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Teaching Evaluations

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I have just reviewed the Course Experience Surveys (CES) for my courses. These are the evaluations and I am pleased with the numbers. I’ll need to ask the admin to see the written comments, which are usually fun to read. We all know that the students who really liked you or didn’t really like you are the ones to leave comments.

Particular to this last school year, I changed a few things and the numbers demonstrated an improvement. One question refers to the assignments and another to fairness with the grading. These two questions really allow the students to comment on the syllabus and the grading performance. Of course, part of this is that the students can blame the instructor for their mark in the class, but that is a different blog post.

The first thing that I’ll admit to is that by and large my CES or evaluations for my courses are normally good to great. But, like any educator focused on teaching and learning, I want to improve my statistics. My enrolments are strong in my courses and I usually have long waitlists for my courses, so I’m doing lots of things right. I won’t rest on my laurels and not try to work on things. And, I’m cognizant that I teach most of the gender courses and other controversial topics, so this influences the evaluations to some degree.

What did I do different you might wonder?  I made special care to talk more about the assignments in class and dedicated more time to do so. I also increased the explanation time when reviewing the syllabus and the assignment.  I joke with colleagues that some students need to hear the explanation three times in order for it to sink in and this might not really be a joke! I did this with all six classes this last year—from first year to seminar.

In some of my classes, I actually included a sample topic sentence outline from the previous term. In other classes, I shared a successful blog. I also shared information about assessment and continued to use my grading grid in the courses. The extra time and the examples made a positive difference with those two questions. Now, I need to think about what I want to work on for next year…

Summer School Tips

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Summer School sounds like such a great idea—get through some units quickly! Who wouldn’t like that? Well, the reality is that once the sun comes out Summer school no longer seems like such a good idea. Allow me to give you some words of advice.

Go to class! Yes, this is so old school of me, but actually coming to class can help you with your understanding of the material, get to hear what the instructor has to say, and you also have the opportunity to hear the discussion between the instructor and your classmates.

Do the reading! Oh, I know that this is tedious. The materials are assigned for a good reason. You can read them on the beach, whilst you dip your toes in the warm sand or right before you retire for the evening. Just make sure that you review the course materials. If you have a book assigned—always read the preface or introduction, even if it’s not assigned. The pre-matter helps set up the book and it might offer you the epiphany you need prior to reading the longer chapters.

Go to office hours! Yes, this is not merely for the student who does not understand the material or wants to endear him/herself to the instructor. Office hours is a great place to get to know your instructor better and for the instructor to get to know you and your learning style better. This can make a difference.

Study. I already suggested reading the course materials, but studying is something entirely different. If the class has exams or papers, the instructor assumes that you have done more than a skim of the materials. You need to understand the materials and demonstrated comprehension about them. And, here is where studying comes into play. This might include you reviewing the questions at the end of the chapter or looking at the “for future reference” materials or websites.

This last suggestion was really useful for me in graduate school—look through the index. Notice the sorts of words/concepts that are indexed and choose some to re-read again. This can cement the ideas—oh, like a splinter into your mind that you will pull out during the most opportune time. (I just had to throw in a Matrix reference there).

The last thing—care. Seriously. You don’t have to earn an A or shoot for the A, but treat the entire course experience like it matters and you will most likely be more successful. Remember that going to college is a privilege. You might already be keenly aware of this, but in case you’re not—remember that someone would love to trade spots with you and sit in a classroom, read books and articles and write assignments.

Patience: Reminder

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It’s that lovely point in the term at my campus. Reading Break was last week and the vast majority of the students did not use the week off from classes to catch up or even get ahead. And, they’ve hit the ground running with paper due dates around the corner and final exams looming in the distance. Due to this, the students have a real sense of urgency and even panic. This is when they start to get ill, their attendance gets worse, and for many of them–they stop keeping up with the reading. They are in full–sink or swim mode.

What I have to remember–is patience. Yes, the syllabus is our contract and I do expect them to review it. However, the best tactic I’ve found for this last month is simple patience. I need to remind, validate, help, and occasionally chastise. The last month is really about coaching them. This seems to hold true for so many of the students. Even though I might want to hit my head against the desk–the best thing I can do for them is to take a breath, smile, and answer the question. The answer might be–review the syllabus. But, it does me (and my students) no good to get exasperated. Patience.

Work Attitudes

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For most of my academic career I was part of the contingent faculty. I am approaching my second year as regular, full-time faculty at my institution. When I was a part-time faculty member I took my job very seriously and felt a sense of obligation to the students more so than the university, my employer. Has this changed? Yes, it has. I have a stronger sense of loyalty to my employer, but this is compounded with an even stronger sense of loyalty or obligation to the students.

I have noted previously that I am content with my job and feel quite lucky to be part of the students’ higher education experience. But, I also have a sense of making this experience as seamless and supportive for them. At times I do occasionally feel like I am hitting my head against the wall. Yes, I am going to momentarily complain about the bureaucracy. There are rules about the major and overall degree program and I am here to help the students with the Political Science portion of their degree. My department has the least prerequisites of any department that I have worked for previously. This is good for the students; however sometimes the students will make a mistake and not take the proper courses and will find out about this later and in some classes, too late to graduate on time.

What I have been surprised to see–the unhelpful attitude from bureaucrats in the university. Sure, the student miscounted or misread the course list, but surely when a student is about to graduate we can make substitutions, right? No. Occasionally, it feels like Dr. Evil is the Bureaucrat–no, no, no, no. And, I think is a damn shame. Playing Devil’s Advocate, I suppose the university can (and does) say that the student should have known–should have checked, should have double checked. In the meantime, I will continue to balance my advocacy for students and the university.

Students and Attendance

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I have been chatting with colleagues about students and attendance in courses. What do we do to get students in the classroom? Better yet–wanting to come to class and ready to participate might actually offer the correct comment or want by faculty. I have incorporated attendance and participation into the way that I evaluate the students, but I have also not assessed their attendance and participation.

What have I found? It’s a pain to take roll, yes, but I find that I learn the students’ names faster, when I take roll. Students can come to class and not really be there-not want to be there and might be doing their math homework for all I know. I find that for early morning courses, I really have to peppy and be prepared to perform more. I have to wake them up and I have to make the class “worth” it for them to wake up early and come to campus. I also find that when participation is used to evaluate them, they are more apt to come to class.

There is no easy way to answer this question. Why? Some terms this is not a point of concern, as the stars will align and you don’t even have to worry about it. I find that attendance also varies between the type of class–large lecture, small lecture, seminar and the year of the student. Then, add to this the type of student: keener, good, enthusiastic, year of the student, major, minor, etc. There are so many factors outside of an instructor’s control.

Thinking of my undergraduate career, I know that I attended class all the time. I was a keener and would always make sure that my work schedule never conflicted with my school schedule. I also looked at my attendance at university as a privilege (first generation college student). I would look around the room at all these “new” people during the mid-term and wondered why they never came to class. Before anyone comments that students today are working–been there, done that. I was often working two jobs and volunteering at the radio station, paper, or student club(s).

When I am wearing my professorial hat, I also know that there is a correlation between good attendance and good marks. But, I can talk about this until I am red in the face and only some students will listen to this point or “get” it. I do feel bad for the students who are phoning it in and really don’t seem like they want to be in class or at university. But, that is probably another blog post!