Dear Colleagues,
I wish to extend my sincere gratitute for the helpful
contributions that you made to the draft summative
Learning & Teaching protocols that I recently posted
on the listserve.
A number of the contributions mentioned the particular
challenges around trying to assess teaching quality
objectively. I was reminded of of Arreola's concept
of what he refers to as 'Controlled Subjectivity'
-'since subjectivity in a faculty evaluation system is
unavoidable, the goal should be to control its
impact'.
As they are currently drafted, it would be difficult
to assess the 'prescribed' standards for both SALT 1
and 2 (see attached). However, they are not intended
to be prescriptive. The analogy that comes to mind
would be the acquisition of a new computer.
Typically, the operating systemes come with a very
basic package included. In time, however, the
computer is fitted-out with the particular programmes
to meet the specific requirements of the owner. In a
similiar manner, the present standards are only
included as part of a generic start-up package. It is
envisaged however that each respective department
could collectively identify the standards that are
most meaningful for their particular contexts and
circumstances and be re-draft accordingly.
This research project has been exploratory in nature
and the resulting protocols are not at all intended to
be prescriptive. They have emerged from a
distillation of what currently exists in the
literature and also in practice. The fermentation
process is still on-going and any additional comments
etc. would certainly still be very much appreciated.
Respectfully,
Timothy Murphy
Postdoctoral Researcher
National University of Ireland Galway
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