What is quality teaching and how can it be measured?
ASSETT is supporting the Quality Teaching Initiative (QTI) for departments to examine how quality teaching is defined and update their practices for evaluating teaching. QTI focuses on three dimensions of instructional excellence: teaching that is scholarly, goal oriented, and inclusive. This year, departments will clarify standards and expectations, use multiple measures for evidence, and identify a discipline-appropriate scholarly framework by which to evaluate teaching. By undertaking this work, ASSETT and the College of Arts and Sciences are signaling that teaching is still a top priority at a research institution. And by supporting departments, we are providing the foundation for each unit to determine what great teaching is and how to assess it in their respective disciplines.
In ASSETT’s Faculty Fellows program last spring, we worked with 12 faculty members from 12 different departments to prepare them to lead and liaise with the QTI team as their departments create updated plans for teaching evaluation. To date, eighteen (18) units in A&S have formed working groups, scheduled meetings, and are beginning to inventory current practices. Of these, several departments have already made further strides in outlining their work for the year and are in the initial stages of examining peer review and self-reflection practices. The Geology department has developed an outline to guide their work for the year and has even invited another department along to learn about their process. The Program for Writing and Rhetoric and the History department have shared their peer review guidelines and processes in our workshops.
Currently, we are organizing several workshops and drop-in office hours to continue supporting departments in this important work. These are open to anyone interested in learning more about quality teaching, including graduate students. More resources are available on the QTI website. If you have any questions or would like to schedule a consultation, please contact one of the QTI consultants, Sarah.Andrews-1@colorado.edu, Heidi.Loshbaugh@colorado.edu, or Amanda.McAndrew@colorado.edu.
