Resources

Reviews the literature on characteristics of adult learners and implications for teaching. Idea Paper no. 29, from the series developed by the Center for Faculty Evaluation and Development, Kansas State University.

The following content and formatting suggestions have been compiled to help give you ideas about your own Teaching Portfolio. There are many possibilities, and other formation and/or content could suite your situation better. The aim is not necessarily to come up with a standardized document, but one which has coherence and simplicity and which also gives, like a good CV, the best picture of your history and experience. The Derek Bok Center is happy to help you with a Teaching Portfolio to suit your needs. Keep in mind the following possibilities and limitations of our services: What We Cannot Provide: Editorial advice Packaging Duplicating Filing Distribution What We Can Provide: Help with documentation of teaching Help with developing teaching strategies, techniques, skills Consultations on broadening teaching repertoire Help in developing syllabi, special content, entire courses or aspects of courses Help with teaching innovations, development/implementation Templates and sample portfolios

Recommendations from the literature about what information might be included in your course syllabus – to communicate to one’s students what the course is about, why the course is taught, where it is going, and what will be required of them to succeed.

What is the relationship between the life of the intellect and the life of the spirit? This is complex and painful question. In this paper I would like to approach the problem, not by jumping into the middle to answer the whole of it, but by pondering with you only one part of it having to do with what it means for a Christian to think rationally. As members of our own culture, all of us have been reared to believe at some level that even for the Christian, intellect and spirit are and need to be kept separate. A good deal of my education, even my Christian education, over the years, and yours too, I suspect, was based in the conviction that our human minds are only really trustworthy, that is, "objective," when we are able to discard from our thought processes in own particular, individual perceptions of the world, our own particular experiences, our own particular points of view, and our own values. In short, in order to meet the criteria of acceptable thought we have not only tried to make a division between intellect and the spiritual. We have actually tried to throw out of our definition of what it means to think a good deal of what we know and who we are as human beings and as Christians. In order to help us think about this, I would like to tell a story. It is my story, but I tell it because I suspect large parts of it are your story as well.

We in the Center are aware of diverse viewpoints regarding teaching evaluation. A recent article by Robert Boice and Jim Turner ("Helping Faculty Recognize Myths About Teaching Evaluations", which appeared in Vol. 6, No. 4, pp. 159-161, Winter, 1988 issue of The Journal of Staff, Program and Organizational Development) addressed a summary of misunderstandings and literature related to teaching evaluation. We reproduce here their major findings for your consideration.

Two alternative paradigms for undergraduate education are compared; one holds teaching as its purpose, the other learning. The natures of the two paradigms are examined on the following dimensions: mission and purposes, criteria for success, teaching and learning structures, underlying learning theory, concepts of productivity and methods of funding, and faculty and staff roles in instruction and governance.

Reviews 20 principles or steps in an effective faculty evaluation system, arguing that while most institutions’ claim that the purpose of their fculty evaluation system is the improvement of teaching, the primary purpose is actually almost always to make personnel decisions. Idea Paper no. 33, from the series developed by the Center for Faculty Evaluation and Development, Kansas State University.

Reviews scholarly literature to recommend how to use student evaluations effectively to improve teaching. Idea Paper no. 22, from the series developed by the Center for Faculty Evaluation and Development, Kansas State University.

Exhaustive and annotated review of the literature on student evaluation of teaching. Idea Paper no. 32, from the series developed by the Center for Faculty Evaluation and Development, Kansas State University.