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Abstract
Teaching evaluation at many institutions is insufficient to effectively support, recognize, and reward high-quality teaching, necessitating systemic change. This dissertation examines the factors affecting teaching evaluation reform in STEM departments through three interrelated studies. The first study investigates the effects of an intervention designed to support department heads in advancing teaching evaluation practices. We examine the amount of change different departments achieved. We also investigate department head readiness for change and how it related to the reforms they made. The second study explores the ideas and actions department heads used to lead these changes. We applied Kotter’s 8-step model for leading change as an analytical framework, and suggested modifications that can make it more applicable to the context of change in academic departments. Finally, the third study focuses on the development and validation of the Teaching Evaluation Readiness Assessment (TERA), a survey designed to measure faculty readiness for changing teaching evaluation practices. The TERA is capable of detecting differences in readiness across time and between departments, making it useful for offering insights for change agents and researchers. Collectively, these studies contribute to a deeper understanding of how department head readiness and leadership and faculty readiness impact efforts to reform teaching evaluation practices.