Performance assessment and professional development in university teaching

The quality of instruction at university level is typically measured by means of student evaluation. Student evaluation is based on scientific knowledge about effective instruction and includes aspects such as instructional clarity, teacher support, and a positive learning climate. Student evaluation has become a widely and commonly accepted approach of measuring instructional quality. However, with regard to professional development, this approach has a number of limitations, mainly due to the fact that the reflection about results and possible improvement is reserved only for the individual instructor being assessed. Therefore, new approaches have been developed that allow for collaborative reflection and systematic training. One example is the 1-year training program “Learning to Teach” in which novice university instructors are trained and systematically evaluated. Implications for the governance of knowledge-intensive organizations, such as universities, are drawn with regard to the importance of systematic training of novices.