Evaluating Teacher Quality In Higher Education

Drawing on material presented at a one day conference, this collection addresses the need to recognize academics' contributions to higher education, as well as the ways in which academics' efforts in the teaching and learning process can be acknowledged and suitably rewarded.

A bestselling book for higher education teachers and adminstrators interested in assuring effective teaching.

This book proposes a method to evaluate the work of teachers acting in a very specific educational context: graduate programs at higher education institutions. There are many publications on the field of measurement and evaluation of teaching practices, but these studies are usually conducted at the undergraduate level and ignore the nuances of teaching practices at the graduate level. Should professors demonstrate the same skills when they teach in undergraduate programs as they do when they teach in graduate programs? Is it appropriate to use the same assessment tools both at the undergraduate and the graduate levels? Do the teaching practices evolve the same way at the graduate and undergraduate levels? The book intends to answer these questions by introducing a methodological approach to find the relevant variables that are the foundation of professional practices at the graduate level as determined by the scientific community and through the analysis of the stakeholders’ perceptions. The proposed methodological approach combines quantitative and qualitative research techniques to identify and explain, within a mixed-method framework, the most important factors that lead to teaching quality at graduate level. Therefore, How to Evaluate Teaching Practices in Graduate Practices will be a valuable resource for students, university professors and educational administrators interested in quality assurance processes in higher education institutions.

This book provides a comprehensive and engaging analysis of the purpose and function of student evaluation in higher education. It explores its foundations and the emerging functions, as well as its future potential to improve the quality of university teaching and student learning. The book systematically assesses the core assumptions underpinning the design of student evaluation models as a tool to improve the quality of teaching. It also analyses the emerging influence of student opinion as a key metric and a powerful proxy for assuring the quality of teachers, teaching and courses in universities. Using the voices of teachers in the day-to-day practices of higher education, the book also explores the actual perceptions held by academics about student evaluation. It offers the first real attempt to critically analyse the developing influence of student evaluation on contemporary approaches to academic teaching. Using a practice-based perspective and the powerful explanatory potential of cultural historical activity theory (CHAT), the implications of the changing focus in the use of the student voice - from development to measurement - are systematically explored and assessed. Importantly, using the evidence provided by a unique series of practice-based case studies, the book also offers powerful new insights into how the student voice can be reconceptualised to more effectively improve the quality of teaching, curriculum and assessment. Based on this empirical analysis, a series of practical strategies are proposed to enhance the work of student evaluation in the future university to drive pedagogical innovation. This unique volume provides those interested in student evaluation with a more complex understanding of the development, contemporary function and future potential of the student voice. It also demonstrates how the student voice - in combination with professional dialogue - can be used to encourage more powerful and substantial forms of pedagogical improvement and academic development in higher education environments.

"I congratulate the authors on what I believe will be a very interesting and useful book. The language is accessible and the structure of the argument is coherent and consistent ... This is a very interesting and significant contribution to the field of higher education in general and scholarship in evaluative practices in particular." Judyth Sachs, Deputy Vice Chancellor and Provost at Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia. "With an increasing and, arguably, troubling confidence in the use of international league tables, student surveys and research ratings to 'evidence' the value of higher education, such scrutiny of higher education evaluation practices has never been more timely ... I believe the book may contribute most ... in empowering evaluators themselves to ensure that the outcomes of evaluation can be used to inform strategic priorities and decisionmaking in more meaningful ways." Higher Education Review, Vol 44, No 1, October 2011. A considerable amount of time and effort is invested in attempts to control, change and improve the higher education sector. These attempts involve evaluative practice, but we have not yet conceptualised the evaluations that take place so therefore the opportunity to understand the value and nature of different types of intervention is frequently missed. This book seeks to dismantle traditional boundaries in approaches to evaluation, assessing how value and worth is attributed to activities in higher education. It looks at evaluative practice in Higher Education rather than the evaluation of Higher Education. Reconceptualising Evaluation in Higher Education aims to aid understanding, drawing on a set of evaluative practices from the UK and internationally. The book will be of value and relevance to higher education providers and policy makers within higher education. Contributors Veronica Bamber, Margo Blythman, Val Chapman, Bernadette Charlier, Rob Cuthbert, Harry Hubball, Kerri-Lee Krause, Neil Lent, Alan McCluskey, Ian McNay, Joan Machell, John M. Owen, Marion L. Pearson, Michael Prosser, Christoph Rosenbusch, Murray Saunders, Uwe Schmidt, Alison Shreeve, Paul Trowler, Massimiliano Vaira, Christine Winberg.

TEACHER ASSESSMENT AND THE QUEST FOR TEACHER QUALITY Teacher Assessment and the Quest for Teacher Quality is an essential resource that provides school leaders, administrators, and teacher educators with a wide range of perspectives on the complex issue of teacher quality. The book examines assessment in the context of preparation, licensure, hiring, tenure, and even dismissal and explores a wealth of relevant topics. Comprehensive in scope, the handbook includes contributions from leading experts in the field of teacher quality and teacher assessment. This important book contains basic information on a variety of approaches to teacher assessment and teacher quality topics including the science and psychology of teacher selection, performance-based assessments, and hiring decisions. In addition, the contributors explore the role of formative assessments in new teacher induction, assessing for teacher tenure, various approaches to annual performance assessments, assessing teacher contributions to student achievement, and the law regarding teacher dismissals. The expert authors also tackle broader assessment issues including the interpretation of assessments, standards for teacher evaluation, and the inherent dilemma posed by measuring the quality of teaching. For the goal of ensuring quality teaching for all our students, Teacher Assessment and the Quest for Teacher Quality is an important resource and a lasting contribution to the literature on the topic.

This book explores the interplay between actors within educational institutions, organisational structure, commitment of senior leadership, involvement of faculty and students, and evaluation instruments in order to find ways of improving the quality of teaching.