The L&S Framework for Advancing Teaching Excellence is a college-wide resource, created in collaboration with our Teaching & Learning Advisory Council. The goal of the framework is to support L&S units in continually pursuing our shared goal of teaching excellence. L&S Leadership, Department Leaders, and Unit Teaching & Learning Liaisons will use the framework to collaboratively:
- Articulate College and unit-level priorities for teaching excellence.
- Advance a College-wide culture that deeply values teaching.
- Support professional growth and learning opportunities for all instructors.
- Establish administrative routines that help strategically advance student-centered teaching excellence.
- Share and discuss accomplishments and challenges.
References & Resources
L&S Statement on Teaching Excellence
The statement articulates high-level values that define our aspirations for teaching across L&S.
The College of Letters & Science is committed to the continual pursuit of teaching excellence. We view this as an ongoing process that honors the diverse talents and experiences of the many individuals comprising the L&S teaching community. To guide this process, we emphasize six facets of effective instruction:
- Outcomes-Based Design: We value systematic approaches to course design that align student learning outcomes with engaging instructional content, structured learning activities, and meaningful assessments.
- Student-Centeredness: We place students at the heart of our teaching by thoroughly considering their needs, maximizing their engagement, and allowing them to connect their learning with future aspirations.
- Evidence-Based Practice: We embrace formal and informal evidence in defining the effective pedagogies, designs, and instructional strategies that enhance student learning outcomes. Specific techniques include, but are not limited to, active learning, formative feedback and assessment, structured reflection, metacognitive practice, scaffolding, collaborative learning, and interactive lecturing.
- Inclusivity: We actively design learning environments that celebrate diversity as an asset and employ intentional strategies to build a classroom culture in which all learners feel they belong.
- Innovation: We value innovative and imaginative teaching approaches where instructors can develop novel solutions for teaching challenges.
- Reflection & Growth: We engage in reflective practices to learn, grow, and improve in our approaches to pedagogy and craft of teaching.
Through these interconnected principles, we seek a vibrant UW L&S educational experience that prepares our students for the complexities of a rapidly evolving world.
[DRAFT] Teaching Excellence Activities Guide
A collection of concrete actions to support department planning efforts.
The L&S Teaching Excellence Activities Guide is a collection of ideas for planning efforts and fostering a culture of continuous improvement and teaching excellence across the College of Letters & Science. The guide is structured into three sections: Department and L&S Culture Building, Professional Practice & Development, and Administrative Practices. Each section outlines specific activities and resources to support faculty and instructional staff in pursuit of teaching excellence.
This guide is not intended as a checklist but as a set of ideas to support continuous improvement over time.
Please note that the ideas below are still in draft form. We are sharing in the interest of transparency and gathering feedback.
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Priority Area #1: Commitment to Culture Building
L&S is made up of diverse academic units with unique cultures, norms, and routines. Each unit contributes to the overall culture of teaching and learning within the College. The following activities are designed to help departments proactively foster a culture that values and supports teaching excellence.
1. Align Departmental Vision and Values with Teaching Excellence
Clearly articulating your unit’s vision and values provides a foundation for discussing, evaluating, and evolving in all dimensions of teaching excellence.
Departments can describe and document a vision and values for teaching excellence. Consider how your values align with the overarching principles of the College of Letters & Science’s statement on teaching excellence, which emphasizes principles of student centeredness, design coherence, evidence-based practice, inclusivity, creativity, and growth and reflection.
Existing Resources:
L&S Statement on Teaching Excellence
2. Establish Student-Centered and Inclusive Teaching as a Departmental Expectation:
Inclusive and student-centered teaching methods support student learning and achievement.
Departments can proactively explore and encourage instructors to adopt inclusive methods that foster a sense of belonging and address diverse learning needs. This includes (but is not limited to) practices such as using a representative syllabus, ensuring all course materials are accessible, learning and using students’ names, incorporating alternative assessments (e.g., formative writing instead of tests), and fostering a classroom environment that prioritizes mutual respect and community.
Proposed Resources:
3. Build Teaching-Focused Discussions in Departmental Routines:
Regular discussions about teaching provide opportunities to share experiences, build community, and engage in proactive thinking as a unit.
Establish the place(s) and time(s) for all instructors to engage in low-stakes conversations about timely and relevant topics. Define regular patterns for these discussions to emerge within existing departmental routines, such as faculty meetings, TA training, lunch-and-learn sessions, or informal gatherings.
Existing Resources:
- L&S Mini-Discussions offer an easy way to add a 10-minute discussion about teaching to an existing meeting.
- L&S Exchange Podcast features perspectives from within L&S with ready-made conversation starters
- L&S Design for Learning Series explores teaching topics featuring research literature, practical tips, and examples from L&S instructors. Reflection questions are included.
4. Recognize & Reward Outstanding Teaching:
Formally and informally recognizing individuals for their commitment to teaching excellence can foster a positive culture that values and motivates continuous improvement.
Departments can establish practices for recognizing teaching achievements. For example, departments may informally highlight innovative and exceptional efforts within regular meetings or events. Departments can formalize internal procedures to nominate instructors for teaching awards, ensuring that excellence is celebrated and processes are transparent.
Existing Resources:
- Distinguished Teaching Awards for tenure-track or tenured faculty members
- TA Awards
- L&S Teaching Mentors
- L&S Academic Staff Teaching Excellence Awards
5. Foster a Culture of Innovative Teaching and Course Design:
Encouraging innovation in teaching keeps instructional practices dynamic and responsive to evolving student needs. Departments can cultivate an environment where faculty and instructional staff are supported in exploring and adopting innovative, evidence-based teaching practices.
Departments may allocate time and resources toward targeted innovation that addresses known areas of challenge, and ensure that successes are shared across the department.
Proposed Resource:
[DRAFT] Innovation Proposal (Access Restricted)
6. Challenge Teaching Practices that Perpetuate Inequity
Shaping a department’s teaching culture involves critically assessing and challenging traditional practices known to perpetuate inequity. By openly identifying these practices, departments can actively work to foster a more equitable and supportive learning environment for all students.
Take time to critically examine teaching philosophies and course design features that may contribute to inequitable outcomes. This includes practices such as grading on a curve, using introductory courses to “weed out” students, over-reliance on high-stakes assessments, or other methods rooted in tradition rather than inclusivity.
Proposed Resources:
Priority Areas #2: Professional Practice & Exploration
Continuous professional growth is essential for sustaining teaching excellence. Departments play a critical role in fostering an environment that supports faculty and instructional staff across all career stages.
1. Define Practices for Teaching Reflection and Growth:
Reflection and subsequent actions are integral to continuous improvement by supporting faculty and instructional staff in regularly reflecting on their teaching successes and challenges.
Departments can support this practice by integrating personal goal setting into annual reviews and aligning individual goals with broader departmental objectives.
Existing Resources:
Proposed Resources:
2. Implement Teaching Observations:
Teaching observations provide valuable formative feedback that can reveal significant insights and opportunities for targeted improvement.
Departments can initiate peer observations focused on constructive, non-evaluative feedback, separate from tenure, promotion, and performance reviews. Observations may be designed to benefit both the observer and the observed to foster a culture of mutual learning and improvement.
Existing Resources:
- Peer Observation Program for L&S Teaching Assistants
- CTLM Class Observation Program
Proposed Resources:
- Department Peer-Observation Protocol Document & Training
3. Arrange Departmental Workshops:
Departmental workshops open a collaborative space for all faculty and instructional staff to come together and deeply explore locally relevant pedagogical approaches, assessment strategies, and technology solutions. Departments can plan and initiate periodic workshops in coordination with support units to combine internal and external expertise. Tailored sessions support unique needs and offer opportunities for deep engagement and practical application on contextually relevant topics.
Proposed Resources:
- Directory of Workshops and Experts/Facilitators
4. Support Conference Participation:
Attending teaching and learning-focused conferences is a valuable way for instructors to stay current with educational trends, share their experiences, and connect with a broader community about teaching-related topics. Departments can facilitate this by dedicating funds, providing time, and encouraging faculty to participate in relevant conferences. By supporting conference participation, departments not only invest in the professional growth of their faculty but also open opportunities for them to bring new ideas and practices back.
Existing Resources:
- L&S Academic Staff Professional Development Grant Program
- UW Teaching & Learning Symposium
5. Support New and Early Career Faculty & Instructors
Expanding new instructor onboarding processes can help find community and establish pathways for growth and success.
Departments can strengthen onboarding processes by providing new instructors with space, time, and mentorship to connect with peers, experienced faculty, and the campus network. Include opportunities for professional development and structured feedback to promote continuous improvement in teaching practice, ensuring new faculty feel valued and supported. Departments can also consider onboarding a two-way dialogue where the new instructor’s prior classroom experiences and perspectives are harnessed as an asset that adds to the department’s overall teaching culture.
Existing Resources:
- MTLE (Early Career Faculty
- L&S TA Training & Support (Graduate Student Instructors)
- CTLM Teaching Fellows (Academic Staff)
- Teaching & Learning Welcome Event (Academic Staff)
- L&S Large Enrollment Instructor Community (All Instructors)
- The Discussion Project (All Instructors)
- Teaching, Learning & Technology Consultations (All Instructors)
Proposed Resources:
- LSA support programming (coming soon)
6. Open Avenues of Development for Mid/ Late Career Faculty & Instructors
Mid and late-career faculty have great capacity to advance the instructional mission of a department by directly applying their expertise in the classroom, sharing their experience with colleagues, and pursuing leadership opportunities. Encouraging development opportunities for this group ensures they remain engaged, pursue innovative teaching, and offer leadership for departmental initiatives.Departments can support mid and late career faculty by offering targeted development pathways that focus on leadership growth, advanced pedagogical strategies, and mentoring opportunities. Encourage strategic investment in leadership development and opportunities to engage in service to the instructional mission of the department and College.
Proposed Resources:
2024-02-02 Teaching Excellence Fellowship for Early- & Mid-Career L&S Faculty (Access-restricted draft)
Priority Area #3: Administrative Practices
1. Communicate
Establish communication channels to ensure faculty and instructional staff are regularly informed about available teaching-focused resources, support opportunities, awards, and events. Communications can help connect opportunities to departmental and L&S values for teaching excellence.
Proposed Resources:
2. Monitor DFW Rates:
Regularly review D, F, and withdrawal rates in courses. Engage with experts in your academic field, the department, the college, and relevant campus units to identify concerning patterns and underlying causes. Pursue strategies to address these issues, focusing on improving student success while maintaining academic standards.
Existing Resources:
Tableau – Data, Academic Planning & Institutional Research
3. Facilitate Consistency Across Sections:
Establish reasonable expectations for consistency across each section of a course. Open internal dialogue about learning objectives, assessments, and instructional methods to maximize opportunities for a consistent and equitable learning experience for all students.
Existing Resources:
Course Design Templates. L&S offers course design tools to support the process of mapping course learning objectives, calculating the credit hour of a course, unifying orientation practices, and optimizing a Canvas course for inclusivity and efficiency.
4. Conduct Periodic Syllabus Audits:
Create and communicate procedures to regularly review and update syllabi, ensuring alignment with departmental and accreditation standards, inclusiveness, and cultural norms for teaching excellence (as outlined in the Culture Building section).
Existing Resources:
Proposed Resources:
- Syllabus review guide/rubric
5. Update Course Evaluations:
Regularly review and update end-of-semester course evaluation questions. This process ensures that evaluations effectively capture meaningful feedback to support teaching reflection and a deeper understanding of the student learning experience.
Proposed Resources:
6. Gather Formative Student Feedback
Implement additional methods to collect ongoing, formative feedback from students throughout a course or program of study. This feedback can provide real-time insights into student learning experiences, allowing for timely adjustments during the semester.
Existing Resources:
- Guide: Mid-Semester Feedback
- Guide: Interpreting Student Feedback
Proposed Resources:
- Formative Feedback Templates
7. Consider student needs and the holistic learning experience when making curricular decisions:
Review department’s course array on a regular basis to respond to students’ needs, interests, and enhanced experiences. This includes accounting for different types of courses, introductory, requirement, general education, upper level, capstone, graduate level, FIGs, URS and Honors.
Proposed Resources:
Teaching Excellence Action Planning Guide
Templates to plan and document your department’s teaching excellence priorities.
Coming Soon