ABSTRACT
Trying to get students to think critically about subject knowledge or the nature of professional practice is central to the role of a teacher in higher education. It is an objective that many lecturers espouse (Nixon, 1996; Kolitch and Dean, 1999). However, until comparatively recently this notion of criticality has rarely been systematically and rigorously applied to teaching practice in university education. Committed individuals have always cared deeply about their own teaching and sought to continuously improve it, despite the absence of reward and recognition structures for doing so. Now though, there is a growing acceptance of the need to apply the academic principle of rigorous introspection to teaching as well as research. In the UK, over 12,000 higher education teachers are members of the ILTHE and are committed to the principle of ‘reflective practice’. This implies continuously evaluating and, in the process, refining their teaching methods. Elsewhere, members of the Society for Teaching and Learning in Higher Education in Canada and the American Association of University Professors ascribe to similar values emphasizing the importance of maintaining and enhancing pedagogical competence. In short, evaluation of teaching is now recognized as a professional responsibility by higher education practitioners in many parts of the world.
