TEACHSOC: one more thing

[Andi Stepnick]

I start off my evals with questions about what students are doing (or not doing) and how they believe it influences learning and enjoyment. Guess what?  Students who prepare "get" the material in class and find class more enjoyable. (Although some students do write that even when unprepared they still enjoy it.) I do this to remind them that learning is a two way street.  I try to emphasize that what we do in class is mostly synthesis of the material they are working on outside of class. Harry and all who responded or will:   Thanks much. Your ideas/suggestions are quite helpful. I think that it is important to address the concerns, questions, issues, criticisms students bring up in the mid term evaluations. When faculty address the aforementioned and indicate why they are doing something or not doing something students who made the criticisms may Understand the *rationale* for what is done or not done.       From: Harry Mersmann [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] Sent: Wednesday, February 15, 2006 1:40 PM To: Michael Klausner Subject: Re: TEACHSOC: PROFESSOR MCKINNEY...   Michael and others, I tend to ask very 5 very simple questions: 1.  What is working in the class? 2.  What is NOT working in the class? 3.  What could I (the professor) do to make the class better? 4.  What could other students do to make the class better? 5.  What could you do to make the class better? I give them 10 minutes to answer these questions while I leave the room.  One student collects the anonymous responses and brings them to my office.  At the next class, I summarize their responses and what I am willing to do differently.  The nice thing about questions 4 & 5 is that it encourages them to accept some personal and collective reponsibility for the education process. Be Well, Harry J. Mersmann, Ph.D. San Joaquin Delta College Michael Klausner wrote: Greetings: Professor McKinney and anyone else who would care to respond:  You once indicated that you administered student evaluations in mid-semester. Would you care to share the form you used? I, like you, think that getting student feedback at the *end* of the term is not too helpful in making changes that affect the classes that gave it. Obtaining feedback in mid-term would give us the opportunity to make changes deemed appropriate. Thanks much, Michael  --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Teaching Sociology" group. To post to this group, send email to teachsoc@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/teachsoc -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---