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Teaching Effectiveness - Reflective Practice and Evolution


Reflective Practice and Evolution describes activities which let instructors look back on past challenges and prepare for future opportunities (Simonson et al., 2022).As teachers we will all face difficult courses or semesters,and it is crucial that we can provide evidence of our ability to take feedback from colleagues and students, explore new strategies, and focus on continuing to improve our work as conscientious and reflective instructors. This standard also helps show your focus on continuous improvement in serving the students of our institution.   

  • Reflective teaching narrative: This would include an exploration of your teaching journey: where you started, how student/peer feedback and professional development has improved your teaching, and what your plans are for improvement moving forward.   
  • Examples of student feedback and revised activities and assessments:This would include original assignments/activities, student feedback, and assignment/activity revisions. 
  • Participation in teaching development initiatives: This would include participation in working groups and communities of practice focused on teaching and learning as well as participating in professional teaching development opportunities both internal and external to the university.   
  • Teaching observation data: This may include consultation with colleagues or CITL to evaluate teaching and assessment practices.   
  • Teaching philosophy statement: This statement should identify the methods and strategies that underly your teaching, how you operationalize them, and why.   

The below questions are found on our SITE evaluations at WKU and would align well with your narrative regarding teaching effectiveness in course design.   

  • #5 This course has effectively challenged me to think. 
  • #6 My instructor provides constructive feedback.  
  • #8 I have learned a lot in this course. 

Some other questions you may consider including in your narrative in support of the evidence you provide, may include the following:  

  • Alignment to Departmental/University Goals: How do your reflective practice and evolution activities align with the goals of your department?  How do your reflective practice and evolution activities align with the university's goals?  How do these reflective practice and evolution activities realize or fit in with the WKU mission and strategic plan? 
  • Course materials, activities, and assessments: How have your course material, activities, and assessment selections evolved due to your reflective practice and evolution activities? What changes have you made or do you plan to make? What evidence are you basing these changes on? Think about the feedback you received and literature on evidence-based teaching and learning. 
  • Student feedback: How have you incorporated students’ feedback into your teaching strategies? Have you made changes based on comments or performance? Where can you demonstrate evidence in response to or in support of students’ responses in SITE questions 5, 6, and 8. How can you tie these responses back to your focus on reflective practice and evolution? 
  • Departmental/college norms: Does my department and/or college have specific requirements or norms regarding reflective practice and evolution?   

References

Simonson, S. R., Earl, B, & Frary, M. (2022). Establishing a framework for assessing teaching effectiveness. College Teaching, 70(2), 164-180. doi: 10.1080/87567555.2021.1909528 




 


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 Last Modified 5/23/24