WHAT IS EFFECTIVE TEACHING IN THE GEOSCIENCES? WHAT ARE BEST PRACTICES FOR GEOSCIENCE TEACHING EVALUATION?

Universities are under increasing pressure to improve the quality of the undergraduate learning experience. The emphasis on quality in the undergraduate learning experience originates from a variety of sources including instructors, students, administrators, government, parents, and the general public. The student learning experience is largely determined by the effectiveness of their teachers. To ensure a positive learning experience for undergraduate students, instructors must be effective teachers. Evidence demonstrates that effective teaching is discipline specific, thus, these teachers must be effective within their own discipline (e.g. geoscience).

A review of the literature identifies the general attributes of effective teaching. These attributes will be discussed in the context of the requirements and breadth of geoscience as a discipline and in the context of teaching university-level geoscience in Canada.

Evaluation of teaching and course delivery occurs in nearly all institutions of higher education within North America, Australia and the UK by student evaluations of teaching effectiveness (SETE). The goals and elements of effective assessment of teaching will be described along with a discussion of how the results from assessments are applied. An overview of the opportunities and constraints for the development and application of effective teaching evaluation tools in geoscience will be discussed.

A framework and methodology that is being used to create an inventory and assessment of geoscience teaching evaluation practices within higher education in Canada will be described.