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MA_TESOL
Joined: 11 Nov 2007
Location: Seoul
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 Posted: Fri Dec 05, 2008 2:16 pm Post subject: Student Evaluations |
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| Do you like being evaluated by students? What happens in your university if you get a low evaluation? Have you changed your teaching approach that had the effect of dramatically changing your evaluations there after? Do you experience anxiety during evaluation times? |
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Hanson
Joined: 20 Oct 2004
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| Posted: Sat Dec 06, 2008 2:46 am Post subject: |
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| I don't mind, depends how low, not really, and no. |
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Richard Krainium
Joined: 12 Jan 2006
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| Posted: Sat Dec 06, 2008 3:40 am Post subject: Re: Student Evaluations |
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| MA_TESOL wrote: |
| Do you like being evaluated by students? What happens in your university if you get a low evaluation? Have you changed your teaching approach that had the effect of dramatically changing your evaluations there after? Do you experience anxiety during evaluation times? |
It's the bread and butter of your job. Good evals = a new contract.
Do I like it? No.
Do I sweat it? Hell no! I am what I am and I teach the way I teach. Call me Popeye.
I believe if you are true to yourself, sincerely teach and care about your students, it will reflect on your evals. It's all about your attitude.
If you are having to change your approach because of evals, my guess is you won't be there for long. I'm not saying it's not possible, I'm just saying.
A leopard doesn't change it spots.
BTW-I've been in the uni game for 5 years now and teaching in Korea for a total of 9 years. |
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the_beaver
Joined: 15 Jan 2003
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| Posted: Sat Dec 06, 2008 3:50 am Post subject: Re: Student Evaluations |
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| MA_TESOL wrote: |
| Do you like being evaluated by students? What happens in your university if you get a low evaluation? Have you changed your teaching approach that had the effect of dramatically changing your evaluations there after? Do you experience anxiety during evaluation times? |
Oddly, yes, I like being evaluated.
I have no idea what happens with a low evaluation.
Many times I've made huge changes to my teaching because of evaluations. Not so much based on the numbers (some), but mostly based on the comments.
Not at all. |
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Hanson
Joined: 20 Oct 2004
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| Posted: Sat Dec 06, 2008 4:29 am Post subject: Re: Student Evaluations |
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| the_beaver wrote: |
Oddly, yes, I like being evaluated.
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That's what she told me about you. |
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the_beaver
Joined: 15 Jan 2003
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| Posted: Sat Dec 06, 2008 5:03 am Post subject: Re: Student Evaluations |
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| Hanson wrote: |
| the_beaver wrote: |
Oddly, yes, I like being evaluated.
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That's what she told me about you. |
Your wife or your mother? |
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makemischief
Joined: 04 Nov 2005
Location: Traveling
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| Posted: Sat Dec 06, 2008 4:19 pm Post subject: Re: Student Evaluations |
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| MA_TESOL wrote: |
| Do you like being evaluated by students? |
Yes. I agree with Beaver.
| MA_TESOL wrote: |
| What happens in your university if you get a low evaluation? |
Depends how low. As long as it is not disturbingly low then noting much- but a trends of reviews drastically lower than other teachers in the department would raise flags.
| MA_TESOL wrote: |
| Have you changed your teaching approach that had the effect of dramatically changing your evaluations there after? |
Due to numbers? No... but I do read the student comment sections- and despite the silliness of the evaluation procedure the comment section can actually have some truly valuable feedback.
| MA_TESOL wrote: |
| Do you experience anxiety during evaluation times? |
Only when they mess up the evaluation scheduling and come into my class on a test day. Students are not in the best of moods to do evals 5 minutes before a test.  |
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Young FRANKenstein
Joined: 02 Oct 2006
Location: Castle Frankenstein (that's FRONKensteen)
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| Posted: Sat Dec 06, 2008 10:02 pm Post subject: |
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| Hanson wrote: |
| I don't mind, depends how low, not really, and no. |
same same |
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Hanson
Joined: 20 Oct 2004
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| Posted: Sun Dec 07, 2008 9:29 am Post subject: Re: Student Evaluations |
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| the_beaver wrote: |
| Hanson wrote: |
| the_beaver wrote: |
Oddly, yes, I like being evaluated.
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That's what she told me about you. |
Your wife or your mother? |
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MA_TESOL
Joined: 11 Nov 2007
Location: Seoul
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| Posted: Sun Dec 07, 2008 12:37 pm Post subject: Re: Student Evaluations |
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| Richard Krainium wrote: |
| MA_TESOL wrote: |
| Do you like being evaluated by students? What happens in your university if you get a low evaluation? Have you changed your teaching approach that had the effect of dramatically changing your evaluations there after? Do you experience anxiety during evaluation times? |
It's the bread and butter of your job. Good evals = a new contract.
Do I like it? No.
Do I sweat it? Hell no! I am what I am and I teach the way I teach. Call me Popeye.
I believe if you are true to yourself, sincerely teach and care about your students, it will reflect on your evals. It's all about your attitude.
If you are having to change your approach because of evals, my guess is you won't be there for long. I'm not saying it's not possible, I'm just saying.
A leopard doesn't change it spots.
BTW-I've been in the uni game for 5 years now and teaching in Korea for a total of 9 years. |
I agree with much of what you wrote. I have been teaching in universities in Korea for 6 years now. I am finishing my 1st year at a second university. This second university is quite different than my first.
Much bigger classes
It is in a major dept rather than a program within the university
In most classes, at least 1/3 of the students have spent significant time living in an English speaking country. Because of their major, they have to take a series of classes. I had one student who lived in Australia for 25 years, but had to take a beginners level English class.
All my classes are 2 hours, except for the beginners level which is 3 hours and mostly freshmen.
In my first semester my evaluation score was 3.90 and the department average was 3.91. This is on a scale of 5. If we get below 3.5 we get a warning letter and if we get a second eval below 3.5 they will not renew our contract.
There is a definite ;earning curve in this new situation. Beginning next semester, I am trashing the books and using my own material.
I don't know how I have done this semester-I took some risks and approached things differently than I did the 1st semester, so time will tell.
I have always been a bit given over to worry and anxiety, so of course, evals are just another thing for me to be concerned over.
I absolutely know that I care for my students and do my best to engage them in a dynamic learning atmosphere. while lowering their affective filter. This semester I put them in groups and each group had at least one fluent-to-almost fluent student. I told these good English speakers that they would receive a higher participation score, if I saw them helping the less proficient speakers. This seemed to work better than the first semester where the fluent ones seemed to hang together.
I think a good teacher needs to be more of a chameleon and adjust to each new teaching situation- not to be wishy washy or to depart from the fundamentals of their own philosophy, but to realize that each group has its own personality and uniqueness. |
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SuperHero
Joined: 10 Dec 2003
Location: Superhero Hideout
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| Posted: Sun Dec 07, 2008 2:35 pm Post subject: |
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The only time I worried, recently, was when I made the mistake of calling out a student in class and crossing the line in the process. My evals took a hit for that class, but there was no fallout.
You have to screw up really really big time to get any sort of administrative attention. |
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