Self-Assessment
Self-assessment is often the most challenging, but arguably most essential element of the teaching effectiveness process. Self-assessment is best situated in reflective practice with an aim to develop goals for professional growth. Self-assessments look different in every unit on campus. Each unit should consider how they will use self-evaluations, what questions self-evaluations should answer, and what purpose they serve in evaluating teaching effectiveness.
Review the UTLC’s April 2025: Beyond Course Evaluations
Elements of Self-Assessment of Teaching
Self-assessments should be a reflective process. Self-assessments are narrative tools that can provide context for other inputs (e.g., course evaluations, peer assessments) in the evaluation of teaching, but they also provide a key space for collecting evidence of teaching growth and professional development.
- Teaching Goals should shape the self-assessment narrative. This includes goals from the past year, as well as emerging goals for the next.
- Professional Development is central to the formative approach of teaching effectiveness. Instructors should include an outline of the professional development they have completed related to teaching, as well as their plan for continued professional development that aligns with their teaching goals.
- Context for Teaching and Interpretation of Data can provide a narrative for data presented in the teaching effectiveness process. Often times components and situations that directly impact the learning environment are not easily ascertained in course evaluations and peer observations. The self-assessment is a space to provide background and help tell the full story of the data presented.
- Evidence of Practice can include everything from lesson plans to mid-semester feedback to student work products. These additional artifacts can often tell a story about the learning experience that cannot be captured by other means. Evidence of Practice can assist the formative process and help make visible the labor of teaching.
REsources for Faculty
Narrative Self-Assessment
The University of Iowa provides tools for crafting a narrative of teaching. This resource includes tools for collecting artifacts of teaching, linking evidence to teaching frameworks, and developing a teaching protfolio.
A Teaching Profile
The University of Oregon provides process for exploring your teaching profile that includes engaged, research-focused, encompassing, and professional teaching elements.
Samples Self-Assessment
The University of Pittsburgh’s Center for Teaching and Learning provides several examples of self-assessment and options for self evaluation.
Guided Self Assessment
Florida Atlantic University’s Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing provides a structured template for self-evaluation.
An Instructors Guide to Self Assessment
The University of Kansas developed an An Instructor’s Guide to Self Assessment that outlines questions for reflection and approaches for providing evidence of teaching.
Transforming Higher Education-Multidimensional Evaluation of Teaching
The TEval (Transforming Higher Education-Multidimensional Evaluation of Teaching) project provides resources from University of Kansas (KU), University of Colorado (CU), and University of Massachusetts (UMass) on self-assessment.
Unit Context for Self-Assessment
The University of Washington provides units and committees with context and considerations regarding self-evaluations.
Resources for Units
A Sample Template for Annual Reviews
University of Kansas has developed a template for annual reviews (word doc) based on the Benchmarks for Teaching Effectiveness model developed by KU, CU, UMass, and AAU.
Additionally, KU provides a FAQ and Guide (word doc) for departments using their annual review materials. The Guide covers what to collect, how to review items collected, and templates for self-reflection.
Student Surveys for Mentoring and Advising
University of Kansas has developed two student survey templates for document mentoring and advising tasks with the Benchmarks for Teaching Effectiveness model developed by KU, CU, UMass, and AAU.
Holistic Teaching Evaluation
UMass-Amherst has a guide for implementing a holistic evaluation of teaching process (pdf). The guide provides details on the defined dimensions of teaching, what materials could be collected, and sample rubric for review.
Structured Guide for Annual Reviews
Florida Atlantic University’s Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing provides a structured guide for annual reviews, including Statements of Scholarly Practice, Criteria for Annual Evaluations, Guidelines for Third Year Review for Tenure, and Guidelines for Reviewing Adjunct/Part-time Faculty.