (Boyer 1997; Arreola 2007) should be documented, particularly by faculty for whom teaching is the predominate activity. Those choosing to make their marks on the profession by teaching, should expect their influence to extend beyond their own classrooms. Activities might include publishing pedagogical papers, conducting teaching workshops at professional meetings, and serving on committees having to do with teaching in professional societies. A fifth element should be added to our assessment of teaching effectiveness: • Efforts to improve – Just as good researchers keep current by attending conferences, seminars, workshops or symposia, good teachers seek opportunities to improve their teaching. By subsidizing their attendance, administrators send a strong message that good teaching is important and valued.
https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/cuenr/7thBiennial/Sessions/40
Comments
Session #12: Partnering with Agencies / P & T Strategies. Presentation for 7th Biennial Conference on University Education in Natural Resources, March 13-15, 2008, Corvallis, Oregon. Featured in the ScholarsArchive@OSU in Oregon State University. Suggested Citation: Frazer, Nat B. 2008. Making teaching count in P&T decisions: can we document good teaching? UENR 7th Biennial Conference, ScholarsArchive at Oregon State University. http://hdl.handle.net/1957/8332