Abstract
This study examined the institutional awareness and impact of a lowstakes teaching award at Augusta University and asked if the perception of the award would vary as a function of teaching context. Faculty members from departments that did or did not include recipients of the “Caught in the Act of Great Teaching” award completed a survey that inquired about their awareness of the award, their perception of how knowing about and receiving the award should affect teaching motivation and performance evaluations for faculty in general and for recipients, and their perception of how much the award should impact interest in attending faculty development events. Survey responses revealed broad awareness of the award and agreement that the award should have positive impact on outcomes for recipients, although few agreed that the award should impact interest in faculty development. Faculty members from the health sciences were somewhat more positive about the award. These findings are consistent with previous research that reported that teaching awards should and do communicate the value of teaching and are affirming for recipients.