Colleges are asked to use their existing observation protocol form, or leverage ones being used by other colleges or units, to observe and engage in conversation with faculty about their instructional practice. 

Although this initiative intended to conduct faculty observations, we understand (and have heard from college leadership) that an observation might not be appropriate in all situations, so the colleges have discretion on whether to conduct an observation or conversation with faculty members.

The primary purpose of this initiative remains to create a culture of transparency, reflection, and shared learning among faculty members on improving our instructional practices.

We will utilize IDEA scores, specifically focusing on faculty members scoring below 4.0, as a starting point to identify areas where observation and/or conversation may be beneficial.

• The University has historically flagged faculty rated below 4.0 on seven different IDEA questions, which represents the 25th percentile of responses. This initiative focuses on one IDEA question, the question asking students to provide an overall rating of the instructor. We are hoping this initiative can help us better understand if this is an appropriate methodology. 
• To help the norming process, and continue to expand on our culture of reflective teaching practices, it is recommended to also observe or have conversations with faculty scoring above 4.0 
• The goals include improving teaching techniques, promoting innovation in the classroom, and enhancing student learning experiences.

Academic and/or Operational Leaders will schedule observations and/or conversations with faculty during an upcoming AY2023-24 term.

After an observation, faculty members will have an opportunity to reflect on their teaching and discuss the feedback with whomever conducted the observation.

This process is meant to encourage self-assessment, reflection, and professional growth.

There will be no formal documentation of the observations and/or conversations in personnel files.

Faculty members are encouraged to keep their own records for personal reflection and improvement. If faculty wish, they may use their observation reflection and documents as part of their self-evaluation in their AY2023-24 FPE.

Through the CTLE, the University will continue to provide resources and workshops on effective teaching strategies and observation techniques to support faculty in this initiative - check the AY2023-24 CTLE Current Events page for more details. 

For faculty looking to collect additional data from their students, IDEA offers a tool called Feedback, which allows them to offer students a survey as often as once per day. Visit the CTLE’s Course Evaluations page to learn more..

Feedback from faculty members will be sought to continuously improve the observation process and ensure that it remains a positive and useful experience. 

Checking-in with faculty before and after the observation are key to this feedback loop.

We intend to use learnings from this process to inform the Senate charges described in the Shared Governance section. To this end, we’re seeing these observations and/or conversations as Phase One and the Senate charges and the products created from them and their eventual implementation as Phase Two.

There are two Senate charges related to this work and will be conducted concurrently. 

• FDC: Develop faculty observation tool and protocol 
• LQC & FDC (collaborative charge): Define instructional quality and identify metrics for evaluating instructional quality 

Learnings and feedback from the observations and/or conversations  (Phase One) will inform the Senate charges

This initiative is inclusive of all faculty members regardless of employment status (full-time, part-time, or adjunct), rank, discipline, or teaching experience.

It is an opportunity for both novice and experienced educators to learn from one another.

We’re aware of the literature depicting that women and people of color are disproportionately rated lower on student evaluations, and we want to underscore that this process is not intended to be punitive. Rather the process is designed for collegiality and to promote a culture of transparency, teaching reflection, collaboration, and continuous improvement within our academic community. Also, through our data analyses we are hopeful this process will help uncover reasons that students rate some faculty lower than others for reasons that are not related to instructional quality.

Observations and/or conversations and the use of IDEA scores are tools for improvement and formative discussions, not for evaluation or punitive measures.

Observers are expected to provide constructive feedback in a supportive and non-judgmental manner. (Tip: Consider connecting ahead of the observation to solicit potential focus areas from the faculty who will be observed.)

Data from observation protocols will only be used to inform professional development and/or to prompt possible agenda items the colleges may consider for more open dialog.