Korean Job Discussion Forums

[bassexpander]

Our uni has a scoring system based on a variety of questions students are asked at the end of the semester. Scoring ranges from 1 to 5. The average for teachers here at our uni is about 3.75. I am averaging around 4.08 or so in all classes but one (a class of engineering students in Freshman English where I got a 3.70).

My scores are actually lower than last semester, and it's bugging me -- particularly scoring on one question, where my numbers dropped significantly. This question asked the students if they felt the professor had prepared for class.

The reason it bothers me is that I actually prepared MORE this semester than in the past. This semester, rather than going step-by-step through the book, ad nauseum, I've included more exercises to get them to speak. I've included role plays, Task-based exercises, etc., which I really felt helped them improve a lot. I was feeling good about how far many of them had come.

I am now wondering -- do Korean students feel the professor is being "lazy" when he/she is planning more student-speaking lessons rather than lecturing in front of the class?

One particular top-level Freshman class (which I was worried about) ended up giving me my highest marks despite the fact that in my mind, it was perhaps my worst performance ever overall. I hated that class, mainly because the book we had to teach was gawd-awful, and it was like pulling teeth trying to get students to talk.

It just doesn't make sense.

[ddeubel]

You know, it could be the case. You might have answered your own question.

But, I'd also say that it wouldn't just be Korean students who could interpret "being prepared" as something meaning, "having command of the course textbook". I think it is something that can easily be misinterpreted by any group of students, Korean or Kazakhstani or Kanadian.

When it comes to evaluations -- numerical evaluations or scores such as your own, I'd advise looking at the big picture. So long as your "score" is up there, all is fine. So don't sweat it and you are doing fine just by reflecting upon your lessons and the assessment. That is the cornerstone of good teaching, imo.

What is of value when it comes to student evaluations are two things. 1) formative feedback (when the students tell you after or during the lesson what they valued, what worked for them) or 2) summative comments. Students write their personal feelings and the instructor can read them (and they are anonymous) and gain valuable insight from some of the students who are really perceptive. All else is naught....imo.

DD

[the_beaver]

Back in the day I used to get lower grades on that same question and it bugged the hell out of me. Although I do much more prep now than then, even at that time I was still putting in way more than everybody I knew.

My solution?

Instead of putting my lesson plans up on the lectern where they were hidden, I started laying them out on the desks in front of the class -- not right in front of students, but close enough that they knew what I was looking at.

[yingwenlaoshi]

After a while, wouldn't you learn to not even look at the scores? After all, who cares?

And how are they going to know how much you prepared for the class? Really now.

[soju pizza]

Did you ever yell at anyone in that class?

Did you ever honestly explain their weaknesses to them?

Did you disparage kimchi or Kpop?

[SuperHero]

[faster]

[Yu_Bum_suk]

You really have to take evaluations by Koreans with a huge grain of salt. Obviously you're not pissing the students off too much so you're OK. As long as you're scoring above 3.5 on such tests I'd stick with being my own critic with such a job, and perhaps take the face-to-face feedback of the top students into consideration. Don't always believe Koreans when they tell you you're doing something wrong, and be sure not always to believe them when they say you're 'bery good teachah'.

[Beej]

I bet many of the students just check random boxes without even reading the questions.

[Billy Pilgrim]

[soju pizza]

MODS! Make this a sticky!

[OneWayTraffic]

My wife evaluated her teachers in Canada, she said she evaluated her teacher based on her own performance, not his.

At Pagoda we were evaluated monthly by the students. They'd have two weeks and a couple of days before you'd hand out the forms. A lot of random checking, and a lot of weighting on how much you smile at them. You needed a 4.x out of 5 to have any chance to stay.

[Young FRANKenstein]

[yingwenlaoshi]

[bassexpander]

Ok, here's a look at our evaluations, just because I'd be curious what student evaluations looked like at unis in Korea if I'd never seen one (am also curious abuot unis other than my own).

Picture #1 is my lowest class is level 3 English, and was made up entirely of 1st-year Engineering students (by design). The second evaluation is from level 4 English, and was made up mostly of top 1st-year students.

Using the first class as an example (where I got my worst scores) near the top, you'll see that 17 out of 30 students actually bothered to fill out the online question form -- or 56%.

The lower right percentages in the blue area include my overall average percentage for that class (first) followed by the average for the university (in that major, if memory serves). This chart also gives a high/low/average of the other teachers for each question. The second evaluation is another class (level 4 students) where I got my highest marks. All of the other classes were between 4.08 and 4.3, or so. That's why the 3.7 percent bugs me.

I also feel that native speakers can achieve higher results more easily simply because we have a fair number of students here who wish they could take our classes, but cannot. We're valued, in a way, so we are automatically "liked" from the start. That is another reason why I'm feeling low about the 3.7 mark in the first class, compared to the 3.75 average of the school.

In their first year, only students who qualify for level 3 or 4 get to take classes with a foreigner. The level 1 and 2 students don't, and they get upset about that, so they take it out on the Korean teachers of those classes with low marks (unlucky for them). Next year, they're doing away with level 4 and just combining levels 3 and 4 with some from level 2 (which might be a good, or might be a mess).

How much do you figure my percentage may have dropped because 1 guy/woman might have gone through and ticked the worst possible response for all of the questions (as it appears in picture 1)? Question 5 on the first photo is the one that bugs me. It's the question asking if I had prepared well or not.

There is a range of choices from 1 to 5, with 1 basically being the lowest rank, and 5 being the highest. You can see how many students chose each rank per question.

Here are some very rough English translations questions, starting with A (student answers about themselves):

1. I did the work assigned.
2. I was enthusiastic in this class.
3. I understood what the class would entail before I started.

Now part B (about the class and professor):

1. Did the professor explain the class plan (syllabus) and contents?
2. Did the syllabus reflect what actually happened in class.
3. Do you think the teaching method was proper?
4. Do you think the professor explained the contents well?
5. Did the professor teach with enthusiasm?
6. Was the professor interested in student achievement?
7. Were the assignments helpful?
8. Did the test reflect the class contents?
9. Was it good in helping you learn new things?
10. Are you generally satisfied with the class?
11. Will you recommend this class to others?
12. Was the classroom environment good?
13. Was the classroom hardware in good condition?

I find question #13 is a bit stupid in that it is figured as a part of my score. It's not my fault if the computer doesn't work or the projector bulb is burned-out, is it?