Great teaching: Models and evaluation

[Extract] What constitutes good teaching has been at the focus of theories of pedagogy for thousands of years. However, recent research (Coe, Aloisi, Higgins & Major, 2014; Kornell & Hausman, 2016; Duke, 2012; Harmer, 2014; Grant, Stronge & Xu, 2014; Strong, Gargani & Hacifazlioglu, 2011; Hamre, Goffin & Kraft-Sayre, 2009) suggests that this seemingly mature and well-researched concept needs to be re-examined in view of the burgeoning research in the field. Coe et al. (2014) propose that recent research into best teaching practices brings up questions about elements of good teaching and ways of measuring it. The issue of evaluating teaching attempts to answer these seemingly obvious questions about what makes good teaching. This paper aims to address some of these questions. First, it examines the concepts of good teaching and the aspects which need to be considered in its evaluation. Next, it explores the frameworks determining good teaching which are delineated for different research and/or institutional needs. Based on the evaluation of these frameworks, the paper proposes a model for a specific set of needs of evaluating teaching from a student perspective at an Australian university.