The use of evaluation to examine and improve the quality of teaching and courses is now a
component of most universities. However, despite the various methods and opportunities for
evaluation, a lack of understanding of the processes, measures and value are some of the
major impediments to effective evaluation. Evaluation requires an understanding of what to
evaluate, how to evaluate it, how to collect and analyse the information and how to action and
implement what has been learned. The aim of this paper is to describe an instrument to
document not only the evaluative process, but also evaluative outcomes. The Course
Improvement Flowchart (CIF) provides a template for the application of an action inquiry
framework. Throughout this process, the CIF template can be used to document key
recommendations emanating from multiple sources of feedback so that a proactive statement of
intent or action plan for teaching and course improvement is written. The resultant
improvements that may be achieved in teaching and course quality may lead to more satisfying
teaching experiences, improved student outcomes and heightened professional growth as a
teacher.
