{"id":7312,"date":"2019-06-19T10:43:17","date_gmt":"2019-06-19T16:43:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/minkhollow.ca\/beckerblog\/?p=7312"},"modified":"2019-06-19T10:43:17","modified_gmt":"2019-06-19T16:43:17","slug":"worth-sharing-we-dont-trust-course-evaluations-but-are-peer-observations-of-teaching-much-better","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/minkhollow.ca\/beckerblog\/2019\/06\/19\/worth-sharing-we-dont-trust-course-evaluations-but-are-peer-observations-of-teaching-much-better\/","title":{"rendered":"Worth Sharing: We Don\u2019t Trust Course Evaluations, but Are Peer Observations of Teaching Much Better?"},"content":{"rendered":"Approximate Reading Time: <\/span> 3<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>

\"\"<\/a>Why colleges and universities that claim to take teaching seriously need a comprehensive and fair system of evaluating it.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

EXACTLY.<\/p>\n

But, as always seems to happen, the same teaching technique inspired completely contradictory reactions.<\/p>\n

For example, while I don\u2019t show too many PowerPoints in English composition, every time I introduce a new writing strategy I\u2019ll throw up a few slides with definitions and examples. One student praised the slides as the most helpful tool for her learning \u2014 another called them useless and recommended I eliminate them from the course.<\/p>\n

Contradictory statements about my methods I can handle; I\u2019ve seen them all before. But this round of reviews also included a comment from a student who said I didn\u2019t “connect well” with the class. This was a community-engaged learning course in which we took a field trip together to a homeless shelter, spent lots of time in group activities in class, and shared personal perspectives on our understanding of poverty. I also followed my own advice and made a point to arrive in the classroom a few minutes early and engage in informal conversations with students.<\/p>\n

So that student\u2019s comment \u2014 although the only one of its kind in this crop of evaluations \u2014 is very likely to spend the entire summer sticking in my craw.<\/p>\n

…<\/p>\n

I\u2019m also a white male in his late 40s, which means that I am usually spared pointed comments about my wardrobe, my voice, or my persona that routinely pepper the course evaluations of female and nonwhite faculty members, as plenty of research has documented.<\/p>\n

Over the years, a number of factors \u2014 contradictory criticisms, bias against vulnerable instructors, inconsistent response rates \u2014 have all been adduced as evidence for why academe should reduce the outsized role that student ratings and comments play in the evaluation of teaching.<\/p>\n

…<\/p>\n

To illustrate that point, she walked us through a thought-provoking exercise that demonstrated in sharp terms why student evaluations and peer observations should be considered within the context of a host of other measures. “I want you to make a list,” Miller said, “of all of the different things that you do each week in support of your teaching. Don\u2019t just think about being in class. Think of all of the other activities you do each week that relate to your teaching.”<\/p>\n

Here is what I jotted down:<\/p>\n