2010-2011 Faculty Manual - College of Education - Winthrop ...

to the growth and progress of the wider community is important and will be considered in
promotion decisions.
Teaching
Teaching is the primary responsibility of faculty at Winthrop University. Teaching involves
communicating knowledge to students and fostering in them the intellectual curiosity necessary
to continue the quest for knowledge. The effective teacher exhibits a sustained concern for
teaching which is reflected in teaching materials, classroom performance, academic advising,
critical evaluation of students, and adequate preparation of students for later undergraduate
and/or graduate work. Course materials should be well-conceived, well-organized, and wellwritten.
Students should be exposed to current scholarship or research in the field, if appropriate.
Student evaluations should be consistently good. A teacher should be prepared to provide sound
advice to students and to newer colleagues on academic matters.
The evaluation of a faculty member's teaching effectiveness and classroom performance should
be based on more than student evaluations. Cumulative professional judgment of the faculty
member's teaching effectiveness, as determined by Department Chair, Dean, colleagues,
students, and thorough self-evaluation may be based on some of the following guidelines:
1. Development of effective course syllabi, course objectives, assessment measures, reading
lists, and other methods or instruments.
2. Ability to communicate ideas and knowledge effectively to students;
3. Ability to adjust teaching strategies to reasonable variations in class size and to the
nature of the content being taught;
4. Availability to students, (Faculty members are expected to be in their offices a significant
amount of time and available to students. The Department Chair will consult with each
faculty member individually at the beginning of the semester regarding reasonable office
hours, availability of the faculty member to students, and advising responsibilities);
5. Creativity in the use of instructional materials, innovative methodologies, and
instructional technology;
6. Inclusion in classroom presentations of current topics in the discipline and the use of
timely material and examples;
7. Continual curriculum evaluation and development of new courses or curricula as needed;
8. Evaluation by faculty colleagues;
9. Evaluation by students; and
10. Awards for teaching excellence.
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