EvalTeach

Documentation of Teaching; Peer Review of Teaching
from the Appointments, Promotion and Tenure Document
of the College of Optometry (3/02)
Reproduced with the permission of John P. Schoessler, Dean

Documentation of teaching must be provided through student evaluations and the candidate's self-evaluation as well as optional additional forms of student evaluation. Mandatory student evaluations of classroom courses must utilize the officially designated teaching evaluation instrument of the College of Optometry, Office of Student Affairs and should be available for every regular classroom course taught. Evaluation of clinical teaching utilizes a separate College of Optometry evaluation form. Efforts should be made to insure that the largest possible number of students complete the questionnaire, and that they do so conscientiously. These evaluations should be handed out and collected by staff of the Office of Student Affairs, and efforts should be made to obtain such evaluations from the largest possible number of enrolled students.

Optional additional methods of student evaluation may include exit interviews of graduating seniors, surveys of alumni, or college-solicited evaluations by former professional or graduate students. However, "testimonial" letters from former students may not be solicited directly by the candidate.

Peer evaluation for the purpose of assessing a probationary faculty member's teaching is the responsibility of the faculty member's annual review committee and is to be conducted according to the peer review procedures of the College of Optometry [Appendix A: see below]. Peer reviewers should utilize the College of Optometry's Peer Review Classroom Teaching Worksheet and must provide a written summary appraisal of the candidate's teaching. This appraisal becomes part of the faculty member's dossier for assessment by the promotion and tenure committee.

The candidate's self-evaluation of teaching should include a statement of the candidate's teaching goals. It should also include a self-assessment of how well the goals have been achieved plus a description of the candidate's approach to teaching and specific strategies for improvement (past, present, and planned).

Other forms of documentation of excellence in teaching could include assessment of the success of the candidate's former professional and graduate students; extent to which pedagogical materials developed by the candidate have been adopted by other faculty here and at other institutions; extent to which the candidate is invited to provide expertise on teaching; and teaching awards. Development and authoring of textbooks, course notes, and other teaching aids, courses and curricula; authoring publications on teaching and optometric education; documentation of course load, number and level of students, and type or courses; and letters solicited by the review committee can also be used as documentation of abilities in teaching.

Peer review of instruction is required for both the probationary and non-probationary faculty at all ranks. For faculty who are committed to teaching excellence, peer review of teaching is an important component of professional development and all regular faculty members are therefore required to participate in peer reviews of teaching regardless of their status relative to institutional reviews.

For peer review, the faculty member must be observed in class at least two times by each of two different reviewers. Observations may be spread out over the academic year with observations in different courses encouraged but not required.

The current College of Optometry Peer Review of Classroom Teaching Worksheet must be utilized to review course materials and classroom instruction using a five point rating scale to assess each of the components: Peer reviewers should receive instruction in peer review techniques using a college developed or approved training program.

Peer reviewers for probationary faculty members shall be selected from the annual review committee by the chair of the committee. In the case of non-probationary faculty, peer reviewers will be selected by the dean in consultation with the faculty member. Whenever possible peer reviewers who are familiar with the faculty member's field of instruction and/or pedagogies are to be selected. Deans are permitted to serve as peer reviewers. The time period between peer review observations of non-probationary faculty is at the discretion of the dean based upon his/her judgment and the recommendations (if any) of previous peer reviews.

The faculty member should provide the reviewer with copies of all course syllabi, course handouts, sample examinations, and other relevant course materials. The peer observer should meet with the professor to be observed before the class visit. The goals of this meeting are to discuss review issues and ensure that the peer reviewer has a clear understanding of the faculty member's course objectives and methodologies. The faculty member and the observer should discuss the syllabus and other handout materials provided.

During the class visit, the observer should rate the instructor on a five point scale using the college's Peer Review of Classroom Teaching Worksheet that addresses teaching behaviors. Observers should not participate in class or interact with class members during their class visits.

After the class visit, the peer observer should submit a written summary of his/her observations to the faculty member and the annual review committee, or the dean in the case of non-probationary faculty.

When there is disagreement over the observer's findings, the faculty member may request a meeting with the observer and the dean or chair of the evaluation committee. If this meeting does not resolve these disagreements, the faculty member may: