Mid Semester Course Evaluation

When I was a student most teachers were required to have students do a course evaluation. A task we are getting close to complete in a few weeks here at Purdue.  Teachers were evaluated for enthusiasm, preparedness, ability to explain difficult material clearly and other such things. Although I welcomed the opportunity to evaluate my various teachers, the problem I had with them was the timing – they were done at the end of the semester?! In the spirit of service quality management, I wondered why I had not encountered a single teacher who had taken the time to investigate whether or not the students were satisfied with the course while we were taking it. In doing so, the teachers would have known (providing they cared) whether or not the course was meeting mine and their expectations so that changes could be made in the event that they were not. More important, I was perplexed as to why no department head had ever required faculty to determine whether or not students were getting value for their tuition dollar from their faculty before the semester was out.

Not wanting to repeat the mistakes of teachers past, I now do a mid-semester course evaluation. I actually have the audacity to view my students as my customers and seek to determine whether or not they are satisfied with my teaching services while they are taking my course. Besides, I tell them how important it is to evaluate the quality of service they provide to customers and would be remiss not to do the same as their teacher. This seemingly simple idea has proven to be a profound learning experience for me and the students. Not only do I learn whether or not my customers are satisfied, the students learn whether or not their individual perception of the course is shared by other students and that I am truly open to modifying the course so that it will meet, if not exceed, their educational needs.

The procedure for doing the assessment is simple. I do a modified Small Group Instructional Diagnostic (SGID). I essentially ask the students to answer two questions: “What do you like about the way the course is being taught?”, “What suggestions do you have to make the class better?” Once I obtain the results, I place them on a transparency so that I can share them with the students. I first go over the things that the students generally agreed upon as to what they liked about the way the course is being taught. Where there is consensus, I then share those things that students recommended to make the course better. I implement those suggestions immediately.

One word of caution is that deciding to implement a mid-semester evaluation may draw criticism from those who do not because it may be seen as “cheating”, oddly enough. However, if you are open to the idea of improving the quality of your teaching services it will be well worth it.

In sum, looking back on my many years as a student, I am amazed that there was not a single teacher who did a course evaluation at the middle of the semester. I could speculate all day as to the reason. My suspicion is that each new generation of faculty accepts far too many of the “accepted practices” of those before them without asking, “Why?” I choose to question everything — no stone is left unturned in my quest to better educate those who enroll in my classes. I hope you feel the same.