Value of student critiques in instructor development
I didn't see anything on this idea in the module. As important and the ability to be introspective is in developing as an IDE, we need to actively encourage our students to provide feedback, anonymously if necessary, and take a good hard look at their comments. They are the customer and their thoughts matter and can be extremely useful in helping us see ourselves from the other side of the podium.
Hi Summer:
Good points. The best systems do little good if not applied well. Students only provide one aspect of how classes and instruction is going. Sometimes, it comes down to a popularity contest. But when there are trends that continually appear, there's probably some truth and analysis and discussion with the instructor is probably needed.
Regards, Barry
I agree student critiques are essential in improving as an instructor. While written evaluations are important, I have found that end of the class discussions and debriefing are also useful in getting valuable feedback from students. Simple questions about what worked and what didn't are useful.
Also, an institution must use student evaluations effectively, or students can become complacent and not feel as if the evaluations are taken seriously.
Hi Rhonda:
To me "critique", although literally related to the word criticism, doen't always have to be negative. For instance, when teacher evaluations use a rating scale (such as a Likert Scale), the student can respond to a question by giving a rating over a range of options. A frequent range is 1-5, where 1 represents strongly disagree and 5 represents strongly agree, with 2-4 having more central definitions (3 is often defined as neutral). In this manner, a student is able to convey the teacher is at least doing an adequate job in a particular category. I think having a broader range of choices provides better feedback to the instructor.
Regards, Barry
Hi Jacquelyn:
Critiques give us "the eyes in the back of our heads", that students and others can see, but we can't always. Although critiques are only a portion of a measure of how a teacher is doing, it's a vital component, along with self-evaluation, peer monitoring and review, classroom observations, semiannual and annual evaluations, results from course surveys, and implemmentation from institutional trainings.
Together, these provide a more balanced idea about where a teacher is performining.
Regards, Barry
That is a very good tool for instructors to use to get constructive criticism on classroom performance. Me and a few of my colleuges just had a discussion on the topic of evaluations this past weekend and how the feedback would be very beneficial.
I believe that we need to have critique so that we can develope better as an instructor
Hi Brian:
Great! I think it takes a strong instructor who can regularly take the sometimes subjective written student critiques. I'm glad to hear you feel you receive occasional positive feedback. I think better instructors take all feedback from all sources, digest it, and make appropriate tweaks in their approach to teaching.
Regards, Barry
We have student critiques every three weeks. I tell my students that if they are going to grade me low to take time and give me an explanation of what I did so I can take that into account on the next rotation. Most of the time they write something funny but every once in awhile I will get some really good feedback from a student. I think student critiques definately have a place in becoming a better instructor.
Hi Rebecca:
I agree and think that there is value in taking information gathered from student critiques and pondering the results. For some teachers, this is a difficult task, and anything negative or needing improvement is met with excuses or denial. That "knee-jerk" reaction misses the whole point of the benefits student critiques can offer to teachers, especially long time teachers, as you point out.
Regards, Barry
As the years pass our method of instruction seem to stalemate and what worked before seems to work just as well now. What could be better than a student giving us some insight on what is not working for them anymore. Times and students have changed, in looks,attitudes and goals. So must we.
Hi William:
Feedback from a variety of sources tends to convey an overall truer rater reliability when assessing instructor effectiveness. Student critiques alone would not be an accurate source of evaluation. However, when multiple sources such as peer and supervisor reviews, classroom observations, graduate assessments, and employer feedback are combined, perhaps a better portrait of the teachers performance can be obtained.
Student critiques, although only one component of teacher evaluation, give a perspective that is unique. I think better teachers are capable of taking all student assessments, even negative comments, and become better teachers as they reflect on the feedback.
Regards, Barry
