Origin of the Teaching Quality Framework

The Taskforce and Charge

During the Fall 2019 semester, an ad hoc committee of the Faculty Senate focused on Quality Online Teaching and Learning was formed and charged with identifying and defining the essential characteristics and considerations necessary to develop and support quality online courses. As the committee worked throughout the 2019/2020 AY to begin to fulfill this charge, one thing became evident: evaluation of all courses—online face-to-face, or hybrid—should share a common set of characteristics and values. And, those values and characteristics should be tightly aligned with our institutional mission and vision. As such, the 2020 report to the Faculty Senate from the ad hoc committee recommended that a Teaching Quality Task Force be formed to do this work.

This recommendation was approved by the Faculty Senate and the Provost, and thus, the Teaching Quality Task Force was established in the Fall 2020 semester. The task force was charged with identifying characteristics, values, and processes to support the development and evaluation of quality courses across all modalities. The task force was led by members of the Center for Academic Excellence (CAE) leadership team and consisted of representatives of each college nominated by the Deans (see page 2 for task force membership).

The Process

The work of the task force was rooted in two major processes: operationalizing the notion of ‘transformative education’ as it applies to teaching and learning, and utilizing best practices and evidence-based approaches to developing suggested processes to support faculty growth in teaching excellence. The task force worked from a definition of transformative learning that articulates learning as a process that goes beyond learning facts to involve the processes of questioning beliefs, assumptions, and frames of reference (Mezirow, 2009) to guide their process while synthesizing the evidence that connects quality teaching to increased student achievement. They then worked together to align the literature and practices to the Appalachian State mission and goals to create a statement, a growth guide, and a set of processes that could be implemented by departments and/or individuals with the goal of developing and advancing teaching quality across modalities.

Teaching Quality Task Force Members

Krista Terry Wojdak, Co-Chair, RCOE/CAE

Susan Colby, Co-Chair, CAE/RCOE

Brandy Bryson, CAE/RCOE

Emory Maiden, CAE

Lindsay Masland, CAE/CAS

Tom Van Gilder, CIO/CAE

Rose Mary Webb, CAS

Jennifer Howard, BCHS

Vicky Klima, CAS

Lillian Nave, FYE

David Peyton, RCOE

Debra Poulos, CFAA

Dusty Ross, BLIC

Nancy Schneeloch-Bingham, HSOM

Bob Stec, WCOB

Jill VanHorne, RCOE