1. Teaching

A Teaching Line candidate should have compiled a record of excellent teaching and pedagogical contributions that clearly reveals that he or she is able to sustain a first-rate teaching program during his or her career at Stanford.

Teaching is broadly defined to include didactic teaching, advising, mentoring, program building, curricular innovation and administrative teaching leadership.  Teaching may include undergraduates, graduate students, medical students, residents, postdoctoral fellows and  postgraduate and continuing medical education.  It is recognized that many Teaching Line faculty in clinical departments teach in small group sessions or with individual trainees.

Factors considered in assessing local teaching performance include (but are not limited to) the following:  knowledge of the material; clarity of exposition; style of interaction with students; availability; professionalism, institutional compliance and ethics; effective communication skills; helpfulness in learning; ability to stimulate further education; and ability to work effectively as part of the teaching team.

As noted previously, it is expected that Teaching Line faculty will extend their successes at Stanford to broader regional or national audiences.  In addition to recognition garnered from teaching and other pedagogical successes at Stanford, regional (for Associate Professors) or national (for Professors) recognition may be gained through and evidenced by such activities as leadership roles in professional societies, service on committees or commissions, authorship of authoritative textbooks, funding to support educational innovation (e.g., materials, methods, assessment tools or programs),  speaking invitations, consultancies, number and placement of trainees upon whom the candidate has had a major influence, development of initiatives related to educational diversity, service on editorial boards of journals related to education, adoption by others of courses, classroom teaching methods or programs developed by the faculty member, visiting professorships, and awards for teaching or mentoring beyond the home institution.

2. Other Considerations

Scholarship
While there is no formal research obligation in the Teaching Line, since teaching and scholarship are closely intertwined, it is anticipated that many faculty will make scholarly contributions.  In such cases, there is an expectation that candidates will be strong scholarly contributors, though not necessarily leaders in the field.  Therefore, where applicable, a standard of acceptable performance should be met to complement excellence in teaching.

Written scholarship may take a wide variety of forms, including peer reviewed articles, chapters, commentaries, and case reports.  Any of these types (as long as the quality is acceptable and the quantity is appropriate) may be considered sufficient evidence of scholarly work.  As long as these can be objectively evaluated by persons qualified to perform such evaluations, scholarly contributions may also include teaching activities that may involve developing and implementing novel teaching methodologies for a new and innovative course, shaping a core curriculum, or creating educational software.

Clinical Care
The School of Medicine generally discourages significant clinical time commitments for Teaching Line faculty.  However, in cases where there is such activity, the performance must be excellent.

Institutional Service
Faculty members in the Teaching Line are primarily assessed for reappointment and promotion on the basis of their achievements in the area of teaching, as noted above.  Service (including what might be called institutional citizenship) may also be given some consideration.

Respectful Workplace
The School of Medicine is committed to providing a work environment that is conducive to teaching and learning, research, the practice of medicine and patient care.  Stanford’s special purposes in this regard depend on a shared commitment among all members of the community to respect each person’s worth and dignity.  Because of their roles within the School of Medicine, faculty members, in particular, are expected to treat all members of the Stanford Community with civility, respect and courtesy and with an awareness of the potential impact of their behavior on staff, students and other faculty members.

As detailed earlier in this section, application of criteria for evaluating the quality of teaching include specific expectations regarding a faculty member’s professional behavior in the workplace.  They are reiterated here to emphasize their importance as factors in appointment, reappointment and promotion actions.

In teaching activities, such factors relevant to whether the standards for teaching have been met may include: a positive style of interaction with students; availability; professionalism; institutional compliance and ethics; effective communication skills; helpfulness in learning; ability to stimulate further education; and ability to work effectively as part of the teaching team.

For Teaching Line faculty who are engaged in scholarly activities, such factors relevant to whether the standards for scholarship have been met may include: the ability to work effectively as part of a research team; effective communication with colleagues, staff and students; and professionalism, institutional compliance and ethics

The School of Medicine generally discourages significant clinical time commitments for faculty in this line.  However, for Teaching Line faculty who are engaged in clinical care activities, such factors relevant to evaluation of whether the standards for clinical performance have been met may include:  professionalism, institutional compliance and ethics; humanism; ability to work effectively as part of the health care team; and effective communication with colleagues, staff, students and patients.