Teaching Practices Survey

The intent of the Teaching Practices Survey (TPS) was to understand teaching and learning better from our instructors' perspectives. We ran our first TPS in 2022, and plan to run it every few years to observe changes over time. It looks at the following:

  • teaching practices,
  • beliefs about teaching and learning,
  • perceptions of the teaching climate at USask.

TPS was based on UBC's 2018 Teaching Practices Survey of their Vancouver and Okanagan campuses. We modified their survey to fit with our institutional priorities and context.



A Prevalent Belief

In 2022, 97% of instructors agreed or strongly agreed that ongoing improvement in teaching is a part of their job.

Reporting

Campus-wide

Institutional results are be used to identify opportunities to adjust centralized supports and to identify and remove barriers that instructors face in their teaching enhancement efforts.

Unit-Specific

Academic units with sufficiently high response rates are offered custom reports and presentations to understand their results and begin to plan for action.

Data to Action

With our deeper understanding of instructor practices, associated beliefs, and perceptions of the teaching climate, our task between iterations of the survey becomes to use this data to improve teaching and learning environments for all.6

  • Collect more data in cases where the survey led to more questions than answers
  • Adjust supports and offerings, to better help faculty meet their teaching goals
  • Think of ways to help us better see and fill gaps between what instructors believe and what they do 

We plan to run TPS again every few years to assess our actions and note changes in instructional practices and beliefs.

 



Ideas for Action

If you're doing work that may benefit from TPS data, let's talk. Reach out to the GMCTL team in the Supports area below.

Get support

Questions about TPS design, data collection, and use can be sent to Dr. Nancy Turner, Associate Vice-Provost, Teaching and Learning.

Questions about follow-ups in response to unit-specific reports can be sent to David Greaves, Lead Teaching and Learning Enhancement.

Instructors seeking support for adopting new teaching practices in response to TPS should email the Gwenna Moss Centre for Teaching and Learning.