In Fall 2019, the Task Force to Enhance Learning and Teaching (TFELT) was convened by the MU Faculty Council at the request of the Office of the Provost to investigate and recommend improved processes and resources for the evaluation of teaching. In Summer 2021, TFELT concluded two years of work by submitting a proposal with recommendations for revised policy and best practices.
At the heart of these recommendations is a definition of and model for “Inclusive and Effective Teaching” for the University of Missouri. This definition and model were developed through over a year of inquiry into the research literature on teaching and teaching evaluation in higher education, as well as conversations and workshops with faculty, graduate students and undergraduate students across the university.
This website presents a vision for Inclusive and Effective Teaching that provides a vocabulary and set of normative goals that can be shared across academic units and the myriad disciplines represented on campus. At the same time, this vision embraces and provides a framework flexible enough to accommodate a wide diversity of disciplinary norms, professional requirements, signature pedagogies and modalities for instruction.
Besides providing a definition and model for Inclusive and Effective Teaching, this website will also provide information on the various recommendations made by TFELT for the three central means of evaluating teaching: student feedback, peer review, and the educator’s intentional self-reflection on their teaching, including evidence demonstrating their teaching goals, practices and outcomes.
Throughout you will find rationales for the various recommended standards and best practices based on a wide, deep and diverse body of scholarship on teaching and learning. You will also find helpful resources for familiarizing yourself with new teaching evaluation resources and processes, all of which are intended to support the ongoing professional development and success of educators on campus.
