tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post2500483574939553081..comments2023-10-15T04:23:50.187-04:00Comments on College Misery: Big Thirsty on Evaluations and why we hate them...Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger36125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-86401774471978413802012-12-30T22:27:19.343-05:002012-12-30T22:27:19.343-05:00I should add that I do take them seriously--but be...I should add that I do take them seriously--but believe the truth is often in between the highest praise and the deepest damnation. Annie Oakleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02396950355961607377noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-63187301761839838812012-12-28T17:12:55.419-05:002012-12-28T17:12:55.419-05:00FWIW, I'm teaching two new courses this year b...FWIW, I'm teaching two new courses this year because our chair actually took student comments seriously on a course eval for a colleague and 'took those courses away' from him.The Contemplative Cynichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02088570661592922436noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-89857998937646718132012-12-28T15:12:02.849-05:002012-12-28T15:12:02.849-05:00As department chair, I take student evals with a g...As department chair, I take student evals with a grain of salt. I discount the comments damning the proffie to eternal torment and those that claim the proffie walks in water. Then I look for trends. If students in one class complain about something, it doesn't generally raise a red flag. If students in several classes complain, I'll check in with the proffie to see how I can help. If it Annie Oakleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02396950355961607377noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-21596639925551828302012-12-27T22:14:57.180-05:002012-12-27T22:14:57.180-05:00I received my share of insults and vitriol in my s...I received my share of insults and vitriol in my student evaluations as well, though not as vicious as yours.<br /><br />When I was close to finishing my second master's degree, I happened to mention it to one class in a service course I taught. In the evaluation I conducted for that group, someone made a nasty comment about it. Apparently, people with 2 graduate degrees may think they'Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-1173700845370555402012-12-27T22:00:42.140-05:002012-12-27T22:00:42.140-05:00I received my share of nastiness in my evaluations...I received my share of nastiness in my evaluations.<br /><br />During my second year of teaching, someone wrote that if I was ever teaching a course to a certain group of students, the whole class would walk out. That rattled me and I brought it to the attention of the department head at the time. He asked me how many left in protest and I answered that none had. He told me not to worry about Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-410556300267842022012-12-27T20:50:54.324-05:002012-12-27T20:50:54.324-05:00The comments I got back that term were so hateful ...<i>The comments I got back that term were so hateful and negative from some students that they made me question human nature itself. One student had the audacity to compare 11th hour tech problems (which happen when one waits until the 11th hour to complete a project) to my brother's death in terms of gravity and accused me of having a double standard.</i><br /><br />They're unbelievable.Gone Gradhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17545285786616979495noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-34243941391448076842012-12-27T20:41:41.825-05:002012-12-27T20:41:41.825-05:00I hate evaluations. I like to be a hard teacher. I...I hate evaluations. I like to be a hard teacher. I remember the good that hard teachers did in my life and I want to provide my students with the same. I've had students come up to me and tell me that they feel that no one really cared about their education before they came into my class. It warms my heart. However, I've also had students wish that I would vomit blood and die. It's a Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-58205260443424140722012-12-27T20:32:43.567-05:002012-12-27T20:32:43.567-05:00I didn't need evaluations to figure out how my...I didn't need evaluations to figure out how my students learned.<br /><br />The quizzes and exams in my courses required that they have to do something, either preparing a drawing or diagram, or writing out the solution to a problem they were presented with. I didn't just grade them on getting the correct answer, I also examined how they arrived at it and the logic behind it.<br /><br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-44231671772828789072012-12-27T20:26:41.856-05:002012-12-27T20:26:41.856-05:00I don't read the comments, and in fact I ask t...I don't read the comments, and in fact I ask the secretary not to send them to me. My chair has to read the comments (admin rule), and will tell me if an unusual number of them has a particular complaint. I know I should look at the numbers, which I do have to include with my annual report, but generally I don't bother;I just staple the sheet to my report with my eyes shut. So far Merely Academichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00452389428113097744noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-7489164151819104852012-12-27T20:25:38.443-05:002012-12-27T20:25:38.443-05:00Sometimes students can tell when something's g...Sometimes students can tell when something's gone off the rails.<br /><br />I recall one of my profs during my senior undergrad year who I found particularly irritating. He lectured for half the allotted time and then told stories about people he knew or a famous researcher on the subject for the remainder. I would rather have had that time devoted to working out examples as I found the Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-69972890726992604962012-12-27T20:16:41.674-05:002012-12-27T20:16:41.674-05:00The TPTB weren't that smart at the institution...The TPTB weren't that smart at the institution I used to teach at. They took student evaluations for face value and relished the anonymous comments because, paraphrasing my last department head, the students/customer/learners/whatever felt "freer" to say what they liked. In other words, they could make any sort of comment which, if presented in the public media, could result in Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-87213093554647322192012-12-27T20:11:54.015-05:002012-12-27T20:11:54.015-05:00In the department I used to teach in, evaluations ...In the department I used to teach in, evaluations were often used to push someone out the door.<br /><br />My last department head, and his lackey assistant head, both wanted to get rid of me. They eagerly awaited the results of my evaluations to use as evidence that I was a lousy instructor, even though those comments were anonymous.<br /><br />Sometimes there would be something nasty written Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-12053754643543339212012-12-27T20:05:48.938-05:002012-12-27T20:05:48.938-05:00At the place where I used to teach, the students w...At the place where I used to teach, the students were considered experts on how I should run my course. Many came direct from high school and, therefore, "knew" what they needed to know and how it should be taught.<br /><br />Then again, if they were so smart and talented, why weren't they conducting the lectures instead of me?<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-59490855233080283912012-12-27T18:52:22.762-05:002012-12-27T18:52:22.762-05:00My spouse and I are both proffies, God help us. We...My spouse and I are both proffies, God help us. We tend to fixate on the few nasty comments, and then we have to talk each other out of the funk.<br /><br />I truly did find student evaluations useful at the start of my career and up to as recently as about five years ago. I got good feedback on what I was doing well and concrete, constructive suggestions that helped me improve assignments. I&#EnglishDochttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12046114978214062491noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-48456346738191091002012-12-27T16:47:14.910-05:002012-12-27T16:47:14.910-05:00In essence: what do you do, and how do they affect...<i>In essence: what do you do, and how do they affect you?</i><br /><br />I read them because other people do. You should always know what other people know about you, if possible. That way, if there is something shocking in there, you're prepared. <br /><br />But as a full professor with tenure, so long as there isn't anything outlandish in there, I don't much care. My StellafromSparksburghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17584701718285662953noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-33584262409125169602012-12-27T15:50:03.709-05:002012-12-27T15:50:03.709-05:00I ask my wife to look at them first, just in case....I ask my wife to look at them first, just in case. Then I read the compliments for a quick ego-boost. Then I look at the suggestions to make the class better. Most are junk. However, I have made a few small adjustments because of some complaints I felt were justified. Evals from classes where I felt the class "clicked" and went well are more valuable to me than evals from one of those Middle-Aged and Morosehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04046076243513948921noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-13055714144173732062012-12-27T15:46:49.073-05:002012-12-27T15:46:49.073-05:00This comment has been removed by the author.Middle-Aged and Morosehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04046076243513948921noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-36285394255854084082012-12-27T15:43:01.089-05:002012-12-27T15:43:01.089-05:00My students don't seem sophisticated enough to...My students don't seem sophisticated enough to see through pandering and bribery. Perhaps some of them are, but they seem to be a silent minority. No, at the end of each semester, the grad student lounge explodes with leftover cookies and pizzas and bagels and candies, all of them bought on grad student stipends. And then certain online sites explode with reviews about how TA Ashley gave us Gone Gradhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17545285786616979495noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-87401301237639416852012-12-27T15:39:24.446-05:002012-12-27T15:39:24.446-05:00I love my evals. I spend a lot of time trying to f...I love my evals. I spend a lot of time trying to figure out how each class learns, and I spend my last lecture giving them advice on how to avoid pissing off their next profs. I give them "secrets" to being good students. Two things tell me whether I've been successful: whether students follow my email etiquette directions at least 80% of the time, and how they fill out my evals.<brAcademic Monkeyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07086078244493768565noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-17733875981130747092012-12-27T15:18:43.762-05:002012-12-27T15:18:43.762-05:00I sometimes find comments in evaluations "hel...I sometimes find comments in evaluations "helpful". As in, they give me insight into the mind of the snowflake. Like the time the student wrote "when we give a wrong answer in class, she doesn't say 'thanks for trying'". That one was an absolute revelation.WhatLadderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11603489349164511704noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-6192489465025039602012-12-27T15:16:50.679-05:002012-12-27T15:16:50.679-05:00Yeah, that's a dangerous one. I once had a gre...Yeah, that's a dangerous one. I once had a great class with a good rapport, and one wag wrote "don't make jokes about people who are funnier than you are" which was an in-joke reference to our discussions on the use of humour in writing, but OMG did I have 10 minutes with the Chair over that one. "Are you making jokes about students? Isn't that disrespectful?" GAH.WhatLadderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11603489349164511704noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-85791660723400672452012-12-27T15:08:49.873-05:002012-12-27T15:08:49.873-05:00Yep. See my comment above. Though the films I show...Yep. See my comment above. Though the films I show aren't what I would call "fun"...BurntChromehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06055976331443607569noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-66077906314810221422012-12-27T15:07:15.227-05:002012-12-27T15:07:15.227-05:00Absolutely brilliant.
I think the thing that bot...Absolutely brilliant. <br /><br />I think the thing that bothers me the most is that we are completely unable to address the shitty remarks we get, and we can only hope and pray that TPTB are smart enough to realize when students have an ax to grind. <br /><br />I show films in my class (two documentaries) and I had a student complain about it on the anonymous non-official survey I asked them to BurntChromehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06055976331443607569noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-45168049679503851852012-12-27T14:47:07.262-05:002012-12-27T14:47:07.262-05:00"However, I do not pass out cookies. I do not..."However, I do not pass out cookies. I do not show fun movies."<br /><br />Indeed. I have found that this pandering bullshit is counterproductive. Doing things like passing out cookies and showing fun movies can prompt some of the good students to complain about you wasting class time. <br /><br />You can't win. And if you ARE winning, then maybe, just maybe, you are part of theEmergency Mathematical Hologramhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15873569623797587860noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-885379427156818732012-12-27T14:33:18.892-05:002012-12-27T14:33:18.892-05:00Oh gee lords, I would never cry. Please people, do...Oh gee lords, I would never cry. Please people, do not cry about evaluations. When you cry, the terrorists win. <br /><br />As for my own evaluations "process" ... I check my electronic evaluations on the day they come out. Then I forget about them. Then, some weeks later, I get the envelope of "qualitative" comments in my mailbox. I skim these. (Most, surprisingly, are good, Gone Gradhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17545285786616979495noreply@blogger.com