Teaching Consultation Program

Process

Consultants and faculty members work together to help the faculty members in recognizing and developing instructional behaviors most appropriate for themselves and their students. 

• Initial Interview - The consultant meets with the faculty members to explain the particulars of the program and , if the faculty member agrees to participate in the process for the entire semester, a class the faculty member is teaching is selected and arrangements are made to begin data collection.
• Data Collection - During a time period of about four weeks, the students in the instructor's class are administered a questionnaire to obtain information about the instructor's goals and teaching behaviors.  The questionnaire (Teaching Analysis by Students-TABS) contains 38 items describing instructional behaviors and 12 items describing instructional characteristics.  The faculty member is then interviewed, observed in the classroom by the consultant, and videotaped while instructing.
• Data Review and Analysis - Together, the faculty member participating in the program and the consultant review the collected data to identify at least three teaching strengths and three teaching areas in need of improvement.
• Planning and Implementing Changes - After three or four teaching improvement goals have been identified, the faculty member is assisted by the consultant in designing or selecting strategies to achieve the goals.  Over a period of about eight weeks, strategies are then implemented to meet the identified objectives.
• Evaluation - During the final three weeks of the semester, the consultant makes another visit to the faculty members' classroom to observe his or her teaching techniques, another class is videotaped, and another questionnaire is administered to students.  The data is reviewed and the instructor evaluates his or her experience in the program.

For more information on the Teaching Consultation Program contact your local college TCP Consultant

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