‘The Teaching Professor June, 1988 oblivious to their impact on students. However, a dis- tinction can be made between those who make it sound like they walk on water in the classroom and those who believe that’s where they walk. Some facul- ty feel pressured to speak highly of their in-class per- formance. Does that mean they believe all they say? Evidence thal things are not going well in a class is difficult to miss, especially from the vantage point at the front of the room. But it’s always seemed to me that self-evaluation discourages delusions of grandeur because it affords the instructor a certain amount of protection. It does occur under your aegis and control. That makes it easier to look with honesty and openness. And doesn’t the whole notion of self-evaluation imply some per- sonal purpose? No, it doesn’t make any sense to ask instructors to write candid assessments of how they teach and then include those in promotion and tenure dossiers. But it does make a great deal of sense to ask them to look candidly at how they teach for the pur- pose of understanding and implementing improve- ments. Self-assessments, I say, should not be collected for public dissemination. But private self-assessments, including input from others, contribute significantly to a realistic understanding of how you teach. I cast my vote for self-assessment. I think it’s a vi- able improvement strategy. Like any other, it doesn’t work automatically; it isn’t an effortless way to better teaching. But I give it much more than “limited promise” to improve teaching. After all, let’s never for- get who has ultimate control over any improvement strategy. You do. You decide what you will or will not do in class tomorrow. I say self-evaluation recognizes and builds on that vested interest in teaching.0 Teaching Aid Teaching Journals: A Self-Evaluation Strategy When you teach a course for the first time, or teach a course just recently revised, or one you teach only intermittently, consider this way of preparing for the next time you’re assigned to teach the course. Take 10 or 15 minutes after each class session and write in a journal, or in the folder where you keep your course notes, or even on the lecture notes themselves -- some quick notes about how the class session went. Identify sections that were or were not smooth, places where you needed examples, questions students asked and you did or did not answer well, how the activities were received, the idea for a test question that came to you during the lecture, or any other impressions that linger in your mind. Finish by listing the three things that most need to be done to improve this day in class. Make sure at least one of the items can be completed in 15 minutes. Be realistic. Some days 15 minutes is about all you can squeeze out for prep time. We can’t take credit for this good idea. A faculty member we know admits she stumbled upon it once when teaching a class for the first time. She was in the middle of a leclure when a student asked for an example to illustrate the point she was trying to make. She came up cold, asked the class for help and got three good examples. She wrote them in her notes so she would have them for the next time. The next day she botched an explanation, and found herself cir- cling it on her notes with the large admonition “FIX THIS!” Intermittently throughout that semester she wrote notes to herself, noting the “few things” that worked well, too. She did not realize the value of it until next time she taught the course. “I had all these suggestions and ideas. Even the short notes brought back all sorts of other memories of the class -- things I know I would never have remembered otherwise.” The part of the strategy that makes it tough is find- ing or taking the 10 minutes directly after class to write the notes. That’s the best time to do it. The freshness of the experience will add to the quality of what you write and the speed with which you are able to write it. But after class, students tend to follow you back to the office, or you have te teach another class, or you have this feeling of being done and who wants to rehash a completed class? But your commitment to take the time determines the value of this activity. Self-evaluation strategies like this one can be effec- tive, but only one person makes them work -- you. “TEACHING _.PROFESSOR Editor: Maryellen Gleason Weimer, Ph. D. Head, Instructional Development Program, The Pennsylvania State University Publisher: Willian Haight Associate Publisher: Ruth Benedict Executive Editor: James Rhem Copy Editor: Matt Gilson Art Director: Cheryl Spink Graphics Assistant: Gretchen Habel Marketing Director: Mary Dee Wenniger Customer Service Director; Lisa Vial The Teaching Professor is published monthly, 12 times a year, by Magna Publications, Inc., 2718 Dryden Drive, Madison, WI 53704-3006. Phone (608) 249-2455. One year subscription: $39. Second-class postage paid at Madison, WI. Postmaster: send change of address to The Teaching Professor, 2718 Dryden Drive, Madison, WI 53704-3006 Copyright 1988, Magna Publications, Inc.. Authorization to photocopy items for internal or personal use, or the in- ternal or personal use of specific clients, is granted by The Teaching Professor for users registered with the Copyright Clearance Center (CCC) Transactiona! 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