Presenting a convincing teaching case for promotion

Briefing for members of local and central promotion committees

17th May 2011

Director Institute for Teaching and Learning Simon Barrie

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LOOKING FOR A CONVINCING ‘TEACHING CASE’

1. Understanding the ‘teaching’ elements of the policy - education-focused promotion pathways

2. Sources of 'convincing' evidence - making sense of student feedback and coherence of claims and evidence

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TEACHING DIMENSIONS

› Promotion committees asked to assess teaching in terms of:› Handout 1: ITL Teaching Insight 9: Arguing the case for promotion http://www.itl.usyd.edu.au/programs/teaching_insights/

› Teaching performance

› Research-enriched teaching

› Student-focused teaching

› Scholarship in teaching

› Leadership in teaching

› Applicants should communicate their achievements in relation

to all these dimensions of teaching not just ‘performance’

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CONSIDER EXPECTATIONSCRITERIA (A-E)

› Describe expectations for academic work at each level of appointment:

› Level A: will be contributing to teaching …. under the supervision of a more experienced member of staff

› Level B: experience in education-related scholarly activities, which have resulted in demonstrated improvements in teaching quality and/or education outcomes

› Level C: Will disseminate knowledge in learning and teaching to benefit and promote good practice in the Faculty/University

› Level D: …contributions to national efforts to enhance curriculum …a sustained track record of effective leadership of teaching teams in curriculum design….evidence of major original and innovative contributions to curriculum and pedagogical development which enhance the University’s standing as a national leader in education within the discipline

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PROMOTION PATHWAYS

› The University recognises the mutual interaction of education and research in academic practice

› There are now three promotion pathways:

› 1) Teaching & Research

› 2) Education-focused

› 3) Research-focused

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THE COMMITTEE’S EXPECTATIONS

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EVALUATING ACHIEVEMENTS

› Applicants must provide evidence of the capacity to perform at the level to which they are seeking promotion and demonstrate an upward trajectory in performance that would warrant promotion to the next level.

› Exceptional - An applicant whose achievements are Exceptional should demonstrate highly significant achievements and contributions in relation to the criteria at the level for which the applicant is applying.

› Outstanding - An applicant whose achievements are Outstanding should demonstrate achievements and contributions which clearly meet the criteria at the level for which the applicant is applying.

› Superior - An applicant whose achievements are Superior should demonstrate highly significant achievements and contributions in relation to the criteria at the applicant's current level.

› Satisfactory - An applicant whose achievements are Satisfactory should demonstrate achievements and contributions which meet the criteria at the applicant's current level.

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EVALUATING ACHIEVEMENTS

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RESEARCH & TEACHING SCHOLARSHIP

What goes where?Teaching (40%)

Research (40%)

Service (20%)

T &R pathway

Scholarship of teaching and learning

Discipline research

EducationPathway

Scholarship of teaching and learning

Discipline research

EducationPathway

Scholarship of teaching and learning

Scholarship of teaching and learning and Discipline research

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EVIDENCE TO SUPPORT CLAIMS

› What are some different sources of evidence you would expect

to see in an application? PTO Handout 1: ITL Teaching Insight 9: Arguing the case for promotion http://www.itl.usyd.edu.au/programs/teaching_insights/

› Students, colleagues, literature & teachers' own experience

› Different sorts of evidence relevant to each dimension

› Triangulation, coherence & authenticity

› A claim without evidence is less convincing

› A claim supported by only one sort of evidence is less convincing

› A claim with the wrong sort of evidence is not convincing

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STUDENT SURVEY DATA AS EVIDENCE

Presenting USE data in a way that is convincing and credibleHandout 2: ITL Teaching Insight 7: Making use of USE data http://www.itl.usyd.edu.au/programs/teaching_insights/

› Interpreting numerical data

› Making sense of student comments

› Contextualising results

› Triangulation of data

› Most importantly: What has been done with the information?

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ARGUING THE TEACHING CASE SUCCINCTLY

What members of previous committees said they looked for:

› A clear and distinctive theme or focus that runs through the applicant's argument for promotion

› An authentic, convincing voice and identity as a teacher – not empty jargon

› Clear claims and achievements based in examples of practice, followed up by relevant, broad-based (triangulated) evidence, that is reinforced (not repeated) in TRSSA form, the referees reports and (at E) the interview

Thank you

Questions?