Author(s):
Need: Teaching evaluation protocols in higher education are inadequate, inaccurate, do not enhance teaching, nor incentivize improvement. This leads to reduced teaching effort and effectiveness as well as potential biased and unfair promotion and tenure practices.1, 2 A framework (Framework for Assessing Teaching Effectiveness, FATE) and rubric defining effective teaching were developed in response (NSF DUE 1856653).3-5 However, changing teaching assessment requires overcoming numerous significant hurdles.Guiding Questions: We sought to answer the questions 1) Will changing the ways in which teaching is evaluated change teaching practices, thereby improving student learning? and 2) What differences exist in how the framework and rubric are applied to assess teaching effectiveness across disciplines?Outcomes: FATE implementation was studied using a mock academic department and faculty learning communities and it was found that FATE provides a complete/inclusive definition of teaching and clarity around teaching expectations that allows a comprehensive teaching assessment. However, increased transparency, locating and presenting evidence, and time are issues.Broader Impacts: This work has contributed to forming policies and practices within the Center for Teaching and Learning and institution. In addition, FATE has been taken-up by other institutions and the FATE team has consulted with various institutions to help them revise their teaching assessment policies and tools. The FATE team’s participation in this nationwide effort also led to playing a role in the inaugural 2023 Summit on Transforming Teaching Evaluation. National Science Foundation & Howard Hughes Medical Institute. Chevy Chase, MD.Future Directions: To move this project from a research study to a tool that can improve learning by improving teaching through the assessment of teaching, participation in the NSF I-Corps Hub. Cohort 5, Desert and Pacific Region, On-line, Summer 2023 and the Venture College Small Business Incubator. Boise State University, Boise, ID, Fall 2023. In addition, a FATE web-based application is in development by students from Boise State’s Gaming, Interactive Media, and Mobile Technology (GIMM). The platform will include a teaching portfolio template with bins for narratives and evidence and ability to link the evidence to multiple places in the narrative and annotate to match the narrative. Additionally, an assessment tool will be integrated to allow review and feedback.
Coauthors
Megan Frary, Boise State University; Brittnee Earl, Boise State University
