Hi everyone,
I came across this article from the Chronicle of Higher Education and thought it fit into what we discussed last night in seminar. In it, a tenured professor discusses her experiences with administering four course evaluations throughout the semester. She also provides some meaningful reflection on the value of formative and summative evaluation. Enjoy :)
-Katie
Thanks for sharing this, Katie. I like the idea of informal formative evaluations like this- relatively easy to implement and they can be really valuable for adjusting the course or content on the fly. It seems like most students (while there may be some grumbling) appreciate the opportunity to have a say in their own learning experience.
ReplyDeleteI agree that evaluations can be useful, but I worry that the questions in the article are too ambiguous. I can remember from undergrad hating evaluations that simply asked "What do you like? What do you not like?" And, given how sarcastic I tended to be at the time, I would give just as ambiguous an answer, which I knew wasn't helpful. I'm generally a fan of the "Are there any topics you feel are missing or should be covered in more detail?" and "What topics do you feel could be covered differently?" sort of questions. I say this because evaluations tend to be an end-of-class sort of thing during which most students will fill in just enough to get out of the room as quick as possible. Throwing in more specific questions that say "I truly value your opinion of your learning experience and want to improve if something is lacking," could go over better...and keep hind parts in the seats a bit longer.
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