By Bethany Grov?
McDaniel is trying to improve the way in which they assess teaching standards. This could mean a brand new teacher evaluation form by the end of the spring semester.
The committee that reviews professors when they are due for tenure and promotions, the Faculty Affairs Committee (FAC), recently requested that the faculty modify the teacher evaluation forms that students fill out at the end of each semester.
Rebecca Carpenter, associate professor of English, is in charge of modifying the forms. She recently ran a faculty meeting to discuss the current draft of the form, which has not yet been approved. Carpenter said the form needs to address certain issues.
“Does this form ask the best possible questions in the best possible format in order to assess teaching? How does our form compare with those at other comparable institutions?” Carpenter asked.
Many faculty members expressed concern about the front side of the current evaluation form, in which students rank their professors using numbers one through five. A few faculty members jokingly asked what a “three” means in regard to their teaching style. None of them seemed to have the answer.
The committee to evaluate the draft is currently advocating a form that will include more open-ended questions to which the students can give narrative responses instead of number ranks.
An issue raised at the meeting was that of students giving easy classes higher scores than more challenging classes. Freshman Brittany Kemp said she has concerns about the same issue.
“Generally I don’t think the forms are very effective,” Kemp said. “All you do is circle down the page based on whether you liked the professor. I think some people give professors all fives if the class was easy.”
Carpenter said a draft of the form will be brought to the students to ask for their input as soon as the faculty can reach a consensus.
“I think students can give us better information about the strengths of our courses and the areas that need improvement if we ask better questions,” Carpenter said.