Evaluations

I received my instructor evaluations today...

As I opened the package, I did not know what to expect. Did my students like me? Would they provide constructive criticism? Would their comments break my heart? Did they have any idea how hard I worked? Any concept regarding how difficult it is to stand in front of a group of students and present materials? Did they grow attached to me as I did to them? Did it matter?

With a cup of coffee in my hand, I sat down and grit my teeth. I told myself to expect the worst and hope for the best. Afterall, it was only my first quarter at the college as well as my first time using the text. There will be plenty of time and opportunities for improvements. Before I began reading, I told myself that students are traditionally cruel when completing an evaluation. I comforted myself by remembering that a sense of anonymity coupled with the stress of upcoming finals, etc. often promotes a student's ability to be hypercritical and a bit unfair.

I was pleasantly surprised to see that my evaluations were not bad at all. In fact, they were pretty darn good. Granted, there are definite areas for improvement (i.e clearer due dates, etc.) but overall, it appears that I was well-liked and effective as an instructor. For each statement, the student had to indicate on a Likert scale of 1 to 5 of whether they strongly disagreed (1) or strongly agreed (5). My lowest score was a 2.2. When I first saw that number, my heart stopped for about a twenty-fourth of a second. Then, I saw that the statement next to the score read, "I really wanted to take a class from this instructor when I signed up for the class". Okay, that is alright. I didn't even know that I was to teach the class until just a few weeks prior to the beginning of the quarter. In addition, I never taught at the school before. Therefore, students should not have wanted to take a class with me making the low score completely appropriate and just fine. On the other hand, I scored a perfect five out of five on categories including, "the instructor seemed to be excited about the material presented" and "the instructor seemed to care about the students' ability to comprehend the material" -- both categories that I feel are important and have some value to me.

Overall, I am pleased with my first quarter successes. I am proud of myself for conquering old fears of speaking in front of people. I am proud of myself for sharing my passion for learning and of psychology with others. I am proud of myself for conveying my concern for my students effectively to them. I am proud of myself for trying something new.

I look forward to Fall quarter as it approaches. I can only hope that I continue to be a success. I hope that I remain passionate. I hope that I inspire...

P.S. For those of you who may still currently be students or may be considering returning to the academic world, please be aware that although student evaluations are anonymous, some instructors remember handwriting... =)