Decentralized/departmental reward systems

Abstract

One institution's attempt to review teaching at the departmental level reflects upon the argument that honoring teaching is best done departmentally due to disciplinary differences in norms and standards.

Teaching Awards: The Problem of Assessing Their Impact

“…The second goal of teaching awards programs mentioned by the majority of respondents in the McNaught and Anwyl (1993) survey is to encourage teaching excellence across the faculty (13/24). Awards are expected to achieve this end through two activities: the self-examination that the nomination process is likely to stimulate and the dialogue that occurs in generating and applying a standardized set of criteria on what constitutes good teaching (an expectation also posed by Chism & SzabO, 1996;Kahn, 1996;and Lunde & Barrett, 1996). McNaught and Anwyl (1993) found that the third purpose listed by their respondents was to promote the value of teaching as an academic activity at the institution (3/24).…”

2: Investigating Indicators of the Scholarship of Teaching: Teaching Awards in Research Universities

“…The structure of a program to honor exemplary teaching reveals important messages about the department's or institution's teaching standards (Svinicki & Menges, 1996). Research studies (Dunkin & Precians, 1992;Forsythe & Gandolfo, 1996;Jenrette & Hays, 1996;Lunde & Barrett, 1996;Miller, 1995;Quinn, 1994;Wergin, 1993;Zahorski, 1996) have explored the types of awards used for institutional and departmental recognition, the procedure involved in these programs, and the criteria selectors use for choosing the exemplary teacher. These studies have been conducted in various sizes and types of institutions of higher education.…”

“…Many colleges define and publicize the nature of excellent teaching in brochures, applications, and other print material. Lunde and Barrett (1996) describe the effort offour departments "to preciselyidentify ways that teaching activity might be better documented, so that effective teaching might be better rewarded and faculty members thus motivated to improve instruction" (p. 94). These departments assigned committees to develop award recommendations from studying how other units conferred awards, reviewed the teaching records of colleagues, and provided formative peer feedback to both nontenured and tenured faculty.…”

2: Investigating Indicators of the Scholarship of Teaching: Teaching Awards in Research Universities

“…The structure of a program to honor exemplary teaching reveals important messages about the department's or institution's teaching standards (Svinicki & Menges, 1996). Research studies (Dunkin & Precians, 1992;Forsythe & Gandolfo, 1996;Jenrette & Hays, 1996;Lunde & Barrett, 1996;Miller, 1995;Quinn, 1994;Wergin, 1993;Zahorski, 1996) have explored the types of awards used for institutional and departmental recognition, the procedure involved in these programs, and the criteria selectors use for choosing the exemplary teacher. These studies have been conducted in various sizes and types of institutions of higher education.…”