An Essay on Wisdom in the Teaching Evaluation Process

Abstract

This essay is a call to academic leaders to take three steps in challenge to the conventional view about teaching evaluation protocols. The first step concerns intellectual honesty in the connections between faculty, administrators, and students. The second step involves social operating mechanisms —meetings, reviews, and other situations through which people in the university converse - that must have honest dialogue at their cores. And third, leaders must ensure that feedback and follow-through are used to reward high achievers, coach those who are struggling, and discourage those whose behaviors are blocking the education progress. Prior to this discussion, a case is presented that there is a mis-specification of the criterion on which faculty should be evaluated - classroom teaching. What should be assessed is provision of learning opportunities. The thoughts offered in this paper hopefully will serve as catalyst for the further discussion of how to obtain and use valid student input.