>>April
      3, 2001

      
What you don't know about teacher evaluations
      could hurt you

      


      
It's only once a semester that
      students have the opportunity to grade teachers. But what seems
      like an opportunity may actually be a little tainted. 

      


      There are some things students may not realize when filling out
      teacher evaluations. 

      


      First, teachers receive either the original copy of the evaluation,
      or a photocopy, along with a tally of their numerical scores.
      There is no one magically typing up the open ended questions,
      so teachers do see students' handwriting on evaluations. 

      


      This is seldom a problem in gigantic classes, but in classes
      smaller than 20, students may be easily identified by their handwriting
      or specific comments. The problem comes when students in such
      a situation assume the forms are confidential. They are not.
      

      


      So don't presume to write whatever you want and think you could
      never be identified. You could. 

      Second, take an active role in filling out teacher evaluations.
      It is a chance to give a professor or graduate student useful
      feedback that can help them improve. Evaluations figure seriously
      into the future of professors without tenure. 

      


      Instead of trashing a professor, admitting to academic violations
      or leaving the space blank, make constructive comments. Why was
      the professor effective or ineffective? 

      


      What could he or she have done better? It may feel good to release
      some tension or hostility, but those attacks do little good in
      the long run. 

      


      Last, use teacher evaluations as a tool - our tool. The evaluations
      are the students' chance to talk. 

      
Students may also view the numerical
      scores of professors in the Faculty Secretary's Office. Again,
      these scores, like a sort of teacher GPA, can be highly useful
      to students who wonder about a professor's performance.

      


      Though the current survey is a bit vague - a kind of one-size-fits-all
      survey for many different kinds of curriculum - the open-ended
      questions, if answered carefully and constructively, cannot only
      help students speak their peace, but the specific feedback can
      help professors improve in the long run.

       



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