Teacher Evaluations: Peer and Student Evaluations
Date: Reflection written July 7, 2008
Standard: National Science Education Standard C. This standard states that teachers of science will engage in ongoing assessment of their teaching and of student learning.
Describe: In this section I have chosen to include two assessments of my teaching.
The first assessment is a peer evaluation that was conducted in the spring of 2006, and is part of the faculty development program at Columbia Union College*. As part of this professional development program, a colleague visits the class of a new teacher to evaluate their classroom methodologies. This peer evaluation is usually performed within the first year following the hiring of a new teacher by Columbia Union College.
The second assessment is the student evaluation survey for the Microbiology (BIOL 150) course taught in the spring of 2008. I have chosen to include the evaluations from this class for two reasons: 1) this reflects a very recent assessment since the students completed the evaluation in April 2008, and 2) the course is one of my largest classes with an enrollment between 30-40 students.
Since the spring of 2007 I have administered the student teacher evaluations via a Desire2Learn survey; this is similar to the surveys assessing class and homework assignments. To encourage compliance, I award five bonus points to each student who completes the survey. To protect the anonymity of the students, they print only the last page of the survey which states, “You have successfully completed this survey”. The student then writes their name on the page and submits it for their extra credit points. Although there is potential for abuse in this system, it does protect the students’ anonymity as they complete the survey. The advantage of the online system is that I have immediate access to the results of the survey, while the students receive bonus points.
Analyze: I have included these artifacts in my teaching portfolio to demonstrate ongoing assessment of my teaching. Although both the peer and student evaluations are required of all teachers at Columbia Union College, the inclusion of these evaluations in my portfolio also demonstrates my involvement in this continuing process. Both types of evaluations have contributed to my professional growth and development.
The peer evaluation was a particularly important part of the assessment process since an experienced colleague is in a position to offer invaluable advice. It was also important for an assessment to be performed by a colleague since, in contrast to students, they have nothing to gain or lose from the evaluation. The student evaluations are important since they occur on a regular basis and are specific to a course; however, the students often have valuable comments that can be applied to all the courses that I teach.
Appraise: Both the peer evaluation and the student evaluations have been very beneficial for me. One item that was very helpful from my peer evaluation was the observation that I speak too rapidly in the classroom. This was something of which I was already aware, but it was helpful to have my colleague remind me that the students are trying to take notes while I am talking; I have to pause often to give them time to catch up. This is an area of continuing challenge for me, and is one reason why the active learning strategies hold such potential for my classroom. By removing me from the “stage”, the students no longer have to struggle with my rapid-fire delivery. Since many students at Columbia Union College are non-native English speakers, it is even more important for me to continually assess my method of delivery and remind myself to speak slowly.
The student evaluations are always beneficial for me; particularly the typed comments at the end of the survey. In this particular course, the students generally agreed that I was knowledgeable about the subject matter, delivered the course content in an appropriate manner, and was clear in my expectations of the class. However, several students commented that the workload was too much for the course (see question 34). On one hand, this is consistent with the fact that Microbiology is a tough course in which we cover a large amount of material; to aid student learning of that material, I do require a large amount of work. On the other hand, for many students, this may be interpreted as “busy” work.
For example, for each chapter, the students have a worksheet that must be completed. The worksheets were designed to aid student learning, since the worksheet material is used to create the class exams; admittedly, the questions are worded differently on the exam. To ensure student participation, five points are awarded for completion of each worksheet. Worksheets are not graded, but the correct answers are later posted on the course management system website (Desire2Learn). The total points for the worksheets are approximately 5% of the total grade. For many students, this 5% puts enormous pressure on them, and they spend large amounts of time answering the worksheet questions, despite the fact that the majority of the questions are answered during class time. For a student who does not learn by writing, this is wasted time, and translates into “busy” work. This is a valid point, and deserves consideration; it is also a concern that I probably would not have heard without the student evaluations.
As seen in these examples, the assessment of my teacher by my colleagues and my students is very helpful to me since they are able to observe my teaching in a way that I cannot.
Transform: In response to the student comments that the course workload for Microbiology is too great, I will remove the worksheet points from the overall course grade. The worksheets will still be available, and I will encourage their completion by specifically discussing them in class. Rather than using the traditional lecture format, I will ask random students to answer a specific worksheet question. Students will be forewarned of this format at the beginning of the course, and I am considering adding participation points to encourage student involvement in the class discussions. In this manner, the same amount of material will be covered in a more active learning format. Additionally, students who do not learn by writing can still be highly involved in the discussion. This format will be tested in the spring 2009 Microbiology (BIOL 150) course. This is one example of how the use of ongoing assessment by peers and students can be used to make changes in my teaching.
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To access the peer evaluation, click here.
To access the student evaulation, click here.