Teaching Effectiveness

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Teaching effectiveness is critical to the success of Western Kentucky University. Teacher effectiveness is often described in terms of the impact of faculty decisions/teaching on student learning (Goldhaber & Anthony, 2007; Sass et al., 2012). We recognize the significance of good teaching, but struggle in demonstrating our efficacy in a way that is clearly defined and quantified. How might instructors fully demonstrate effectiveness for annual evaluation, continuance, and/or tenure and promotion? The following information was compiled to provide guidance to make informed decisions as you demonstrate and evaluate teaching effectiveness. 

Based upon review of tenure and promotion documents at WKU as well as institutions across the country, a committee of faculty, department heads, and CITL staff at WKU have identified five general standards through which teaching effectiveness is most commonly evaluated. These standards include the following: 

• Student Learning Outcomes 
• Course Design & Planning for Instruction  
• Inclusivity & Universal Design 
• Student Engagement & Learning Experiences 
• Reflective Practice & Evolution 

Through the links provided below, we invite you to consider each of these standards and associated resources in more depth. On these web pages, you will find an explanation of each standard of teaching effectiveness that includes a list of artifacts that instructors might submit as evidence of their work in each standard, SITE questions that could be associated with the standard, and a list of questions instructors might consider as they draft narrative statements. Under additional resources, you will also find peer observation forms & templates, rubrics, samples, and additional research.  

Rubrics

The linked rubrics are adapted from the work of Simonson, Earl & Frary (2022). These rubrics are meant to be a starting point for conversation within your department to help articulate and evaluate teaching effectiveness. For consistency, the evaluation categories align with the scale outlined for the annual evaluation process. Additional information on each standard can be found on this Teaching Effectiveness webpage and a glossary of terms is provided at the end of the linked rubric document. You will note that there is some overlap between standards. This is intentional as these standards intertwine and heavily influence each other.  

In each rubric you will find suggested artifacts that can be utilized as evidence of teaching effectiveness as well as an explanation and evaluation of each standard and category. Again, we encourage you to use this as a starting point for your departmental conversation of how to evaluate teaching effectiveness. If you have questions or would like feedback, please contact Micah Logan.  

Resources

Goldhaber, D., and Anthony, E. (2007). Can teacher quality be effectively assessed? National board certification as a signal of effective teaching. Rev. Econ. Stat. 89, 134–150. doi: 10.1162/rest.89.1.134 

Sass, T. R., Hannaway, J., Xu, Z., Figlio, D. N., and Feng, L. (2012). Value added of teachers in high-poverty schools and lower poverty schools. J. Urban Econ. 72, 104–122. doi: 10.1016/j.jue.2012.04.004