Chism, Nancy Van Note2010-11-022010-11-022006Chism, Nancy. "Teaching awards: What do they award?" Journal of Higher Education, 77, no. 4 (July/August 2006): 589-617.Chism, Nancy. "Teaching awards: What do they award?" November 2, 2010. Available from IUPUI ScholarWorks. http://hdl.handle.net/1805/2303.0022-1546https://hdl.handle.net/1805/2303This item submitted to IUPUI ScholarWorks as part of the OASIS Project. Article reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Permission granted through posted policies on copyright owner’s website or through direct contact with copyright owner.The article examines selection criteria for teaching awards at various colleges and universities. The study finds that most teaching awards committees use qualitative measures and personal testimonies to evaluate teaching. The criteria for a good teacher is seldom explicitly stated. Materials used in the classroom and examples of student work are seldom used. The article argues that teaching awards can be best used as merely a part of the teaching evaluation system. Working with a concrete list of teaching criteria would make awards valuable tools rather than popularity contests. Revising teaching awards to adhere to a universal set of criteria, relating evidence to criteria, and defining standards would make the awards more valuable and spark conversation within the institution.en-USCollege TeachingEducational EvaluationJob EvaluationPublic OpinionSpecificationsAcademic achievement -- AwardsUniversities and colleges -- FacultyArticle