Kaustuv Basu
from InsideHigherEd.com
Some students didn't take well to Steven Maranville’s teaching style at Utah Valley University. They complained that in the professor’s “capstone” business course, he asked them questions in class even when they didn't raise their hands. They also didn't like it when he made them work in teams.
Those complaints against him led the university denying him tenure – a decision amounting to firing, according to a lawsuit Maranville filed against the university this month. Maranville, his lawyer and the university aren't talking about the case, although the suit details the dispute.
Maranville and his attorney did not return phone calls, but the allegations in the lawsuit raises questions that have been raised and debated about the value of student evaluations and opinions, how negative evaluations play into the career trajectory of affected professors and whether students today will accept teaching approaches such as the Socratic method.
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Inside Higher Ed
Something similar happened to me. The Dean thought it would be a "good idea" (ie. you better do this) to have my Geometry class work in groups on activities and do very little lecturing. This included using the Socratic method and having students come to the front of the room and work out problems on the over-head or board.
ReplyDeleteThen the bitch did a 180 and couldn't understand why the students weren't responding very well to this teaching style. In short, I got an unsatisfactory evaluation. She wanted me to think of a way to remedy the "poor performance". Simple, I said, I could just stop teaching this way! I brought up the union contract and the clause on academic freedom and went my own way. (Not recommended tactic, but I had to choose between blowing a head-gasket or blowing a head-gasket.)
I'm guessing something similar happened here. And I'm betting that this particular school prides itself on the "Socratic Method" (whatever THEY think that is).
Oh, forgot to add...
ReplyDeleteassholes.
Like unionizing the TA's when he was in grad school?
ReplyDeleteNo, that would keep him from getting hired in the first place. Trying to unionize the faculty, however ...
ReplyDeleteBe interesting to see how the lawsuit works out One woman at (I can't remember where) was denied tenure, sued, went to law school while the case wound through the courts, and by the time she won her suit against the university she had made partner in the law firm that hired her after graduation.
With apologies to my law colleagues, I'm not sure becoming a lawyer is a "success" story.
ReplyDeleteI always get a warm fuzzy feeling when I read about a former faculty member suing their employer. Is that wrong?
ReplyDelete"I always get a warm fuzzy feeling when I read about a former faculty member suing their employer. Is that wrong?"
ReplyDeleteLawsuits beat car bombs.
No no, the successful tenure lawsuit is the "success" story. The point of the "partner in a law firm" anecdote (which I got from that advice book for female academics, whose name slips my mind right now) is that the lawsuit took a minimum of 8 years to settle. So nobody should sue after not getting tenure unless they're prepared to spend a long, long time seeking justice. And they'd better have a plan B.
ReplyDeleteReading the article, the guy was hired from a tenured position, on the understanding that he would get tenure in 1 year. Obviously his teaching was actually fine (the peer evaluations were excellent). So yes, obviously the administration decided to get rid of him for some other reason. But the likely reason is "money". The economy being what it is and all. How much do you bet he's been replaced with an adjunct?
Merely--I never take sucker bets. Of course he was replaced with an adjunct....
ReplyDelete