In "Grading the College," Scott M. Gelber offers a comprehensive history of evaluating teaching and learning in higher education. He complicates the conventional narrative that portrays evaluation as a newfangled assault on the integrity of higher education while acknowledging that there are many compelling reasons to oppose those…

Published annually since 1985, the Handbook series provides a compendium of thorough and integrative literature reviews on a diverse array of topics of interest to the higher education scholarly and policy communities. Each chapter provides a comprehensive review of research findings on a selected topic, critiques the research literature in terms…

What is effective teaching? It is not enough to say "I know it when I see it"--not when we are expecting so much more from students and teachers than in the past. To help teachers achieve greater success with their students we need new and better ways to identify and develop effective teaching. The Measures of Effective Teaching (MET)…

In this powerful collection of personal accounts, successful and respected teachers from across the country reveal how recent education policies have played out in their schools and classrooms in negative and counterproductive ways, and offer teacher-led alternatives for providing equitable, engaging, and empowering education. Framed by critical…

This volume collects essays Rob Jenkins originally wrote for "The Two-Year Track" column in "The Chronicle of Higher Education". Drawing on his own experience, Rob has, for many years, been dispensing much-appreciated advice from the frontline--to those considering a community college career as well as those who desire to move up the ranks. This…

This handbook provides a practical model for developing and using a comprehensive faculty evaluating system that responds to the specific needs, concerns, and characteristics of the faculty and administration of an individual academic unit. It outlines an eight-step procedure that focuses on the determination of: (1) the faculty role model; (2)…

Formative evaluation is an evaluation done with the intention of identifying potential for improvement. This handbook provides techniques and ideas for discovering how students are learning and how much students are learning from their experiences in the classroom. Surveys, questionnaires, observations, class discussions, journals, and…

A 3-year study described older-than-average full-time students at the University of North Dakota and compared them to traditional-age students on that campus and to their older-than-average counterparts nationally. From a sample of 100 students in each of 6 categories (young adult, adult, undergraduate, graduate, and professional), 69% responded.…

Examined is the critical issue of the quality of teaching and learning in postsecondary education. Written by nine experts in the evaluation of instruction, the book asks the questions: Should university teachers be evaluated?; If so, with what goals in mind and by what methods should they be judged?; What are the effects of teacher evaluation on…

This handbook offers a practical model for developing a comprehensive faculty evaluation system that responds to the specific needs, concerns, and characteristics of faculty and administration in an individual academic unit. The eight steps of the model are: (1) determining the faculty role model; (2) determining faculty role model parameter…

Practical recommendations are offered for implementing an effective faculty evaluation system, based on the idea that quality promotion and tenure decisions are impossible without one. Weaknesses of current systems are described, including casual approaches and inadequate attention to decision making. Eight characteristics of effective systems are…

Intended primarily for senior graduate students seriously considering a job in academia, this book begins with a discussion of available jobs in academia and how to get one. Chapter 1, "Employment Opportunities in Academia," explores the American higher educational system and the pros and cons of choosing an academic career. Chapter 2, "Getting an…

A guide to evaluating teaching, courses, and programs of study is presented. Basic considerations in planning and conducting evaluations in higher education are reviewed, including information sources, methods, and data reporting. The processes of self-evaluation by teachers and evaluation by colleagues and students are examined. Sources of…

Seven separate areas of faculty evaluation are discussed: student, colleague and self-assessment, student learning, student advising, institutional service, and research and publication. Designed for use by faculty and administrators, this book is intended to serve as a practical resource in developing and upgrading programs for evaluation. Each…

This collection of 12 essays provides an overview of research on effective teaching in higher education. It includes: (1) "Perceived Control in College Students: Implications for Instruction in Higher Education" (Raymond P. Perry); (2) "A Motivational Analysis of Academic Life in College" (Martin V. Covington); (3) "Turning Work into Play: The…