Good Teaching Counts: What a Department Chair, Associate Dean, and Professor do with student evaluations (CELT Teaching Tip)

It may still be March, but perhaps you have already thought about the end of spring semester 2018. What do you usually do with the end of course evaluations from students?

CELT Teaching Tip • March 29, 2018

Good Teaching Counts: What a Department Chair, Associate Dean, and Professor do with student evaluations

It may still be March, but perhaps you have already thought about the end of spring semester 2018. What do you usually do with the end of course evaluations from students? I have heard some faculty say they dig right in to the evaluations and start making changes to their syllabus as soon as possible while information from the class is still fresh in their minds. I have also heard of faculty putting the evaluations in a drawer and waiting a few weeks to look at the evaluations when they feel they have more emotional and mental space to objectively review the student comments.

In fall semester 2017, representatives from Student Government reached out to CELT and inquired what does ISU do with the end of course evaluations? As you likely know, the administration of the end of course information is handled at the departmental level with no university-wide evaluations compiled or analyzed. However, we thought it would be helpful to organize a panel consisting of a (now former) department chair, an associate dean, and a professor to see how end of course student evaluation information is used individually, by a department, and at the college level.

Register to attend this program: Good Teaching Counts: What ISU does with student evaluations, April 5 (12:10-1:00 p.m., 2030 Morrill Hall) via the Learn@ISU website or view on your own via this ISU Zoom meeting registration webpage.

Also, learn more about the Student Evaluation of Teaching (SET) administration, strategies for better course evaluations, and analyzing student feedback on the CELT's Assessment and Evaluation website.

Hope to see you there,

Sara Marcketti, Interim Director

Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching

CELT's sketchnoting workshops provide a framework to break down complex concepts

Verena Paepcke-Hjeltness, Assistant Professor, Industrial Design demonstrates (and researches) how sketchnoting is a design-visualization methodology that provides a framework for students to communicate visually by allowing them to break down complex forms and concepts into combinations of dots, lines, squares, triangles and circles. The simplicity of these shapes promotes this pedagogical tool’s use for skilled and non-skilled drawers alike.

3-Part Series: Sketchnoting for visual note taking and more

Meets on the following Wednesdays: April 4, 11 & 18th (12:10 - 1:30 p.m., 0074 Armory)

Paepcke-Hjeltness will show you the essentials of Sketchnoting, a pattern-based notetaking strategy that actively engages learners. Participants will learn the basics of Sketchnoting, start building their own simple image libraries, and discuss ways to implement low fidelity visual maps of what they see, hear, and think. No artistic talent is required. You will leave this session with concrete ways to break linear thinking barriers for yourself and your students.

2-Part Series: Sketchnoting - planning a research poster

Meets on the following Thursdays: April 12 & 19th (12:10 - 1:30 p.m., 89-90 Armory)

Make your posters more accessible with this vibrant visual story-telling tool. Paepcke-Hjeltness will introduce basic visual strategies to compose research posters based on design thinking methodologies. Please bring an existing poster, poster abstract or paper to be presented as a poster to the workshop sessions.

Upcoming CELT programs

To learn more about the events listed visit CELT’s Event and Registration website and register via the Learn@ISU website. Many of these workshops are available in-person or via Zoom.

Workshop, Good Teaching Counts: What ISU does with student evaluations, Apr. 5 (12:10-1 p.m.)
Workshop, Inclusive Classroom Faculty Development Workshop, Apr. 13 (9 a.m.-12 p.m.)
2-Part Series, Sketchnoting - Planning a Research Poster, Apr. 12 & 19 (12:10 – 1:30 p.m.)
Meeting, ISU Online Learning Community (ISU-OLC), Apr. 13 (11:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.)
Conversation on Teaching Inclusively: Building an inclusive and learner-centered syllabus, Apr. 24 (4-5:00 p.m.)
Workshop, Applying the Quality Matters Rubric (APPQMR) Workshop, Apr. 27 (8 a.m.-4 p.m.)

Prefer a Print version? To view the Teaching Tip as a printable document with web addresses, download the March 29, 2018 CELT Teaching Tip (PDF)

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