Psychology programs at large, research-focused universities often ask me to provide an external evaluation for a faculty member on a teaching-track faculty who are being considered for tenure or promotion. I try to accept these invitations because I think it is vital that faculty who focus on teaching be evaluated by people who understand the complexities of teaching. Faculty and administrators at universities that prioritize research for tenure and promotion may not value or appreciate teaching. Some programs state specifically that they are asking me because they realize they don’t have the requisite expertise to evaluate teaching. Lecture is still the dominant method of teaching (Cerbin, 2018), and while lecture can be done well, there is no evidence of a widespread effort by college faculty to use what is known about learning science to improve their lecturing.
