Show Letters to the Editor Are Evaluations Fair to Teachers Who Decides As a faculty member at I was a little confused about the interchangeable use of the terms observation and evaluation in Horizons Horizon's article of student evaluations of faculty I called Stephanie Lindsay and s told her I was feeling confused I pointed out to her that observe and evaluate were not synonymous Websters Webster's Dictionary defines observe observe observe ob ob- ob- ob serve to perceive notice watch attentively and to make comment about and evaluate to judge or come to a conclusion about The terms suggest different processes and outcomes Observation suggests suggests suggests sug sug- objectively gathering information information information mation which individuals can use to draw their own conclusions Evaluation suggests that an in individual individual individual in- in draws a conclusion and then passes their judgement on onto onto onto to someone else What is the purpose of this exercise exercise exercise ex ex- Is it the intent to have students students students stu stu- stu- stu dents judge faculty based upon the conclusions drawn by other students or to obtain information about the teaching testing and assessment assessment assessment as as- methods of the instructor so that students can draw their own conclusions about whether or not they want to take a course from that instructor Maybe the reason most faculty consent to observation is because it is a finding fact-finding exercise while evaluation is not Maybe students need to look at changing the process not what they are calling the process so that faculty feel comfortable I asked Stephanie to talk to her committee about my concerns about the inaccurate interchange of these terms and their tion She said that she would Several days later I received a memo saying that the sheets for the observation would not be distributed on time because they were not available The committee was still trying to pass evaluations off a observations To put this situation into a context context context con con- text that students can relate to suppose that faculty proposed to publish a list of all the students they had in each of their courses with the students student's grades so that faculty could decide which students students students stu stu- stu- stu dents they preferred to have in their classes Students would be outraged However if faculty published a list of students who seem to learn well in a lecture class a list of those students who learn best in discussion type classes classes classes clas clas- ses and a list of students who seem to learn best in collaborative tive learning and on hands-on learning learning learning learn learn- ing experiences most students would probably not be offended The intent of the second scenario clearly suggests that there is a process for trying to match teaching teaching teaching teach teach- ing and learning styles while the intent of the first is to judge which students are not desirable to have in your class I think it is a wonderful idea to publish an instructors instructor's written statement of their teaching philosophy teaching methods and testing or assessment methods I certainly do not have any objections objections objections to being observed or having my students share information about my teaching methods or testing and assessment methods but to pass the judgement of one individual on another individual individual individual in in- seems unproductive and threatening I respectively ask the students as I suggested in the Senate last spring to look at what the intent of this project is and to rethink the process and the expected out out- come Jeanette Associate Professor of Education |