I was slightly nervous that the results of the annual teacher evaluation[1] would be lower than they have been in the recent past due to the implementation dip. Teaching two entirely new courses[2] last semester made for some interesting days when lesson plans were not as polished as in previous years. As seen below, my results – relative to both the wider faculty and my own results from the previous year – did not decrease. Apparently my scores increased from the previous year while the overall Faculty rating decreased.

This year’s total score and component scores are below:

I suspect that even though some transitions between learning activities were not as smooth as they had been after 19 years of repetition and iteration in the previous year, the actual lesson plans were better last semester. I had spent summer carefully building from scratch course outcomes, unit outcomes, lesson outcomes, the assessments to measure to what degree students achieved those outcomes, and the learning activities to build the skills and content knowledge necessary for them to demonstrate that mastery. All of that was closer to the forefront of my mind as I taught each lesson. Also, being in the process – at least in the case of Social-Cognitive Psychology – of writing a textbook really got me thinking through each and every explanation and example in a more methodical way.

Some of the notable “Strengths” that students identified in the free-form section of the teacher evaluations that feel representative are:

My teacher makes class super interesting, we do fun, exciting activities that make this my favorite class. He also allows us to do retakes on tests which really helps me to learn because if I take the test once and don’t do as well I’m motivated to study

He explains everything very clearly and he is always excited to teach us. He keeps the class interesting and exciting

He’s creative and stays engaged with all of us by teaching us in ways most teachers usually don’t

One thing that my teacher does that helps me to learn is provide us with many examples about the topic that we are learning. Another thing that my teacher does that helps me to learn is gives us good study techniques.

I try to be as mindful and respectful of what the academic literature tells us about good teaching. Students will never write in these teacher evaluations “He uses interleaving to make sure we are building new learning while maintaining previous learning,” but that’s one of the things I purposefully do to help them. They notice and remark on things (that are good but not as contributory to student achievement) like my energy, passion, and sense of humor.

In terms of “Area of Focus” and students’ free-form responses, representative remarks include:

not much

My teacher could announce in class when an chapter of reading is due/when the quiz is, as senior year is incredibly busy and it is easy to forget without the reminder.

Engage the students more sometimes rather than just lecturing. Find different ways to teach students complex information.

This last comment appeared a few times and is most likely from the Ethnic Studies class. Not every class is lecture-based, but there are several lessons that begin that way. I get it; a lecture can be boring… and the Ethnic Studies ones are. I’ll see what can be done about that. And as for the second, about verbally announcing homework to seniors: I won’t be doing that. They’re seniors, and all work is clearly indicated in the school-wide Course Management System.

A non-representative comment comes, I assume, from one of my Ethnic Studies students: “One thing that my teacher could change to help me learn better would be to not make his opinions very bias. He tends to teach things that are against my beliefs, and it becomes sometimes frustrating when he teaches us because he is so bias.”

All in all, I am satisfied with the results of this year’s teacher evaluations. I’m happy for the reinforcement of the attention I pay to student learning, and I’m grateful for the opportunity to see what suggestions students have for improving their experience.

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1. I think these are now officially referred to as “student surveys” but (a) that label is applied to dozens of other local instruments so that merely highlights the fact that this is (b) a euphemism for a “teacher evaluation by students.”  ↩

2. I was part of a team developing an Introduction to Ethnic Studies course for freshmen, and was personally responsible for the new Social-Cognitive Psychology elective for upper-division students.  ↩