Currently, the Institute uses one instrument to collect information about teaching effectiveness--CIOS scores. Students can often identify aspects of a faculty member's teaching strategy that help them learn and that could be improved to enhance their learning using this measure. But CIOS is one opinion-based source of data to assess a complex process, and the survey is done at the end of the course, offering only summative feedback to the faculty member.
The Faculty Executive Board (FEB) passed a motion in February 2020 that requires each college or unit to select and develop at least one additional measure of teaching effectiveness. Doing so allows faculty to collect more information about their teaching practice from other voices, thus triangulating the data for higher reliability and impact.
There are many benefits to using at least one additional measure, including
- Growing as a professional, and being a reflective practitioner (and mentor).
- Improving department/school/college student learning and achievement of programmatic learning goals.
- Creating a culture of teaching, learning, and mentoring in the unit.
- Providing important formative feedback that can be used during the class to improve teaching and learning in a course.
Below is a list of possible measures that can be used to complement and triangulate CIOS scores.
| Measure | Time Commitment | Description | Related CTL Resources |
| Teaching Awards | low to high | Faculty member is nominated for and/or wins teaching awards from school, college, university, or outside organization. | Teaching Awards |
| Peer Observation of Teaching | medium to high | Peer faculty observes instructor teaching, preferably more than once, and uses a shared rubric to offer feedback on what is working and what might be improved for student learning. | Peer Observation of Teaching, Tools for Facilitating Peer Conversations about Teaching (PDF) |
| Peer Review of Teaching Materials | medium to high | Faculty member creates reflective teaching portfolio (see next section) to be reviewed by peers based on a shared definition of effective teaching and assessment rubric. Evaluators may be in the unit or external. | |
| Pedagogical Publications & Conferences | high | Faculty member conducts scholarly teaching activities/research written up for publication in a teaching-focused journal or journal section or submitted conference paper/presentation. | T&L Conferences |
Instructor's Reflective Voice | |||
| Reflective Summaries | low to medium | Faculty member reflects on the highs and lows of a course from their own perspective, with the goal of strengthening the course curriculum, improving student learning, or enhancing teaching practices. | Reflective Teaching Badge |
| Annotated Materials | low | In line with end-of-term reflection, the faculty member annotates teaching materials such as syllabi, assignments, and lessons for future improvements of the course. | |
| Professional Development | low to high | Faculty member provides evidence of implementing changes in teaching practices through participation in teaching and learning workshops, consultations about teaching, faculty learning communities, teaching fellows groups, or collaborative research projects on a teaching-related topic. | Reflective Teaching Badge, Class of 1969 Teaching Fellows, Hesburgh Award Teaching Fellows |
| Teaching Portfolio | medium to high | Faculty member compiles and curates a set of teaching materials such as those listed above and in the other two categories for one’s own professional development over time. Faculty also includes a statement of teaching philosophy and reflection on materials to contextualize the portfolio. | Crafting Your Teaching Statement, |
Additional Student Voices | |||
| Short Surveys | low | Anonymous mini-surveys completed at various times of the semester to take a “pulse check” on what teaching strategies are helping students learn and what can be improved to increase student learning. | Teaching with Technology Resources - Student Surveys, Surveying Students for Feedback |
| Learning Outcome Assessment | low to medium | Faculty member captures student knowledge at the start and end of a course to compare how much students learned in relation to faculty course learning goals. | Designing an Assessment Plan |
| Student Interviews | medium | Students are interviewed by a neutral third-party to share their experiences and suggestions about a course. | Small Group Instructional Dialogue through CTL |