Students get a chance to voice their opinions about their professors by evaluating them in class. For new professors, this can make the difference between continuing with their career, or their career cut short.
It is only fair that students have an opportunity to evaluate the performance of their professors, considering that for the whole semester, the professor has been evaluating them. Some of the things professors are evaluated on include:
· Did the professor start and end the class on time?
· Did the professor return assignments in a reasonable length of time?
· Did the professor seem knowledgeable about their subject matter?
· Was the classroom environment suitable for the needs of the course? (This is more an evaluation of the school’s resources than the professor, however sometimes the professor influence the decision of the classroom the course is held in)
· Did the professor provide enough information about assignments required for the class?
· Did the professor make himself or herself available for consultation outside of classroom hours?
· Did the professor encourage classroom discussion?
· Does the professor answer questions in a timely and knowledgeable way?
These are just a few of the questions that are asked of students in order to evaluate their professor or instructor. Some professors do not take the student evaluations seriously, however many professors use these evaluations to improve their teaching skills.
Other ways a professor can improve their teaching skills is to videotape their presence in front of the class. This may help them to hone in on some of their strengths and weaknesses while they are facilitating the classroom environment.
There are many ways to improve one’s teaching methods that are even available online. A site such as www.developfaculty.com has a “Tip of the Week” section for professors that will help them to get the best student evaluations they can. As well, there are many books associated with that site that can help new professors strengthen their skills, as well as old professors learn some new tricks.
