Award Guidelines and Procedures - Centre for Excellence in Teaching and Learning

Rationale

The University of the West Indies (UWI), St. Augustine is committed to providing a dynamic, highly student-centred learning environment in which student learning is pursued as a primary goal of the academy, and excellence in teaching is recognised and rewarded.

Within this environment, the Campus seeks to prepare graduates that are independent learners; problem-solvers; logical, enquiring, creative thinkers; team workers; and with well-developed skills for self-directed, life-long learning. In pursuing this commitment to educational excellence, the St. Augustine Campus is keen to recognise, celebrate and reward members of its faculty who provide exemplary models of what it takes to create the kind of learning environment outlined above, and an institution with a global reputation for quality teaching and learning.

Details of Awards

Awards will be made every two years.
A maximum of five awards will be given on each occasion.
Awards will consist of a cash prize along with a lasting memento.
Photographs of awardees will be prominently displayed on the Campus.
Awardees will be publicised in the brochures and magazines of the sponsors.

Eligibility and Application

Preparing the Electronic Portfolio

Submission & Judging

Assessment of the Electronic Portfolio

Eligibility

To be eligible for an award, applicants must be:

Full-time members of the UWI St. Augustine’s academic staff who have taught regularly for at least two full consecutive academic years;
Deans and Heads of Departments who continue to teach a minimum of half a normal teaching load.

Previous recipients of the Vice-Chancellor’s Award for Excellence are only eligible after four years of having won that award.

Application Process

Candidates should apply on their own behalf by sending a brief email, which provides the link to an electronic portfolio (e-portfolio) to:

The Director

Centre for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CETL)

Teaching and Learning Complex

The University of the West Indies

St. Augustine

cetl@sta.uwi.edu

The electronic teaching portfolio (e-portfolio) will constitute the primary basis for the award. An e-portfolio refers to a teaching portfolio which is available online. It is a structured, reflective summary of documentation that discloses an applicant’s approach to teaching practice and gives some indication of his/her effectiveness as a teacher.

The e-portfolio should be prepared using any appropriate online software available to the applicant and which allows for easy online access by reviewers. Examples of free software include Google Sites and WordPress.

In preparation for the implementation of the UWI/Guardian Group Premium Teaching Awards, the CETL facilitates a workshop on the Preparation of Teaching Portfolios at least three months prior to the submission deadline, which is usually in early July of the year of the Awards. Members of Faculty will then have adequate time to prepare an application for the Teaching Excellence Award.

Submission Dates

Send an email containing the link to your e-portfolio, with the subject APPLICATION FOR THE UWI/GUARDIAN GROUP PREMIUM TEACHING AWARDS by the first Friday in July of the year of the Award to:

The Director

The Centre for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CETL)

The University of the West Indies

St. Augustine

cetl@sta.uwi.edu

Judging

Awardees will be selected based on assessment of the e-portfolios according to the criteria outlined in Assessment of the e-Portfolio. The adjudication panel will consist of three judges from institutions outside of the Caribbean. One of the three will be appointed as chief judge who will resolve differences of choice where necessary.

Judges will meet the following criteria:

Have experience judging teaching portfolios in higher education
Must NOT have been involved in any workshops to train Faculty at St. Augustine in the preparation of teaching portfolios
Must not have visited the St. Augustine Campus

Section	Material	Key Points for Applicants to Consider (what materials should represent)
Teaching Philosophy	Statement of teaching philosophy and goals	Conceptualisation of learning: What do I mean by learning? What happens in a learning situation? Conceptualisation of teaching: What do I mean by teaching? How do I facilitate this process as a teacher? How do I challenge students intellectually? How do I respond to different learning styles? How do I help students who are frustrated? How do I accommodate different abilities? How did I come to these conclusions? How do I perceive teaching? What role(s) do I see myself playing as a teacher in the teaching/learning process? Goals for students: What skills do I expect my students to obtain as a result of learning? What is the rationale behind the goals I set in order to reach these goals? How have the goals changed over time as I learn more about teaching and learning? Implementation of the teaching philosophy: How do I operationalise my philosophy of teaching in the classroom? What personal characteristics in myself or my students influence the way in which I approach teaching? What activities, assignments and projects do I implement in the teaching/learning process? How do I interact with students in and outside the class and what are the consequences? Professional growth plan: What goals have I set for myself as a teacher? How do I accomplish these goals? How have I grown professionally over the years? What challenges exist at the present? What long-term development goals have I projected, and what will I do to reach these goals?
Teaching Effectiveness	evidence of practitioner designed learning activities data from students (e.g. excerpts from SECL reports) information/feedback from students information/feedback from colleagues information from other sources (e.g. alumni, employers) other teaching awards	how do I present new information and provide opportunities for students to actively engage with content? how do I help students to reflect on their learning and refine their learning process? how effectively do exams, assignments, problems sets, etc. represent the kinds of student performance specified in the course objectives? how effective was my feedback? what was the level of intellectual performance achieved by the students? what teaching strengths and problems are suggested by student evaluations? have I consistently worked to solicit and utilize feedback from students on their learning? what teaching strengths and problems have been identified by peers who have observed my classroom activities? what pattern of response have I shown when teaching problems have occurred? Were these responses successful?
Professional Development	description of activities in training Teaching Assistants (tutors), mentoring junior colleagues, etc. attendance at regional/national committee meetings on university teaching participation in workshops on teaching grants for improving teaching/learning in the discipline	what is the range and depth of these activities? how have these activities resulted in improved student learning in my classes? how have these activities worked to improve the climate for teaching and learning in the department? how have these activities impacted the overall teaching quality of the department?
Development of UWI Employee Attributes	evidence of job related knowledge and skills (e.g. through publications, patents, grants) evidence of resourcefulness or application of critical thinking skills for effectiveness	how have I demonstrated by knowledge and skills beyond the classroom? how has the application of critical and creative thinking skills helped my effectiveness? how do I maintain an appropriate work-life balance? how have I demonstrated institutional loyalty and engagement, and respectful and ethical behaviour?
Development of the Distinctive UWI Graduate	information/feedback from students information/feedback from colleagues information from other sources (e.g. alumni, employers)	how do I present new information and provide opportunities for students to actively engage with content? how do I help students to reflect on their learning and refine their learning process? how do employers rate my students with regard to their critical thinking skills and their ability to apply theory to practice?
Organisation and Presentation	e-portfolio is clear, succinct and attractive e-portfolio displays creativity and all elements are relevant and connected to the purpose of the portfolio the teaching philosophy statement acts as a central theme or framework	are all my documents and pages relevant and in keeping with the guidelines? are my pages organised into sections with well-defined cues and descriptions? is my presentation creative, attractive and personalised? is there a consistent theme in keeping with my teaching philosophy?