HILT 2017 Conference: Looking beyond Harvard

TL;DR

This session discusses different models of teaching evaluations used in various colleges and universities, highlighting both strengths and weaknesses.

Transcript

Hi, everyone. Welcome to our session. We're going to go ahead and get started. Please go ahead and find a seat. We're going to be spending much of our hour in small groups. And that's why the tables have numbers on them. So we have a pretty packed hour ahead of us. So a key challenge for the three of us that are presenting this session is to stick ... Read More

Key Insights

• ❓ Teaching evaluations are continuously evolving, with institutions regularly reviewing and adjusting their instruments and interpretation of results.
• ⚖️ The balance between simplicity and comprehensiveness in evaluation instruments is a common challenge.
• 🧑‍🎓 Teaching evaluations have both formative and summative impacts, influencing changes in teaching practice and decisions regarding re-appointment, tenure, promotion, and student course selection.
• 🧑‍🏫 Access to data and its interpretation are critical considerations in teaching evaluations.
• 🧑‍🏭 Customization and standardization, as well as the inclusion of quantitative and qualitative feedback, are important factors in designing effective evaluation methods.
• 😫 National instruments provide a broader data set but may lack specificity and contextual relevance.
• 🖕 Longitudinal data and mid-term evaluations can offer valuable insights into teaching effectiveness and help track progress over time.

Questions & Answers

Q: What are some common challenges faced by institutions in handling teaching evaluations?

Institutions often struggle to find a balance between simplicity and comprehensiveness in the evaluation instruments they use. They also grapple with the question of who gets to see the data, how to interpret the results, and how to address concerns about fairness and accuracy.

Q: How do teaching evaluations impact students' course selection decisions?

Student course selection decisions can be influenced by the evaluated data of instructors. However, there is a divergence of perspectives among faculty, academic administrators, and students regarding the significance and reliability of this data. Access to data and its interpretation play crucial roles in students' decision-making process.

Q: What are some key considerations for institutions when designing their own teaching evaluation methods?

Institutions should consider balancing customization and standardization, incorporating both quantitative and qualitative feedback, and ensuring that evaluation methods align with their specific teaching goals and objectives.

Q: What are the limitations of using national instruments for teaching evaluations?

National instruments, while providing access to a wider data set and allowing for comparisons across institutions, often come with a lengthy questionnaire and may not capture specific nuances or contextual factors of individual courses or departments.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• The session focuses on examining how other institutions handle teaching evaluations, exploring the instruments and methods they use, such as homegrown surveys, national instruments, focus groups, and interviews.

• The presenters emphasize the changing nature of teaching evaluations, with institutions continuously reviewing and adjusting the instruments they use and how they interpret the results.

• They also discuss the formative and summative impacts of teaching evaluations, including their role in informing changes in teaching practice, re-appointment, tenure, promotion, and student course selection decisions.