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[almond]

I'd like to collect some articles and studies about best practices for assessing the teaching of part-time and adjunct faculty, considering student feedback and/or in-class observations.

Any recommendations would be much appreciated.

[caesura]

Why should the assessment of part-time faculty be different from assessment of full-time faculty?

[dismalist]

Bump

[polly_mer]

Why should the assessment of part-time faculty be different from assessment of full-time faculty?

That's my question.  In terms of classroom performance, homework, tests, and other single class contained things, why would the assessments be different?

Assessment of total productivity will be different, but not on a class-by-class effectiveness view.

[almond]

You all are right, the evaluation process shouldn't be different. But the working conditions are different. I want to encourage my department to take this into consideration as we work out a system to evaluate instructors for a multi-section class that is primarily taught by part-time faculty and full-time faculty who are teaching outside of their discipline.

I do think there are things to be more sensitive about in regards to assertions like this:
"Conditions Imposed on Part-Time Adjuncts Threaten Quality of Teaching, Researchers Say"
http://chronicle.com/article/Conditions-Imposed-on/125573/

I posed the question here because I wanted to hear from part-time faculty about their experiences. But it sounds like readers here feel it is more appropriate for a different forum.

[educator1]

The assessment of the quality of classroom instruction should be the same for all classrooms, perhaps with some discipline specific tweaking, as the other posters have stated.
The interpretation and use of these assessments, may, at some institutions and in some fields, reveal factors like the ones that the article discusses. That is independent of the issue of best practices in evaluation.

[petunia621]

I'm not sure if this helps, but at one school, we had to turn in any tests, quizzes, or paper assignments that contributed to the students' grades. One course, required of every major, had a department required final exam, and sections were randomly chosen for monitoring. (We had to make copies of all students' completed finals, and the department reviewed the outcome to make sure standards were met.) That random selection was for all instructors though, not just adjuncts. We were also observed every other semester.

At my current school, we aren't monitored at all. We don't even have to turn in our syllabus.

I'd rather be monitored, to be honest.

[spinnaker]

The assessment of the quality of classroom instruction should be the same for all classrooms, perhaps with some discipline specific tweaking, as the other posters have stated.
The interpretation and use of these assessments, may, at some institutions and in some fields, reveal factors like the ones that the article discusses. That is independent of the issue of best practices in evaluation.

Then the assessment should also be the same for full-time faculty teaching within their discipline, as for those teaching outside of it?

[spinnaker]

I guess you already answered that, Educator1. Almond, I doubt that most adjuncts have a lot of opportunity to see how assessment is being done.

[dismalist]

I'm not sure if this helps, but at one school, we had to turn in any tests, quizzes, or paper assignments that contributed to the students' grades. One course, required of every major, had a department required final exam, and sections were randomly chosen for monitoring. (We had to make copies of all students' completed finals, and the department reviewed the outcome to make sure standards were met.) That random selection was for all instructors though, not just adjuncts. We were also observed every other semester.

At my current school, we aren't monitored at all. We don't even have to turn in our syllabus.

I'd rather be monitored, to be honest.

Ah, a useful post on this thread! Thank you, Petunia with Numbers.

[samspade]

I've always assumed you used a mirror, which you then place under their nose to check if they are breathing.

[petunia621]

Ah, a useful post on this thread! Thank you, Petunia with Numbers.
[/quote]

You are quite welcome! I think some of the things we had to do were related to accreditation, but I liked knowing that if I went in the wrong direction, the dept would work with me. In addition, when I started teaching the second level of composition, I knew what background they'd had. This semester (sans monitoring), I have students who have never been taught prewriting or revision. In some cases, I'm teaching them two courses worth of material in one semester, or else they're going to drown later on.
I'll stop now, or else I could go on for days...
Good luck.