The KU Center for Teaching Excellence is taking part in a five-year project, supported by a grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF; DUE-1726087) to foster improved methods of reviewing, documenting and evaluating faculty teaching practices at KU and at the University of Colorado, Boulder, and the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Benchmarks for Teaching Effectiveness is organized as a rubric and identifies seven dimensions of teaching practice that are designed to capture the teaching endeavor in its totality, including activities outside the classroom (e.g., identification of learning goals, assignment design, reviewing student work), and contributions to individual courses and the curriculum. The rubric can be used to guide the evaluation of teaching effectiveness (e.g., for promotion and tenure or progress toward tenure). It can also be used to foster teaching effectiveness, as part of a peer review or teaching mentoring system.

Why We Are Doing This?

Universities like KU have traditionally relied on methods for evaluating teaching that prioritize a narrow dimension of teaching activity (the behavior of the instructor in the classroom) and a limited source of evidence (student ratings). When other sources of information—such as peer observations or course material surveys—are available, reviewers often struggle to integrate and make sense of it all. Moreover, many new faculty members wish they had a better sense of how their teaching will be evaluated and had opportunities to learn from feedback. The Benchmarks for Teaching Effectiveness increases the visibility of all dimensions of teaching, clarifies faculty teaching expectations, enables quick identification of strengths and areas for improvement, and brings consistency across evaluations and over time. For more information about the rationale, see this report from the Association of American Universities, which features KU’s Framework.

What Units Are Already Participating?

What Will Participating Departments Do?

Department teams will:

1. Adapt the rubric, identify materials that might be used in each category, and build consensus with department colleagues.
2. Use the modified rubric for some purpose, such as guiding a peer review or mentoring system, or structuring reviews of teaching for promotion and tenure or progress-toward tenure.
3. Share results with department faculty after use on multiple cases; review and revise framework.
4. Participate in a cross-department working group of team leaders to share strategies, results, and lessons, and develop guidelines for departments and review committees.
5. Produce a brief report and present their work to other faculty at KU’s annual Teaching Summit.

Participant Information and Eligibility

We anticipate awarding grants to three to five departments in Year 1 and adding two or three departments in Years 2 and 3. Departments in the Year 1 cohort will be encouraged to continue their participation for all three years by applying for a grant renewal ($5,000 in Year 2, $3,000 in Year 3). Academic departments or equivalent academic units on the Lawrence campus are eligible.

For more information about the project, contact CTE Director Andrea Greenhoot (agreenhoot@ku.edu or 785-864-4193) or Associate Director Doug Ward (dbward@ku.edu or 785-864-7637).

The KU Summit is held before classes begin each August. The Center for Teaching Excellence, Provost’s Office, and KU Medical Center co-sponsor the conference for faculty and instructional staff members from the Lawrence, Edwards, and medical center campuses. There is an opening plenary session including a thematic keynote speaker and recognition of the recipient of CTE’s Departmental Teaching Award. This is followed by three waves of conference style breakout sessions led by faculty members, and boxed lunch final discussions with academic leaders.

Online registration for Summit 2019 is now open. A copy of the program is available will be available here. If you have questions or would like more information about this year's Summit, contact CTE at cte@ku.edu or by calling 785-864-4199.

Programs from past conferences are available below.

The Teaching Scholarship Collaborative provides an opportunity for people who have an interest in research/scholarship on teaching and learning to learn more about new developments in the field. Perhaps more importantly, it will function as a working group, with participants helping each other with T&L projects. Once a month, the group will read and discuss an article in the field. The other meetings will provide time for members to work on tasks related to their scholarship – and they will get some help from CTE and the TSC members, too.

More information on future schedules and registration forthcoming!