Search

Ideally, instructors and their institutions would have a shared set of metrics by which they determine teaching effectiveness. And, ideally, these metrics would overlap with research findings on measuring teaching effectiveness. Unfortunately, the current situation at most institutions is far from this ideal. As part of a larger interview study, 72 physics instructors were asked to describe how they and their institutions assess teaching effectiveness. Results suggest that institutions typically base most or all of their assessment of teaching effectiveness on student evaluations of teaching. Instructors, on the other hand, base most or all of their assessment of teaching effectiveness on student exam performance and nonsystematic formative assessments. Few institutions and instructors use assessment practices suggested by the research literature. In general, instructors are much more positive about the methods they use to evaluate their teaching than the methods their institutions use to evaluate their teaching. Both instructors and institutions could benefit from broadening the assessment sources they use to evaluate teaching effectiveness through increased use of standardized measures based on student learning and greater reliance on systematic formative assessment.

We present a temporally fine-grained characterization of faculty practice in workshop-style introductory physics courses. Practice is binned in five minute intervals and coded through two complementary observational protocols: the Reform Teaching Observation Protocol provides a summative assessment of fidelity to reform-teaching principles, while the Teaching Dimensions Observation Protocol records direct practice. We find that the TDOP's direct coding of practice explains nuances in the holistic RTOP score, with higher RTOP scores corresponding to less lecture, but not necessarily more student-directed activities. Despite using similar materials, faculty show significant differences in practice that manifests in both TDOP and RTOP scores. We also find a significant dependence of practice on course subject reflected in both RTOP and TDOP scores, with Electricity & Magnetism using more instructor-centered practices (lecture, illustration, etc.) than Mechanics courses.

The Tomorrow’s Schools reforms created confusion as to exactly who is the employer of teachers. In terms of the 1989 Education Act, it is the Board of Trustees. In practice, hiring and firing is likely to be done by the principal, and the Ministry of Education represents the employer party in collective employment contract negotiations. Drawing on the author’s personal experience of managing Ministry of Education contracts in performance management, this article: 1. considers whether the imposed requirements for the performance management 2. of teachers are consistent with the self-managing school framework; and 3. evaluates the effectiveness of the regulations in enhancing teacher performance.