Code of Conduct for Educational Developers

The Professional and Organizational Development network (POD) is a national voice on matters related to teaching and learning in higher education and a community of practice for scholars and practitioners of educational development. In support of institutional efforts in these areas, POD has developed guidelines for educational developers, including faculty, teaching assistant, organizational, instructional, and staff developers.¹

CETL staff in the role of educational developer have adopted these guidelines as foundation of our work. This includes growth orientated support for instructors of all levels and confidential feedback on their teaching practices.

Frequently asked questions

1. Who will know if I approach CETL staff with challenges in my teaching responsibilities?
   Our individual consultations are confidential. Face to face workshops provide opportunity for participants to interact.
2. Can my department chair request a report of my observation?
   No, all teaching observations conducted by CETL are confidential and are only discussed with the instructor requesting them.
3. Can my department chair inquire if I scheduled a consultation?
   No, all teaching observations conducted by CETL are confidential and are only discussed with the instructor requesting them. However, if a participant wishes to disclose working with CETL, educational developers may confirm that they have been approached for consultation, but don’t report any content of the consultation.
4. Can CETL classroom observations or teaching enhancement plans be used as evaluation for promotion, tenure, re-appointment or merit purposes?
   CETL staff does not provide evaluations for tenure, promotion or hiring decisions. If requested by the instructor, an official letter stating participation and completion of the teaching observation or individual teaching enhancement process can be provided to complement a PTR dossier or personal reflections on teaching or professional development.
5. How can I use CETL services to document my engagement with teaching beyond student experiences of teaching alone (SET+)?
   Our consultations are confidential. While educational developers do not contribute to evaluation of teaching excellence directly, instructors may use any documentation of consultation as they see fit. Strongly suggested are personal reflections² resulting from consultations, especially if they are complimenting other portions of a dossier (e.g. a teaching philosophy, personal goal setting in teaching, peer observations).Reflections are known to support deliberate practice of teaching, are promoting³ - as well as documenting- meaningful growth as educator over time.

¹ https://podnetwork.org/about/ethical-guidelines/
Last accessed Dec 26, 2019)

²Exemplary reflection, published as manuscript in a leading STEM education journal: Tanner, Kimberly D. "Moving theory into practice: a reflection on teaching a large, introductory biology course for majors." CBE—Life Sciences Education 10.2 (2011): 113-122.

³Zeichner, Kenneth M., and Daniel P. Liston. Reflective teaching: An introduction. Routledge, 2013.
Saylor, Laura Lackner, and Carla C. Johnson. "The Role of Reflection in Elementary Mathematics and Science Teachers' Training and Development: A Meta‐Synthesis." School Science and Mathematics 114.1 (2014): 30-39.