An online resource for evaluating teaching developed by a community of practice

Abstract

BACKGROUND Education focused (EF) academic roles are increasing and, similar to our research counterparts, these roles come with the expectation to demonstrate impact. We formed a community of practice comprising education focused academics from six faculties at UNSW Sydney centred around evidence-based teaching: the Community of Education and Learning Evidence-based Scholarship (CELEBS). OUTCOMES UNSW Sydney introduced EF academic positions in 2017 and CELEBS formed at the inaugural retreat of EF academics that year. CELEBS is an interdisciplinary group spanning six faculties and comprising thirty members that share experiences related to educational evaluation at monthly meetings. To share their knowledge and expertise more widely, the CELEBS were awarded $124,000 in funding to develop an online resource. Members collaborated to produce an online resource. This resource contained twenty videos, and supporting materials detailing the context, impact, tools used in evaluation and recommended references. These resources showcase member experiences to provide ideas and methodologies for academics to plan the evaluation of their teaching. Members describe how evaluation may be used to provide evidence of impact for a variety of purposes including awards, promotion, online courses, or innovative change.The resource is available on the UNSW Sydney Teaching Gateway (https://teaching.unsw.edu.au/celebs) (Figure 2).