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About The Clackamas print. (Oregon City, Oregon) 1989-2019 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 27, 2013)
2 # W ednesday,November27,2013 P R I N T : News Teacher evaluations keeps instructors in the know Sequoia Allen The Clackamas Print S tu d en ts who have been at Clackamas Community College for more than a term or two have probably filled out a teacher evaluation. But some might wonder about what hap pens to those evaluations. Where does that form go, and does it really matter? The short answer is “yes.” It does matter, and there’s much more to it than that. The evaluation forms that are handed around by the depart ment secretaries are part of the teacher review process. While this process varies somewhat for full-time and part-time faculty members, both groups have periodic evaluations, as per the agreements between the college and the part-time and full-time faculty associations. The student evaluations are typed up by the department secretary so as to be anony mous, and they are given to the teacher after grades have been submitted. The informa tion also goes to the teach er’s supervisors and becomes pgfcrt of the teacher’s file in the Human Resources department. Many teachers conduct sur veys during or at the end of their courses to gather information on how well their instructional methods are working, and what was helpful (or not) about the classes they teach. Instructors want to know how they’re doing, and Sharon Parker, chairwoman of the Business Administration department, says that above and beyond the official evaluation process, teachers and departments often have less formal methods for collecting feedback. “It’s part of the kind of feedback that faculty regularly solicits in an informal kind of context,” Parker said. “Even [something] as simple as say ing, ‘Hey, what do you guys think about X, Y, Z?”’ Teachers may also request additional formal evaluations, and according to Parker, they often do. Interestingly, she said that if they have more than the requisite number of evaluations within a period, it is up to the teachers to choose which ones will go in their file. Students’ feedback is just as important to teachers as their feedback is to students. When a student gets a paper back, he probably reads it over to see what he did wrong and what he did well to make the next paper better. Good instructors do the same thing with their teaching; they want to know what’s working and what isn’t. When asked what she thought of the teacher review process, Carrie Kyser, the math depart ment chairwoman, said that she likes the process. “The student evaluation piece is probably the one that I look at the most,” Kyser said. However, what instructors can get out of this information is only as good as the feedback itself. David Mount, acting chairman of the English depart ment, said that students don’t always take the time to fill out a meaningful evaluation. “I think students are often in a hurry when they fill out those forms, and it’s only the really exceptional students who really stay and think about it,” said Mount. I think most stu dents are [...] rooting fo r you, and they want you to do a good job, ” David Mount chairman, English Dept. One might wonder whether students give fair feedback. Do they just blame their bad grades on their teachers? Or do they try to be too nice? Both things can happen. When asked about the first issue, Kyser says that taking responsibility for your own success is one of the things that college teaches people. She said that particularly in some of the courses that fresh man take, there seems to be a *•. greater predisposition for them to blame their teachers and not take responsibility for the things that they themselves didn’t do. “Whereas once [students are] in college for a while, that really stops happening as much,” said Kyser. As for the latter issue, Mount and Kyser seem to agree that students are often too nice. “Sometimes I wish they would be a little more pre cise in things that could be improved about the class,” said Mount. “I think most students are [...] rooting for you, and they want you to do a good job.”; Of course, students don’t need to wait to be asked; teach ers are there for students to talk to. Mount pointed out that it’s important for students to know that they have options if they feel they’re being treated unfairly. If a solution can’t be worked out with the instructor, department chairpersons wel come hearing from students, and there is a procedure for complaints located in the stu dent handbook. But it’s important to remem ber that negative feedback is only half of the equation; if a teacher does something really well, tell them so! The bottom line is that teachers need to know what students think. REMINDER! Thanksgiving Break: CCC will be closed Nov. 28-29 for Thanksgiving. No evening classes will be held after 4 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 27. W R R tS tafP ffiT fr e C la c k a m a s P r i n t aims to ¿ re p o rt the news in an honest, ¡S?' unbiased and professional S mariner Content published in T h e P r in t is not screened or subject to censorship Email comments, concerns or tips to chiefed@ctackamas.edu or call us at 503-594-6266. 19600 Molalla Ave. Oregon City, OR 97045 ■ Journalism Adviser: Beth Slovic etizabeth.slovic@clackamas.edu EDITORS Co-Editor-in-Chiefs: jjfcttanv Home & MRy. Salazar chiefed@clackamas.edu P Editor: Erin Carey “ newsed@ctackamas.edu Editor: Jesse Henninger < aced@c/ackamas.edu ac Editor: David Beasley ® sportsed@clackamas.edu h Editor: Chris Morrow & 0 Donny Beach v copyed@clackamas.edu Photo Editor: Denee Shelton p/ioioed@c/ackama s.edu Web & Design Emily Rask B/wd/tor@c/ac/rainas.edii Ad Manager Zait Laster ’H r admgr@clackamas.edu WRITERS * PHOTOGRAPHER! Robert Cmmbie Sequoia Allen Larissa Hamer Karina Gustafson Marissa N we rem Elizabeth Anel Diaz Chris Browarski B PRODUCTION A ffK T A N T f Brandon Chorum Tanya Paulison V l s i f ms o n lin e , o f www.TheClackamasPrint.com facebook TheClackamasPrint U t w i t t e r @ ClackamasPrint
