Abstract:

This presentation is a case study of implementing holistic evaluation of teaching in a health faculty at a U15 university in Canada which includes feedback from students and peers, as well as self reflection, comprising both annual formative and periodic summative review. Concerns regarding both student and peer feedback abounded from the outset: Several local and national investigations have made clear that institutional student ratings of instruction are systematically biased against instructors from equity groups and have tenuous connection to teaching effectiveness. In contrast, engaging student voice in holistic review of teaching emphasizes the need for processes which are personalized, intentional, and constructive. Moreover, gathering evidence from students also affords multiple opportunities to demonstrate how we are contributing to the Faculty's collective commitment to Culturally Responsive Pedagogy, Universal Design for Learning and the Faculty of Health Student Success Framework (which will be shared at the conference). Peer review, while foundational in the academy, in this context carries concern in several directions: the unacknowledged workload to review one another’s work; the difficulty in finding peers to review unique pedagogies and methodologies; and the disproportionate burden upon racialized and Indigenous faculty to take on yet more administrative tasks. Unspoken beneath was the fear of judgement and critique, uncertainty regarding collegial foundations, and, for many, a distrust in one another as well as the system into which the peer reviews would be funnelled.

It was in this environment that the work began to understand the roots of the concerns and slowly begin to cultivate new soil, planting seeds of possibility for both student and collegial exchange and nurturing optimism in how we can influence the environmental conditions. Far before operationalizing the new holistic evaluation of teaching policy, the author and team spent two years growing the garden of teaching and learning in the Faculty of Health through structured learning events, guest panels, open classroom drop-ins, monthly reading circles, and ‘brewing ideas’ - casual conversations about teaching and learning over coffee or beer. This presentation will overview the methods that have indeed fertilized the soil and shifted the culture. Case study data will also be shared.

Keywords:

Holistic evaluation of teaching, peer review of teaching, culturally responsive pedagogy, universal design for learning.