Published In
Journal of Political Science Education
Document Type
Pre-Print
Publication Date
4-2024
Subjects
Education -- Research -- Methodology
Abstract
Teaching excellence in higher education can be defined and studied in different ways, but research efforts to date have often focused on institutional or instructor perspectives. This article uses a data set of over 500 open-ended comments submitted by Political Science undergraduates as part of a teaching award process to identify themes that matter most to students. We find that being supportive, bringing humor, enthusiasm, and passion to the classroom, and engaging students with relevant, challenging, and exciting activities are what defines teaching excellence from a student’s perspective. Building on these themes and using quotes to illustrate key concepts, we offer specific and concrete guidance to instructors about how to introduce these elements into their teaching.
Rights
© Copyright the author(s) 2024
Locate the Document
DOI
10.1080/15512169.2024.2335235
Persistent Identifier
https://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/42586
Citation Details
Published as: Shortell, C., Henning, K., & Christiansen, C. (2024). What Can We Learn About Teaching Excellence from Our Students? Lessons From Six Years of Teaching Award Data. Journal of Political Science Education, 1-21.
Description
This is the author’s version of a work that was accepted for publication. Changes resulting from the publishing process, such as peer review, editing, corrections, structural formatting, and other quality control mechanisms may not be reflected in this document. Changes may have been made to this work since it was submitted for publication. A definitive version was subsequently published as: What Can We Learn About Teaching Excellence from Our Students? Lessons From Six Years of Teaching Award Data. Journal of Political Science Education, 1-21.