- Post-class (or module) Self-check
Description
- After a teaching session or online course module, take 5 minutes or so to jot down thoughts on:
- What went well?
- What could I have done differently?
- How will I modify my instruction in the future?
Questions Answered
- In general, how am I feeling after implementing a new instructional technique? How is my confidence?
Why Important
- Consistently conducting post-class self-checks can be used to yield very insightful longitudinal data on practically any aspect of teaching that is of interest to the instructor.
Evidence/Records You Can Collect
- Keep a log (text, video, or audio) to track your progress and improvement over time.
Data Sharing
- Quotes or excerpts from your log
- Summary and analysis*
Resources
Examples
- After a teaching session or online course module, take 5 minutes or so to jot down thoughts on:
- Journaling
Description
- Can be broad (e.g., what was my overall impression of how my class went today?).
- Can be narrowed down to a specific topic/issue that you would like to focus on in your teaching (e.g., how engaged were my students during class today?)
Questions Answered
- How can I track progress or change in specific aspects of my teaching over time? For example, related to:
- Enhancing student participation
- Planning meaningful learning experiences
- Providing useful and timely feedback
Why Important
- Reflective journaling can help an instructor articulate rationale for specific teaching strategies and reflect on strengths and weaknesses of those approaches before, during, and/or after they are implemented.
Collect
- The journal itself is a form of record keeping.
Data Sharing
- Excerpts from your journal
- Responses to select guiding questions
- Summary and analysis*
Resources
Examples
- SPOTs Completion and Comparison
Description
- Completing the same course evaluation form completed by students can highlight discrepancies and prompt further reflective thinking
Questions Answered
- Are there any discrepancies between my students’ perceptions of my teaching practices and my own?
Why Important
- Identifying specific discrepancies can help you develop potential explanations for the misalignment and identify possible strategies to address issues moving forward.
Collect
- Record discrepancies between your students’ ratings and your own
- Summarize your interpretations of these differences
- Describe potential strategies to align your students’ perceptions of your teaching with your own
Data Sharing
- Report any discrepancies between students’ ratings and your own that you find particularly meaningful, including what these discrepancies may imply, and potential next steps
- Report your progress in aligning your students’ perceptions with your own
- Summary and analysis*
Resources
- FIU SPOTs guide for more ideas about using SPOTs effectively in the evaluation of your teaching
- Center for the Advancement of Teaching
Examples
- An instructor wants to identify potential discrepancies in their students’ perceptions of their teaching and their own beliefs about their instruction, so they complete the SPOTs survey prior to students and compare then conduct a comparative review of the results.
- An instructor wants to identify potential discrepancies in their students’ perceptions of their teaching and their own beliefs about their instruction, so they complete the SPOTs survey prior to students and compare then conduct a comparative review of the results.
- The instructor then reaches out to 5 students and ask if they would be willing to participate in a focus group to discuss the course resources and uses this feedback to revise the materials and sources for the next semester
- Teaching Inventories
Description
- A brief survey that helps instructors assess their teaching approaches.
- Often consist of multiple-choice questions on a Likert-scale and often take less than 10 - 15 minutes to complete.
Questions Answered
- To what extent are my instructional practices:
- Characterized as learning-centered?
- Encourage student engagement and inclusivity?
- Promote an active learning environment for my students?
Why Important
- Teaching Inventories are useful for:
- Highlighting strengths in faculty’s instructional approach
- identifying specific areas/aspects of instruction that need refining but may be otherwise difficult to identify
- Providing formative feedback or further developing specific aspects of instruction
Evidence/Records You Can Collect
- Inventory results
- Completed inclusion worksheet
Data Sharing
- Brief description of the inventory, your results, and steps taken (or to be taken) based on results
- Summary and analysis*
Resources
Examples