Assessing Teaching Effectiveness Committee Charge

In seeking to increase the validity and effectiveness of teaching, the Committee is charged to consider the following and provide specific recommendations.

1. Consider a University level definition of teaching excellence. Who will administer and manage the teaching evaluation system at the University level?

2. Use of 2 or 3 standardized effectiveness measures for all courses (preferably reliable and valid set of measures). As proposed in the attached Georgia Institute of Tech report, consider including the following: “Considering everything, the instructor was an effective teacher.” Include an option to add comments for each standardized question/measure.

3. Create a ‘bank’ of measures from which faculty can select and supplement the standardized measures (example- see PICES used at Purdue).

4. Should VCU consider having a statement similar to that used in the study by Peterson et al (2019) to mitigate bias.

“Student evaluations of teaching play an important role in the review of faculty. Your opinions influence the review of instructors that takes place every year. Iowa State University recognizes that student evaluations of teaching are often influenced by students’ unconscious and unintentional biases about the race and gender of the instructor. Women and instructors of color are systematically rated lower in their teaching evaluations than white men, even when there are no actual differences in the instruction or in what students have learned. As you fill out the course evaluation please keep this in mind and make an effort to resist stereotypes about professors. Focus on your opinions about the content of the course (the assignments, the textbook, the in-class material) and not unrelated matters (the instructor’s appearance).”

5. How would mode of teaching (in-person, hybrid, online) be incorporated in assessing teaching effectiveness?

6. What should be included in a holistic teaching and learning portfolio? Consider the recommendations from the Senate White Paper. Which parts are essential to the definition of teaching excellence (point 1)? Should all parts of the portfolio be considered for those going up for promotion or tenure on teaching and learning? Be sure to consider biases such as in peer observations.

7. Who should have access to the report for each faculty member?

8. Once every three years, consider an analysis of student teaching evaluations of all course offerings at VCU for a broader picture of range of scores by level of course, size of classroom, and demographics of the instructor.