Self-Evaluation of Teaching
Published 2024/12/3
What is the purpose of a self-evaluation of teaching?
The Written Self-Evaluation of Teaching is an opportunity within your Teaching Portfolio creation process to construct an evidence-based, reflective narrative of your teaching strengths and growth areas.
Self-evaluation based on the materials and questions below is meant to help you emphasize your dedication to teaching through consistent considerations of innovative, inclusive, and accessible teaching practices and emerging pedagogies. We define pedagogy as the theory and practice of teaching as influenced by the theories about learning and responsive to the learner’s development and background knowledge.
What materials can I use for my self-evaluation?
Your self-evaluation should be rooted in concrete evidence of your teaching practices. Incorporating and commenting on evidence will help to ensure that your self-evaluation is honest and reflects reality. While this list of materials that you can use for your self-evaluation is not exhaustive, it provides you with a solid basis for getting started with your self-evaluation. You might examine just one instance of any of these materials or compare your materials over time to reflect on how your teaching has evolved as part of your self-evaluation.
- Classroom videos: Record yourself teaching by setting up a camera in the back of your classroom (A/V equipment is available to borrow from the AU Library), recording a class on Zoom, or by using a classroom that already has cameras installed. Analyze the recording as part of your self-evaluation.
- Teaching materials: See Self-Reflection through Annotating Course Content | CTRL Faculty Resources.
- Feedback provided to students: Examine the feedback you have provided to students, including on assignments, in-class work, discussion boards, etc., to evaluate how your teaching impacts your students’ learning.
- Teaching journals: After each class, spend 5-10 minutes documenting your experience of that class in which you document what went well, when students seemed enthusiastically engaged, when students were confused, bored, or unengaged, and what you will try differently next time you teach. Go back through your journals for reminders of how your teaching has developed.
Guiding Questions for Self-Evaluation of Teaching
Use the list of questions below to guide your self-evaluation. Read through the list first and choose questions that resonate with your values and experiences. There is no expectation that you answer every question on this list. As with your writing throughout your Teaching Portfolio, incorporate specific, detailed examples – and concrete evidence where possible – to illustrate your points.
Describing Experiences and Goals
- What are your personal teaching goals against which you are evaluating your teaching?
- What teaching strategies have you tried in the past? What was the impact of those strategies on helping your students reach their learning goals?
- What are your current short- and long-term plans for integrating new teaching strategies? What resources have helped you begin to achieve these goals?
Addressing Challenges
- What are the biggest challenges you have faced in your teaching? How have you identified and addressed these challenges?
- What have been the biggest challenges you have faced in incorporating new strategies into your teaching? How have you identified and addressed these challenges?
Incorporating Inclusive and Equitable Teaching
- What strategies have you incorporated into your teaching to make your courses more inclusive of diverse students, perspectives, and experiences?
- What strategies have you incorporated into your teaching to make your courses more accessible to students with diverse needs?
Addressing Change
- How has your teaching changed in response to student feedback (for example, through Student Evaluations of Teaching or midsemester feedback)?
- How has your understanding of your teaching strengths and growth areas changed as a result of your self-evaluation?
- How has your understanding of student learning changed as a result of your self-evaluation?
- What were some teaching practices you’ve adopted as a result of your self-evaluation?
- In what areas could you still improve, and what opportunities will you seek to address these areas?
Reflecting on Teaching Principles
- How has your self-evaluation reinvigorated or otherwise changed how you feel about your teaching?
- How has your self-evaluation impacted your approach to or principles guiding your teaching and learning? Top of Form
