Patrick B. O’Sullivan, PhD
Director, Center for Teaching, Learning & Technology
Illinois State University
March 2009
I have a simple question: “How good a teacher are you?”
I suspect that you have a ready answer, perhaps one reflecting a degree of confidence tempered with a dash of humility. Something like, “I think I’m a pretty good teacher … perhaps not great, but fairly solid.” That certainly would be consistent with ISU’s self-image as a university proud of the quality of instruction.
OK, then, here’s another simple question: “How do you know?”
For this, answers may not come as readily as they did for the first. Perhaps first a wary pause before a response such as, “Well … I’ve been teaching for years, I know my stuff, my teaching evals are pretty good, and, umm, well … .”
Earlier in my teaching career, that would have been my response. If it is it also a reasonably fair representation of how you might respond, well, you’re not alone.
But notice what is lacking: specific evidence of exemplary teaching practices that foster enduring learning. Student evaluations have value, but even when well-designed and properly executed, they capture only one perspective on a limited set of questions and only after a course has ended. On the other hand, self-evaluations can be unreliable and subject to hidden biases from our self-interests.
My 20-plus years in higher education help me to understand some of the reasons why this is the case. Faculty culture in higher education tends to view classrooms as an instructor’s private domain closed to outsiders. Rare is the instructor who invites colleagues or peers in to observe or to interview students for formative (developmental) feedback. Many of us simply may not have given it much thought because we haven’t heard about anyone else doing it. And if we do hear about it, we might believe that such exercises are only for struggling teachers and so avoid initiating them for fear of signaling weakness to colleagues. Even if we get past that hurdle, we might hesitate because we realize that we may find out that we are not as effective as we thought we were (ouch!).
However, the best teachers have always relentlessly and systematically sought to understand their strengths and weaknesses from many sources and multiple perspectives. Building on their strengths and tackling their weaknesses is exactly how they progressed from being good teachers to being excellent teachers. These practices are a mark of strength, confidence and an ambition to grow and excel, not a sign of failure.
If we are to maintain ISU’s reputation as a university that offers excellent teaching, we all need to be doing what the best teachers do. That’s why one of my big pushes has been to expand CTLT’s capacity to provide instructors with several different ways to help us know specifically and concretely what is working well and what needs attention. That’s also why I am encouraging you to take advantage of what we call our “Instructional Consultation Services.”
They are all confidential (no, your chair or DFSC will not see them unless you choose to share), they are customized to focus on your questions and priorities, they are formative (constructive feedback designed to help you improve) rather than evaluative, and they are informed by the scholarly literature that guides the process and is the basis for any suggestions you might receive.
Also, they are easier, less intimidating, and more rewarding than you might think.
The most popular has been the Mid-Term Chats, which provide feedback from your students during the semester so you have a chance to adjust where it makes sense. Wouldn’t it be nice to know before the end of the semester if you have some students disgruntled about some small issue that you could easily fix? Requests for “Chats” have been growing steadily, and feedback from instructors who have tried it has been quite positive. Many have been pleasantly surprised to hear positive feedback that they didn’t expect, and many are relieved to learn about hidden problems that they can address rather easily.
Impromptu feedback from students has also been positive – in several instances after the chat was completed, students asked us to thank their instructor. Seems to me that showing students respect by giving them a voice about their learning can build good will, which may help explain why some research indicates that instructors who conduct mid-term chats earn better end-of-semester evaluations as well.
We have other options that provide you with perspectives on your teaching. You can get informed feedback from a CTLT staff member or a fellow educator (“Classroom Observations”) or engage in an objective self-observation through a guided analysis of a video of your teaching (“Video Advantage”).
I encourage you to just try one of these this semester. You may learn that you’re doing better than you thought. You could also learn about some problems that you didn’t know existed--and get suggestions for ways to fix them).
So next time someone asks you “How good a teacher are you?” you could give a truthful and evidence-based response, “Pretty darn good – and getting better all the time!”
