Teaching Excellence Award Criteria Toolkit

This Toolkit emerged from the research project on Teaching Excellence (TE) awards conducted by collaborators across eleven countries and five continents capturing global student perspectives. Based on a large-scale survey of 2,775 business students, the research study identified 30 universal criteria for recognising outstanding educators through TE awards. The paper entitled “Let the Students Be Heard – Student Voices on Teaching Excellence Awards” published in the Studies in Higher Education made a significant contribution to inform the development of TE award criteria in business schools or higher education. Building on the 30 criteria that students in eleven countries identified as indicators of TE, this Toolkit offers guidance to assist the design of TE awards by higher education institutions (HEIs). It also enables educators to reflect on their teaching practices. The Toolkit is founded on the principles of 1) internationalisation of higher education considering international aspects in teaching and learning towards quality education, and 2) the acute need for educators to understand and integrate into their teaching practices student voices, consistent with student-centred learning. While the first page provides the top ten criteria identified by students globally, the Toolkit also considers all 30 universal criteria to provide indicative examples of how the TE award criteria can be demonstrated and evidenced by the educator as well as outlines potential benefits for students if the educator meets the criteria. The authors call for further primary research in this field to develop a better understanding of the concept of teaching excellence.