Korean Job Discussion Forums

[withnail]

I think the evaluation system of English Instructors in universities is punitive and not constructive.

I would much prefer midterm evaluations so that you could see how students are perceiving your work, and then, crucially, have time to put it right in time for the end of semester final evaluations.

The way things are going, it seems to me that a lot of universities are solely taking the students' word for what went on in the class and then using those to place the teacher on notice i.e. strike one instead of helping them to improve.

This system is punitive and unfair. The best teachers can do is to read the comments of students carefully (get them translated by someone) and then try to screen out what seems petty or unreasonable, while making a note of valid points. Very often it is teachers who don't read students' comments who eventually get it in the neck. Doing peer observations with guys who get good evaluations also works wonders. Good to do this with a few friends. You'd be amazed what you can learn.

We all know that with uni students, many teachers go down the road of manipulating them with everything from Candy to 'Vacation' days to buy their good favour. Other tactics are no homework, ending classes early, relying on their funny persona etc. I'd never judge anyone for doing so because most agree that freshman students especially often seem too immature to evaluate teachers and seem blissfully unaware of the consequences of their barbs. Often, teachers who are rigorous and strict (but good) can get mediocre evaluations.

Here's what I have learned on how to get decent evaluations. Do you agree?

1. The importance of the perception of being fair, nice, sympathetic - especially with regard to lateness, punctuality, no homework etc. Not being a pushover - having a system and sticking to it but at the same time being prepared to listen when rules are broken for some reason.

2. A transparent grading system. Letting your students know about the form and composition of the midterm and final test (lack of which is a common student complaint)

3. Always being seen to be working hard for them - e.g. returning marked quizzes & tests promptly, giving corrective feedback etc. Attempting to teach them new things rather than letting them do stuff unsupervised. Much better to sit in with groups as they do things and being seen to take notes for feedback. Don't be fooled. I've learned that although it can look for all the world like they don't care much, many do appreciate new skills, however minor. (pronunciation is an example)

4. Using students' names when talking to them, either through the use of name cards or a seating chart. Do as much as you can to at least give the impression you are paying attention to individuals.

One teacher I know swears by humorously creating 'cult heroes' of some students because of their habits/eccentricities!!

5. Variety in activities and methods of presentation: book, whiteboard, projector, game, discussion, performance etc. Important to avoid being 'boring' especially if you don't have the skills of Bill Hicks as a stand-up comic, or the looks of Brad Pitt.

6. Being already in the class and ready to go before and not after they arrive - tiny thing only conspicuous by its absence.

7. Maintaining your "pleasant" game face at all times. Not losing your temper. After all, you're not really going to have the time to teach them life skills in your short time with them. I often lost my temper with students who seemed to be showing a disrespect for me but I'm sorry to say, showing my annoyance never did me or them any good.

8. Competitive language-based games regularly. I have slowly come to realise the value of these. You might think they seem childish and I did too but they just seem to work like a charm.

9. Encouraging personal views in writing and speaking - they like to entertain each other with their goofy stuff - especially reading what their classmates write on particular topics.

10. One thing I heard of was a system whereby at the end of the semester, students do competitive review activities to prepare for the final test but with points won able to be 'spent' on wiping out latenesses/absences from the register.

11. If possible, conduct your own midterm evaluations with surveymonkey or something else (probably in Korean and definitely anonymous) to try to get a handle on what they think in time for you to do something about it!

12. Be careful what you say to them. I've found that sometimes my sense of humor was taken the wrong way...especially if I flippantly used words like 'Crazy' or 'Stupid'....I thought I was being funny but it sometimes came back to haunt me. Students can be very petty and precious if they are not happy about something more general.

Some teachers have the idea that only they get to read the 'comments' from students in evaluations but I believe that some Korean professor somewhere reads them and can potentially get the wrong idea about you.

I've been canned by students for a lot of these points in evaluation comments at one time or another....if anything helps, you are very welcome. If anybody can contribute others, it would be appreciated.

[Chet Wautlands]

Greatly appreciated. Thank you.

[PatrickGHBusan]

A solid list of attributes that any teacher should strive for.

[jlb]

An excellent list Withnail.

I have a blog about Teaching in a Korean Uni and I've talked about this numerous times:

http://eslteacherinkorea.blogspot.com/2009/10/wheat-from-chaffall-while-appearing-to.html

http://eslteacherinkorea.blogspot.com/2010/01/student-evaluations.html

http://eslteacherinkorea.blogspot.com/2011/10/do-you-test-and-tell.html

http://eslteacherinkorea.blogspot.com/2008/12/student-evaluations.html

[Unposter]

Put me down as saying that is an excellent list!

Good Job!

[Swampfox10mm]

One of the questions asked students on our evaluation forms is whether or not we are available for office hours.

We have office hours here, but in most cases, students rarely stop in. As I looked back on my previous evaluations, I noticed that students just marked this column ambiguously, more "following the trend" of what their other marks were just because they never visited me and couldn't truthfully answer.

So this semester, I have required every student to come in and visit me for talking time -- just 10 minutes. They can come with one classmate, if they wish. It's taken the better part of a month, but I have met nearly all of my 120 students (there were a few who have missed multiple meetings). I left it open to them, and told them that if they missed, just sign up next week and try again. I'm hoping that this experiment will pay off in a few ways. Plus I now actually have full days of students visiting me during office hours. And you can be sure that I keep the door open so my Korean coworkers notice.

[nathanrutledge]

Learning names is key. Being genuinely interested in their lives is important, too. I know about 80% of my students off the bat, and all 100% after a few moments of thinking. I had the students make name tags. They liked this because they are all freshmen, and they don't know their classmates, AND they said that they WANT me to know and use their names.

If you ask them how they are doing, REMEMBER THEIR ANSWER. One of my students plays in a band and had a concert. I remembered it as I was with my gf and she and I stopped into the concert and saw my student afterwards. He was so excited that I actually showed up. Of course, you don't even have to do that (and it was just a coincidence that I was near the concert and remembered!) - another student plays guitar and sings, and we had a school flea market where he played. I got there too late and didn't see him, but next class I asked him how it was, and he talked my ear off about it.

Really, if you show them that you're a human and you respect them and are interested in them, that will cover the majority of a review. As another poster said, a lot of them follow the trend. If the trend is you're a cool person who cares about them, then they'll be hard pressed to ding you.

[Feloria]

This is my first semester teaching Uni, and I agree with a lot on the list!
I've used competitive team type quiz games for my freshman classes, and the students really get into it--
I also agree with VARIETY--gotta keep the students interested.
I'll be receiving my first evals within the next few weeks; here's hoping for the best!