tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8070355695530434450.post3531769271559813352..comments2024-03-14T04:16:20.472-07:00Comments on In Socrates' Wake: Bad news on the student evaluation frontMichael Cholbihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02012523929044363216noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8070355695530434450.post-83152833423930467502011-01-24T11:35:13.641-08:002011-01-24T11:35:13.641-08:00I taught a large introductory education oceanograp...I taught a large introductory education oceanography class for about 25 years. I've given a great deal of thought to student feedback, and feel that student feedback, in many cases, is presented to the students in a way that undermines the teacher. I've posted a more detailed summary of my thoughts at: <br />http://es.earthednet.org/node/73wprotherohttp://es.earthednet.orgnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8070355695530434450.post-48407376650167191122010-12-17T09:32:57.601-08:002010-12-17T09:32:57.601-08:00Hi, Michael -- I want to amplify a point raised by...Hi, Michael -- I want to amplify a point raised by mw: "especially since it's sometimes the only feedback some people receive". Over at the Confessions of a Community College Dean site, Dean Dad had a post yesterday on how <i>administrators</i> should read student evaluations of faculty. (http://suburbdad.blogspot.com/2010/12/how-to-read-student-evaluations.html)<br /><br />While his advice is great, it leaves out what I think is the most basic answer to that question: administrators should read student evaluations as ONE component -- and by no means the weightiest one -- of a robust and fair system of evaluating teaching. Several of the commenters to that post raise that same point.<br /><br />Assuming that the study you've cited is valid, the methodology sound, the results replicated elsewhere, etc., then I think that it provides yet more reason for conscientious administrators (and faculty peers) to use other, additional methods of evaluating teaching!Vance Rickshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13615463743461037098noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8070355695530434450.post-82697923065377752022010-12-16T08:06:11.722-08:002010-12-16T08:06:11.722-08:00You can tell about half-way through the semester w...You can tell about half-way through the semester which ones are going to savage you come evaluation time. They are the ones struggling with the material, whose coercive attempts at getting you to lower your standards have failed. And sure enough, it doesn't take a great imagination to put faces on the cliche-ridden outcries once they've been voiced. They have got it down pat by now; it's the same complaints you hear in passing the slanderous cabals that form in the hallways and lunchrooms. My favorites: 'He won't listen to any opinion but his own' = I wouldn't concede that an answer on a test was correct. 'He humiliated me in front of the class' = I corrected someone or suggested a greater effort was required to learn the material or asked that an electronic device be turned off. Sure there are always a few thoughtful suggestions from which you can benefit. But the problem, is that administrators take ALL evaluations seriously, because of concerns over "retention." (And there is no opportunity ever given to face one's accusers.) As I was told by a chairperson way back in the early 90's, "Their perceptions matter, regardless of the truth."RFGA, Ph.D.https://www.blogger.com/profile/11981669525574676528noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8070355695530434450.post-77137147818446910812010-12-16T07:13:50.828-08:002010-12-16T07:13:50.828-08:00I'm not that surprised by that result. I lectu...I'm not that surprised by that result. I lecture at a large, research-based institution, and students (the observant ones, anyway) seem fairly aware that teaching counts for less than research. Nonetheless, it doesn't seem unreasonable for students to think that individual faculty members will take student feedback into account when designing their courses. Especially since it's sometimes the only feedback some people receive. <br /><br />I disagree with the quoted piece that we should view it as good news that students sometimes tell lies in order to help their professors.mwnoreply@blogger.com