This spring the College of Humanities & Social Sciences will take a step forward into improving teacher evaluations.
James McDonald, dean of the College of Humanities & Social Sciences, said the faculty senate has permitted each college to explore new ways to evaluate teaching, which the dean thinks is superior to the current system.
“We are doing just that in the College of Humanities & Social Sciences,” McDonald said.
He said the new system which the Humanities & Social Sciences choose, is a system created by the Individual Development and Education Assessment Center in Kansas.
“We are looking for a system that provides faculty with more useful and reliable feedback on their teaching.” McDonald said.
According to the IDEA Center instructions for faculty, their evaluation allows the professor to choose from a list of 12 objectives varying in focus. The professor chooses three to five objectives and rates them as essential or important. The rest of the objectives are rated as minor or of no importance.
The objectives are organized into six categories: Basic Cognitive Background, Application of Learning, Expressiveness, Intellectual Development, Lifelong Learning and Team Skills.
McDonald said the current evaluation system addresses evaluation areas with a single question or measure, rather than multiple measures which lacks reliability. There is also the issue of low student response rates to the current on-line evaluation that also raises questions concerning the reliability of the data.
McDonald said the current way of evaluating requires a student to answer one question for each aspect of the way a professor teaches. Another concern was the low student participation. 59 percent of students participated in evaluations in 2009.
He said the faculty in his college were “generally not very satisfied” with the way teacher evaluations have been carried out.
Leslie Jones, professor of psychology, said trying to measure something as dynamic as teaching effectiveness is “very difficult.”
“A students opinion part way through a course is hardly a valid measure,” Jones said.
He said there is no evidence that it is a reliable measure. A student’s opinions concerning the course and professor may change over time.
Jones said over the years, SUU has used different instruments to “measure” teaching effectiveness but they have all been essentially the same.
He said about twenty five years ago he was asked by the SUU provost to chair a committee which would research and recommend an instrument to aid in teacher evaluation.
He said their research indicated the IDEA evaluation test would “yield the most useful information.”
Jones said a strength of the IDEA system is adaptability. The professor chooses what the most important learning objectives for the student are. The students are then evaluated regarding the objectives.
Jones and Matthew Nickerson, a professor and Honors Program adviser, agreed regarding evaluations. When it comes to teaching there is no perfect way to measure a good teacher.
“Teaching is an art, not a science,” Nickerson said. “If someone could come up with the perfect way to teach and evaluate teaching they would be a millionaire.”
Jones said some professors perceived a weaknesses in the IDEA systems adaptability.
The test allows the professor to choose what they are graded on and also permits them to write some of their own questions. They said a professor, provided an opportunity, might manipulate the results in their own favor.
He said another strength of the IDEA system for some faculty may be considered a weakness by others.
Because the test is nationally recognized, professors may be compared to others in the same discipline across the country. Jones said a professor might feel they do not look as good in a national context.
He said the administration ultimately decided against the recommendation for the evaluation system the first time. The reason given was the price of the IDEA test.
McDonald will be pioneering the use of the IDEA system at SUU at the end of this spring semester. He hopes it will provide faculty with a more useful and reliable way to progress.
Be the first to comment on this article!