I found an article that interested me on teacher
evaluations. At the school mentioned in the article they are done differently
than at UNI. Mid semester the teacher can
choose to have the "Focus Feedback" done. About halfway through a normal class,
the professor leaves and another person then leads a discussion about the
class. Students are asked to critique the professors teaching style, both what
the like and do not like. The information is then given to the professor, so if
they choose to they can change the class for the rest of the semester.I feel like this would be really helpful, for both student and professor. If students can give input to a professor on something that could help them, competence levels would go up and so would most likely enjoyment for the class. Everyone wants to be competent in the activities we engage in, and this could only help. I know i have had classes in which i would have loved to be able to tell the professor things to change mid semester and have them actually taken into account.
Often a professor
does not know if they are getting the information across to the students, so I think
this type of feedback would be useful. Feedback can be a very helpful source,
in making changes for the better. Student evaluation is a good way for professors
to get feedback on how well their teaching styles is appealing to and helping students
learn. Performance feedback can also give the professors a sense of a job well
done, if the feedback is positive, and give them something to change or think
about if they are getting mostly negative feedback from students.
At this
University only 20 professors took part in the Focus Feedback, why do you think
that is?
Why do you
think so few professors at UNI do student evaluations
at the end of the semester?
From my understanding professors must go through a great deal of work to become who they are. They have to go to school for a long time, years and years to acquire the knowledge they do. I think they have to write so many books/journals on a subject. I am sure quite a few professors also have done quite a bit of research. From this they will probably become very confident in themselves and their knowledge. They know they are intellectually "above" so many people that receiving feedback saying "you don't do this or that well." (I mean hello, they are the teachers at the highest level).
If you become an expert in anything, I think having someone with less knowledge telling you what to change would taken with a grain of salt.
I would like to hear feedback from UNI about how many teachers actually read those evaluation forms we take the time to fill out. I also wonder how many teachers actually consider any of the feedback they are receiving.
Also, I think another thing to consider is the fact that teachers may think well since I was able to learn this, I know it like the back of my hand, it is their fault if they do not understand.
This is an interesting topic and I wish we could find out from our professors.
At UNI I think I have filled out a teacher evaluation for the majority of my classes, but I am curious to see how many teachers read them. I cannot say I would blame a teacher if they disregard the evaluations, because I have heard about some students complaining on the evaluation without writing about anything that could be fixed in the class. Whenever I fill out the evaluation forms I try to write constructive criticisms rather than just things I hated about the class. I think that if more students were able to take the evaluation forms more sincerely maybe teachers would pay more attention to them.
I really like the idea of this article, focus feedback. I think that it would have definitely been helpful in a few classes I have taken over the years at UNI. Sometimes, from a student’s perspective, it seems like the teacher stops caring about the class. It is almost like the lectures could have taken place during any semester with any class and the teacher looses contact with the students. With the focus feedback teachers might be able to adjust the coursework around the students’ interest and make the class more enjoyable to attend. I think that not many teachers took part in this was because it would take a day out of the schedule and would cause more work. Teachers might have to redo their schedule, which would take time they may not have. I have a question about the article, I am not sure if they mentioned whether or not the feedback was anonymous or not. That might make some difference on the results.
Please read the following link:http://www.psychologicalscience.com/kim_maclin/2010/01/i-learned-it-at-the-movies.html as well as the 3 resource links at the bottom of that article.This semester's movies:Teen DreamsCast…
From my understanding professors must go through a great deal of work to become who they are. They have to go to school for a long time, years and years to acquire the knowledge they do. I think they have to write so many books/journals on a subject. I am sure quite a few professors also have done quite a bit of research. From this they will probably become very confident in themselves and their knowledge. They know they are intellectually "above" so many people that receiving feedback saying "you don't do this or that well." (I mean hello, they are the teachers at the highest level).
If you become an expert in anything, I think having someone with less knowledge telling you what to change would taken with a grain of salt.
I would like to hear feedback from UNI about how many teachers actually read those evaluation forms we take the time to fill out. I also wonder how many teachers actually consider any of the feedback they are receiving.
Also, I think another thing to consider is the fact that teachers may think well since I was able to learn this, I know it like the back of my hand, it is their fault if they do not understand.
This is an interesting topic and I wish we could find out from our professors.
At UNI I think I have filled out a teacher evaluation for the majority of my classes, but I am curious to see how many teachers read them. I cannot say I would blame a teacher if they disregard the evaluations, because I have heard about some students complaining on the evaluation without writing about anything that could be fixed in the class. Whenever I fill out the evaluation forms I try to write constructive criticisms rather than just things I hated about the class. I think that if more students were able to take the evaluation forms more sincerely maybe teachers would pay more attention to them.
I really like the idea of this article, focus feedback. I think that it would have definitely been helpful in a few classes I have taken over the years at UNI. Sometimes, from a student’s perspective, it seems like the teacher stops caring about the class. It is almost like the lectures could have taken place during any semester with any class and the teacher looses contact with the students. With the focus feedback teachers might be able to adjust the coursework around the students’ interest and make the class more enjoyable to attend. I think that not many teachers took part in this was because it would take a day out of the schedule and would cause more work. Teachers might have to redo their schedule, which would take time they may not have. I have a question about the article, I am not sure if they mentioned whether or not the feedback was anonymous or not. That might make some difference on the results.