Documenting & Evaluating

Excellence in teaching is demonstrated both in the classroom and beyond in any and all work that you do that is related to teaching and learning.

Leadership in activities such as curriculum development, teaching innovation, mentoring, peer review, K-12 engagement, experiential education, engaged teaching, and scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL) can all contribute to making your case that you are developing and demonstrating excellent teaching practices. A teaching portfolio is a useful tool for collecting artifacts that allow each person to demonstrate their teaching excellence, and can be flexibly designed to capture what is unique to your teaching position.

The following tables suggest activities and artifacts that you might select to document your teaching. The first column lists broad categories of the activities that might best support each element. The second column provides specific examples of evidence with which the elements can be achieved, documented, and evaluated. You do not need to document every activity within each element—or match an activity for each of the five elements for that matter. Start by selecting those items that are in accord with your departmental/campus role and criteria.

Exemplar

Exemplars are instructors who demonstrate a caring, approachable, and personable relationship with students and are empathetic to student needs. They establish a respectful learning environment and support, motivate, and mentor students. To document your excellence in this foundational element, consider:

Activity	Example Evidence
Student Ratings	End-of-the-semester course evaluation scores and comments Experiential evaluations of faculty/preceptors Center for Instructional Excellence mid-semester feedback and improvement plan, e.g., Small Group Instructional Diagnosis Letters of support from students
Mentoring and Advising Learners Beyond the Classroom, e.g., undergraduates, graduates, interns, residents	Meaningful, sustained extracurricular/co-curricular advising Facilitating Learning Communities Teaching an Honors section or offering an Honors contract Service at university events & activities for students, e.g., guest speaker, mentor Creating a plan for emailing/communicating regularly with students with advice or mentorship interests Participating in luncheons/invitations to connect or engage with student groups Maintaining communications/connections with past students Holding flexible office hours and/or extra exam review hours Encouraging or assisting students to apply for awards, scholarships, seek funding, or identify other opportunities to support their development Serving as a counselor for support and care Tutoring Participating as a Faculty Fellow for a residence hall
Peer Observations	Evaluation of syllabus/course materials for inclusive, equity-mindedness, ADA compliant Observation of accessibility via frequency/type of office hours Letters of support based on observations
Awards and Recognition	Departmental/College/University Faculty/Teacher of the Year; Preceptor of the Year; Residence Life Award, e.g., Faculty Fellow, honored at Favorite Faculty Banquet Student achievement, e.g., awards, presentations, review opportunities, scholarships, student involvement in organizations
Alumni Feedback	Quantitative and qualitative data via surveying
Professional Development	Participating in Safe Zone training, QPR/Mental Health First Aid, Inclusive Excellence Initiative

Enthusiast

Enthusiasts are instructors who are subject matter experts, passionate about their teaching and discipline, and who want to transfer that passion to their students, whether in the classroom or as a mentor. They prepare students for future careers and collaborate actively with colleagues to improve their instruction. To document your excellence in this foundational element, consider:

Activity	Example Evidence
Student Ratings*	Experiential evaluations of faculty/preceptors Center for Instructional Excellence mid-semester feedback and improvement plan, e.g., Small Group Instructional Diagnosis Letters of support from students
Mentoring and Advising Learners Beyond the Classroom, e.g., undergraduates, graduates, interns, residents	Meaningful, sustained extracurricular/cocurricular advising Facilitating a Learning Community Teaching an Honors section or offering an Honors contract Offering career guidance Serving as an undergraduate research mentor Serving as an advisor for graduate research Serving as a mentor for junior faculty, residents, fellows Tutoring
Peer Observations	Evaluation of subject matter expertise and/or integration of subject-matter research into the classroom
Alumni Feedback	Quantitative and qualitative data via surveying
Professional Development	Participating in communities of practice; field trainings, certificates Engaging in trans-/interdisciplinary collaborations with colleagues

*This activity could potentially offer evidence for Enthusiast, if realigned and expanded beyond the core questions to include this element of the Framework.

Educator

Educators are instructors who engage learners using a variety of learner-centered activities that are inclusive, motivating, relevant to the real world, application-based, and that promote creativity, critical thinking, and collaboration. To document your excellence in this foundational element, consider:

Activity	Example Evidence
Student Ratings*	Experiential evaluations of faculty/preceptors Center for Instructional Excellence mid-semester feedback and improvement plan, e.g., Small Group Instructional Diagnosis Low stakes formative assessments, e.g., student reflections, minute-responses, content summaries Letters of support from students
Peer Observations	Evaluation of syllabus, e.g., communication of learning goals; realistic expectations Classroom observation, e.g., inclusive, equity-minded pedagogy; connections to real world; clearly articulate and hold students to high standards; promotes creativity, critical thinking and problem-solving; uses evidence-based/high-impact instructional strategies; relates theory to practice; provides constructive feedback; integrates guest speakers/industry/’real world’ collaborators Evaluation of assessments, e.g., designs assignments and assessments that emulate real world situations; allows students to redo assignments and assessments as they work to gain mastery
Awards and Recognition	Instructional awards, e.g., Teaching Academy Leadership Awards; University, College, and Departmental Awards Student achievement, e.g., awards, presentations, review opportunities, scholarships, student involvement in organizations
Alumni Feedback	Quantitative and qualitative data via surveying
Professional Development	Instructional development programs, e.g., Teaching for Tomorrow, IMPACT, CIE workshops, Service-Learning Fellows Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion programs, e.g., Growing Intercultural Leaders (GIL) program, Inclusive Excellence Initiative

*This activity could potentially offer evidence for Educator, if realigned and expanded beyond the core questions to include this element of the Framework.

Experimenter

Experimenters are instructors who are ready to adapt to changes in audience, instructional methods, and educational content. They proactively incorporate innovative instructional strategies and technologies using a variety of perspectives. To document your excellence in this advanced element, consider:

Activity	Example Evidence
Student Ratings*	Experiential evaluations of faculty/preceptors Center for Instructional Excellence mid-semester feedback and improvement plan, e.g., Small Group Instructional Diagnosis Low stakes formative assessments, e.g., student reflections, minute-responses, content summaries Letters of support from students
Peer Observations	Relevance, feasibility, efficacy of innovative strategies
Awards and Recognition	Innovation awards, e.g., Class of 1922 Helping Students Learn; University, College, Departmental, and External Awards
Alumni Feedback	Quantitative and qualitative data via surveying
Professional Development	Instructional development programs, e.g., Teaching for Tomorrow, IMPACT, CIE workshops, Service-Learning Fellows
Curriculum Development and Teaching Innovations	Innovative teaching strategies, e.g., course restructure, innovative scheduling accommodations that facilitate student involvement or participation, new teaching pedagogy, technological innovation Evaluation and assessment of new teaching innovations, e.g., how it improved teaching, increased student engagement, learning, or knowledge retention Projects funded by external or internal grants to support innovative instructional activities

*This activity could potentially offer evidence for Experimenter, if realigned and expanded beyond the core questions to include this element of the Framework.

Explorer

Explorers are scholars of teaching and learning and mentors and/or role models for other academics. To document your excellence in this advanced element, consider:

Activity	Example Evidence
Mentoring and Advising Learners Beyond the Classroom, e.g., undergraduates, graduates, interns, residents	Undergraduate research mentor Advisor for graduate research Mentor for junior faculty, residents, fellows Service related to teaching, e.g., Department, College, or University committees; Undergraduate Academic Committee; Graduate Education Committee; Curriculum/Assessment Committee
Peer Observations	Evaluation of scholarship, awards, contributions to the field
Awards and Recognition	Teaching excellence leadership awards, e.g., Teaching Academy; Charles B. Murphy Award; Exceptional Early Career Teaching Award; Book of Great Teachers; Excellence in Instruction for Lecturers; University, College, Departmental, and External Awards
Professional Development	Instructional development programs, e.g., Teaching for Tomorrow, IMPACT, CIE workshops, Service-Learning Fellows Diversity, Equity and Inclusion programs, e.g., Growing Intercultural Leaders (GIL) program, Inclusive Excellence Initiative, CILMAR
Curriculum Development and Teaching Innovations	New or substantially revised courses and/or curricula Experiential education course development Leadership in teaching initiatives, e.g., curriculum revision
Scholarship of Teaching and Learning	Leadership in institutional change, e.g., development of revised policy, institutionalized programming, organizational structures, evidence of cultural shift Scholarly outputs, e.g., journal and textbook publications, conferences; projects funded by external or internal grants to support instructional activities; production of teaching materials and resources, and sharing the results of classroom action research Professional membership and engagement (local, state, national organizations related to teaching/practice in your field) Reviews of new state or national curriculum or policies related to teaching and learning in your field Educational workshops, continuing education, outreach to peers/professionals in your field Service on Scholarship of Teaching and Learning-related editorial boards and as journal reviewer