Educational leadership

The information below was developed by the FAUW Teaching Stream Faculty Committee and is only intended to provide guidance and examples of educational leadership. Members are encouraged to consult with their chair/director, Policy 77, the associate vice-president, faculty and academic life website, and full professor, teaching stream colleagues in their Faculty when considering applying for promotion.

An individual may contribute to educational leadership at University of Waterloo through a service appointment (for example, associate chair, undergraduate); however, serving in such a role is not required in order to make meaningful contributions to educational leadership. The descriptions and lists of activities provided here are not exhaustive. As you will see, some activities span multiple domains, and an individual may demonstrate only a portion of what is listed. Likewise, they may contribute to educational leadership in ways that are not captured below.

Importantly, this document is not a checklist. Developing a clear narrative about your contributions to educational leadership is an important part of this component of the promotion package. That narrative should explain what you accomplished and describe the scope, significance, and impact of those activities.

1. Mentorship

Mentorship is educational leadership that involves guiding, supporting, and developing the teaching practice, educational judgment, or leadership capacity of others in ways that strengthen teaching and learning beyond one’s own courses. This can include mentoring colleagues, graduate students, postdoctoral scholars, or others with educational responsibilities.

• Mentoring new instructors (digital teaching, learning & grading solutions, policy & procedures, consideration and accommodations, curriculum, etc.)
• Meeting instructors after first teaching experience to reflect
• Support for the teaching development of others, including colleagues and graduate students through mentorship
• Unit/Faculty/Campus level development and implementation of teaching assistant (TA) training
• Discipline specific/unique TA training – practicum/lab/field
• Leading peer-review of teaching in your unit and/or faculty

2. Curriculum and program development

Curriculum and program development is educational leadership that shapes the design, coherence, renewal, or improvement of courses, programs, pathways, or learning experiences beyond a single instructor’s individual teaching responsibilities. Its leadership dimension lies in influencing shared educational structures or practices.

• Developing and/or updated professional modules
• Formalized grad student instructor training for a course
• Redesigning courses
• Leadership roles in the development of new programs or new educational pathways
• Involvement in the development of the Undergraduate Communication Requirement (UCR)
• Co-creation of mechanisms for student self-selection into UCR courses
• Development and coordination of multi-section courses for UCR
• Developing syllabi and assignments for multi-section courses
• Development and coordination of multi-section courses
• Developing courses that align with or satisfy program accreditation, professional designations, etc.
• Creation of interdisciplinary courses, programs, plans or pathways

3. Scholarly teaching and pedagogical innovation

Scholarly teaching and pedagogical innovation is educational leadership that uses informed, reflective, evidence-informed approaches to improve teaching and learning, especially when those approaches are adapted, modelled, or taken up by others. It includes leadership through pedagogical experimentation, thoughtful redesign, and demonstrable influence on educational practice.

• Experimenting with teaching, sharing with colleagues
• Piloted flipped learning – using non-didactic modes of learning where appropriate
• Using non-traditional modes of evaluation where appropriate
• Helping students learn metacognitive skills
• Providing guidance in switch to online and return to campus

4. Scholarship of teaching and learning and teaching-related research

Scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL) and teaching-related research is educational leadership that advances understanding of teaching and learning through systematic inquiry, critical reflection, and dissemination. This form of educational leadership may inform practice, shape educational conversations, or contribute to improvement beyond the individual instructor’s own setting.

• Develop a SoTL project and apply for funding - Centre for Teaching Excellence (CTE) or beyond
• Authorship of refereed publications on the scholarship of teaching in recognized scholarly journals
• The presentation of posters or contributed talks at conferences
• The delivery of invited seminars or lectures at scientific conferences or at other universities or institutions
• The securing of external, peer-reviewed funding for scholarly activity
• Other evidence, including external non-peer reviewed funding, and non-refereed publications
• Active engagement in the scholarship of teaching and learning (editor, reviewer, etc.)

5. Resource development and knowledge mobilization

Resource development and knowledge mobilization is educational leadership that creates, curates, translates, or shares teaching and learning resources in ways that enable others to adopt, adapt, or build on them. This includes tools, guides, frameworks, open resources, exemplars, and other materials that support broader educational improvement.

• Started teaching blog, podcast, apps, etc.
• Invited talks (Waterloo, Ontario, beyond)
• Documenting process for becoming associate professor or professor, teaching stream
• Building software tools for advising
• Writing open courseware/textbooks
• Development of teaching resources, such as textbooks, open educational resources, or digital modules available for use by other instructors
• Addenda to textbooks, such as test banks
• Syllabi made available to sessional instructors or regular faculty
• Tests or teaching materials made available for multi-section courses
• PowerPoint slides made available to other instructors
• Providing sample syllabi and assignments to both sessional instructors and regular faculty

6. Formal leadership, policy, and process change

Formal leadership, policy, and process change is educational leadership exercised through roles, committees, initiatives, or decision-making processes that shape educational policy, governance, structures, or academic practices. The key feature is not the title itself, but the contribution to meaningful change in teaching and learning.

• Formalized mentorship and teaching seminar at department level
• Accessible education team
• Working on strategic projects such as teamwork skills, assessment enhancement, ethics education, collaboration framework
• Successful and influential performance of teaching roles at the program, departmental, faculty or University level
• Serving as a teaching fellow (specify whether unit or faculty level)
• Leading a curriculum committee
• Serving as a peer reviewer of teaching
• Acting as a liaison between sessional instructors and partner departments in UCR courses

7. Professional development and capacity building

Professional development and capacity building is educational leadership that helps others strengthen their teaching, assessment, curriculum design, supervision, or educational leadership capabilities. It includes organizing or leading learning opportunities that build collective expertise and improve educational practice at scale.

• TA training
• Learning about teaching from workshops, conferences
• Helped develop grad student instructor training
• Supported faculty going to teaching conferences and sharing knowledge at colloquium
• New faculty teaching orientation
• Running teaching events
• Teaching workshops attended, including from the CTE
• Facilitating teaching workshops
• Holding workshops to support sessional instructors
• Sharing resources with new faculty
• Supporting faculty and peers with applications and processes on professional accreditation or licensure within their specific discipline

8. Assessment and evaluation leadership

Assessment and evaluation leadership is educational leadership that improves how student learning, curriculum quality, program effectiveness, or educational initiatives are assessed, interpreted, and used for enhancement. It includes leadership in the design or implementation of assessment and evaluation approaches that inform broader educational decision-making.

• Assessment enhancement
• Training TAs to grade assignments
• Peer reviewer of teaching

9. Community, partnership, and network building

Community, partnership, and network building is educational leadership that brings people together to advance teaching and learning through collaboration, shared practice, or collective problem-solving. This may involve fostering communities of practice, building cross-unit or cross-institutional connections, or developing partnerships that enhance educational work.

• Ran seminar in Indonesia on teaching techniques
• High school outreach
• International teaching – for example, African Institute for Mathematical Sciences (AIMS)
• Supported faculty going to teaching conferences and sharing knowledge at colloquium
• Creation of interdisciplinary courses, programs, plans or pathways
• Leading educational transition associated with Faculty of Arts reorganization

10. Institutional or sector impact beyond the classroom

Institutional or sector impact beyond the classroom is educational leadership that influences teaching and learning at the level of a department, faculty, institution, disciplinary community, or wider post-secondary sector. This domain captures the broader reach of educational contributions when they shape practice, thinking, structures, or standards beyond one’s own immediate teaching context.

• Started talking about teaching innovations at conferences
• Ran seminar in Indonesia on teaching techniques
• Lots of blog posts and talks around the world, shared online
• AIMS, e.g., teaching in countries outside of Canada
• Delivery of invited seminars or lectures at conferences, universities, or institutions
• Presentation of posters or talks at regional, national, or international conferences