ASSESSING AND IMPROVING YOUR TEACHING

In most departments, TAs and other instructors are routinely evaluated, both to gather information for personnel decisions and to contribute to the improvement of teaching in the department. Departments are asked to evaluate TAs' teaching for reappointment, but the University asks each department to set its own criteria for reappointment.

In addition, Graduate School Memorandum 14 (http://www.grad.washington.edu/Acad/gsmemos/gsmemo14.htm) requires that new TAs be observed and given feedback about their teaching responsibilities during their first two quarters of appointment.

CIDR recommends that departments use a variety of sources of data for the assessment of teaching (http://depts.washington.edu/cidrweb/consulting/assessment.html): Each source offers valuable information, but none by itself gives the whole picture.

Student Ratings

Many departments require student ratings at the end of each quarter. If your department does not have its own assessment form, you will be asked to use the Instructional Assessment System (IAS) forms developed by the Office of Educational Assessment (OEA). There are a variety of scan-able IAS course evaluation forms, geared to different types of teaching situations; they are combined with more open-ended comment sheets to solicit student reactions. Early the following quarter, the OEA will return to you the open-ended comment sheets and a computerized ratings report from the scan-able course evaluation forms. For an overview of this process, consult the OEA Web site at http://www.washington.edu/oea/ias1.htm.

Peer Observation

In some departments, you may also be encouraged or even required to participate in a peer observation program. While you may feel anxious about being observed by another TA, many new TAs report that interactions with experienced TAs yield a wealth of immediately usable practical advice. When peer observation is used to focus on the improvement of teaching, it can be very effective. Resources to help you organize and learn the most from peer observation can be found at http://depts.washington.edu/cidrweb/ObsTools.htm.

Faculty Observation

If you are assisting a professor in his/her lecture, you will probably receive very frequent feedback. If, however, you have considerable autonomy - a quiz section, a lab, or a class of your own - procedures will vary. During the first two quarters of your appointment, a faculty member or Lead TA will conduct a specific observation and feedback session as indicated by Graduate School Memorandum 14, but after that, observations may be held on a more flexible schedule.

If you wish to have more feedback on your teaching, particularly if you are planning a career as a faculty member, invite experienced faculty members to observe your teaching. You will gain some helpful suggestions, and you will enable faculty members to write letters of recommendation for you that address your teaching as well as your research.

Consultation at CIDR

Staff members from CIDR are also available to observe and/or videotape your class, gather feedback from students, and help you identify areas for improvement.

Consult the CIDR Web site at http://depts.washington.edu/cidrweb/consulting/index.html to learn more about assessing and improving your teaching.