Teaching Performance Criteria

It is one thing to talk about excellence and another thing to know how excellence is to be judged. The University has a policy document "Academic Grades, Standards and Criteria" that provides the judgement criteria. However, the document is very difficult to interpret in practice. We have, therefore, produced a set of revised criteria for judging teaching performance.

The University provides a document that details the different academic grades (i.e. Professor, Associate Professor, Senior Lecturer, Lecturer) together with the teaching, research and service performance standards (Satisfactory, Merit, Excellence and Distinction) and measurement criteria for judging whether a particular standard has been achieved. Lecturers, for example, are expected to achieve a standard of "satisfactory" across teaching, research and service. More is expected of an Associate Professor and even more is expected of a Professor. University staff can access this policy document under the Human Resources Division on the University intranet.

Whilst the University policy document serves a purpose, it can be a little difficult to follow when trying to identify areas of teaching practice and the associated criteria that are used for judging teaching performance. For that reason we have extracted the standards and criteria for teaching and we have presented them below in what we hope is a more straight forward manner. University staff can also access the FMHS promotion guidelines and standards on the FMHS intranet.

If you look at the table below you will see that the first row - Overall Assessment - provides a summary statement of the performance indicators for each of the four performance levels (Satisfactory, Merit, Excellence and Distinction). For example, satisfactory performance might be achieved through being active in teaching and learning activities.

The rows below Overall Assessment provide examples of the sorts of activities that would help you to meet the performance indicators for each of the four performance levels. For example, competent use of a range of teaching and learning methodologies would help you to achieve a satisfactory performance overall. It would be expected that a portfolio would be able to demonstrate several of the activities as evidence of having met a particular standard.

	Satisfactory	Merit	Excellence	Distinction
Overall Assessment	A competent teacher who is active in teaching and learning activities.	Evidence of building teaching and learning capacity. Contributes to improvement of teaching, learning, assessment and evaluation at a departmental/faculty level (e.g. course co‐ordination, membership of appropriate working parties or committees).	Shows leadership in educational activities in school and / or faculty. Makes a contribution beyond their own area to improvement across the institution. Would usually be publishing in the educational literature.	National & international recognition as a leader in teaching and learning e.g. editorial board, reviewer peer reviewed journals, accreditation committees/ advisory groups, invited speaker at conferences, professional meetings.
Delivery of teaching to facilitate learning	Competent use of a range of teaching and learning methodologies to engage students in the learning process.	Innovation in teaching methodologies and evaluation of impact on learning. Applies appropriate pedagogical frameworks to the improvement of own teaching practice.	Promotes effective teaching practice at institutional level through mentoring, peer review, workshops or seminars. Researches into approaches to teaching that improve learning outcomes.	National / international standing in furthering understanding of and improving of teaching and learning.
Design and planning of courses and/ or programmes	Learning outcomes are clear, supported by appropriately chosen learning methods and aligned with assessment. Responsive to student feedback and review of courses and programmes.	Innovation in curriculum and course design. Member of curriculum review committees / panels e.g. GYR, CUAP reviews, BOS.	Leads the design and implementation of courses and programmes at an institutional level e.g. Chair of curriculum review committees, BOS. introduction of new programmes.	Accreditation panel member for national and international accrediting bodies of educational programmes. Curricular innovation of international influence.
Assessing learning and providing feedback	Application of assessment theory to design and implementation of assessments. Manages assessments according to university policy. Timely and appropriate feedback to student progress.	Evaluation of assessment practices for validity, reliability, impact on learning. Disseminates best practice in assessment to colleagues.	Review of assessment policies and practices at institutional level. Leads change processes to improve assessment and feedback practices in department or institution. Researches into impact of assessment processes.	Recognised as a leader in assessment theory and practice. Develops new understanding of psychometrics and impact of assessments.
Addressing diversity	Aware of learning needs of diverse student groups. Ability to communicate effectively across cultures (race, religion, gender, generation).	Contribution to creating a learning environment that addresses the needs of diverse and under-represented student groups e.g needs analysis, policy development.	Significant contribution to improving learning of diverse student groups in the institution e.g. leadership of EO initiatives, evaluation of impact of diversity agenda.	Contribution to widening student participation and diversity agenda beyond the level of the institution.
Evaluation of practice and continuing professional development	Maintains currency in teaching, learning and assessment theory as well as subject discipline by e.g. attending courses, reading relevant literature. Seeks formative and summative feedback from students. Reflects on feedback and makes appropriate changes to practice as a result. Evaluation practices carried out in accordance with the University Handbook on the Evaluation of Courses and Teaching and the Student Evaluation of Courses and Teaching Policy.	Engages departmental colleagues in continuing professional development. Gains additional qualifications in educational theory and practice.	Leads institutional CPD e.g. establishing meeting groups, setting up virtual networks. Disseminates teaching innovations and excellent practice.	Leader in developing the scholarship of teaching and learning in others.
Contribution of scholarship, research and professional activities to teaching and learning	Enunciation of a teaching philosophy based on critical self-reflection. Awareness of body of knowledge and literature in the field of education, and ability to relating own teaching to that literature.	Evidence of development of own philosophy of teaching, and teaching practice based on evidence from literature. Peer review of teaching and constructive critique against evidence-based criteria.	Development of new theories, models or approaches based on reflections of own and others' teaching. Contributing to a culture of critical reflection on teaching within the institution.	Makes a significant contribution to the literature on reflective practice.
Student support, guidance and supervision	Provides accessible, appropriate academic support and guidance and maintains good interpersonal relationships with students. Completed University of Auckland requirements for supervision of research students.	Is proactive in meeting the academic and pastoral needs of students through e.g. requesting regular meetings with students Supervision of research students is planned, negotiated, timely and appropriate.	Provides leadership in supervision of students and mentoring colleagues. Sought after as a project supervisor, evidence of effective supervisory practices including PhD completions.	Understands and demonstrates the wider national/international context of professional/career development of students at all levels through research, publication and involvement in activities. International standing as an examiner for Doctoral theses in the relevant discipline.

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