Our Services
- Student Ratings of Instruction
- Assesses effectiveness by focusing on learning and curricular objectives.
- Feedback for Department Chairs
- Comprises the only nationally normed tool for evaluating chairpersons.
- Chair Coaching Service
- Guiding chairs through an individualized process of professional discovery and reflection.
- Feedback for Administrators
- Considers impressions of stakeholders on 10 pivotal characteristics.
Conducting Effective Classroom Observations
with Barbara Millis
Issues of quality and accountability in higher education have fueled a general movement for education reform, particularly in undergraduate teaching. Genuine reform, however, is unlikely to occur unless faculty and administrators are convinced that teaching quality is tied to meaningful assessment and the reward system. The teaching portfolio movement and a general impetus to open classroom doors have spurred renewed interest in classroom visits as an effective way—although not the only way—to document teaching expertise.
Colleagues also enjoy conducting reciprocal observations, thus increasing collegiality; the subsequent consultations promote reflection and positive changes, thus giving faculty ownership and investment in teaching enhancement. Well-thought-out, systematic, collegial classroom observations—particularly if conducted over a period of time—remain a powerful way to document teaching activities, to encourage reflection, to foster constructive dialogues, and to strengthen teaching performance and student learning. This experiential workshop will focus on a ten-step approach to conducting observations, one emphasizing a sequence that includes a pre-visit conference, valid observation practices, and constructive feedback processes.
