Evaluating the Reliability of the Critical Teaching Behaviors Midsemester Feedback Instrument Across Programs and Modalities

Munoz Abstract Midsemester feedback is widely used in educational development to support formative improvement of teaching. However, many instruments are validated within a single institutional or instructional context, limiting confidence in their stability across modality- diverse environments. As institutions expand online and asynchronous instruction, educational developers require evidence that formative feedback tools function consistently across instructional formats and academic levels before broad adoption. This project examines the contextual robustness of the Critical Teaching Behaviors Midsemester Feedback Instrument (CTB-MFI) using a retrospective dataset of approximately 5,000 responses from undergraduate, master’s, and doctoral courses delivered in online and on-ground formats at a public R1 institution. The study will evaluate internal consistency reliability and item-level response patterns across groups. With funding support, multi-group confirmatory factor analysis will be conducted to assess structural stability and measurement invariance across instructional modality and academic level. By extending psychometric evaluation of a behaviorally anchored formative instrument into a research-intensive, modality-diverse setting, this project responds to calls for contextual replication of the CTB-MFI. The findings will inform responsible adoption and equitable interpretation of midsemester feedback tools within faculty development contexts. Beyond validating a single instrument, the study models a context-sensitive approach to instrument implementation that can guide educational developers across institutions represented in the POD Network.