Evaluation of teaching performance in U.S. dental schools

This study examines how teaching performance is evaluated in U.S. dental schools. Respondents to the mailed survey were dental school deans. Most schools formally evaluate teaching through student evaluation, yet most deans agreed that evaluation should include input from students and peers. Features that were considered most important in an evaluation program included the provision of a feedback mechanism, the inclusion of faculty input, and a standardization of the evaluation system. The majority of schools provide a program to enhance teaching skills; responsibility for the program varied from the department chairperson to the individual faculty member. More than half of the deans indicated that research productivity can "outweigh" teaching skills in promotion and tenure decisions. The results indicate that dental school deans expect excellence in teaching, but leave doubt as to how faculty members are to gain expertise in this realm of their profession.